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to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber
and respect your privacy. 1. Welcome from the Coach With your help, I intend to shift the game
and help players and coaches everywhere re-discover the Lost
Art of Shooting. Thank you for reading this and subscribing to
it and sharing it with your friends. "Tom, I just finished a successful first year coaching a 5th-6th grade girls AAU team in the state of Washington. I applied your method later in the year -- but spent about 4 full practices on shooting alone -- so we hit it hard. Other practices I would spend about 30 minutes on shooting fundamentals using your method. "It was really hard to gauge how the
girls did as far as physically improving their shot. But I do
believe they now understand what it takes to be a successful
shooter...the "whys" of shooting. I think that establishing
this understanding at their age will inevitably lead to the majority
of the kids improving. It was interesting to watch how they developed
-- I believe the kids were dealing with several issues: "I will say that my daughter did compete
in a free-throw competition at the end of the year and won top
prize. It was interesting to see her want me to work with her
on her shot. I filmed the final game and it was fun to watch
in slow motion how beautiful her shot had become. She probably
made the greatest progress -- she had the luxury of sitting with
me and watching other players and critiquing player's shots. "Although I saw some girls who progressed
extremely well and others really struggle, I believe they all
learned what it takes to be successful at shooting. And now that
they are equipped with this knowledge, I am confident when we
get back together in the fall I will see some greatly improved
shots." ------------------------------------------------------------ Glenn Nelson, a former NBA writer and long time coach from Seattle, has just written a remarkable review of the Swish video. Please read it at this location on his website: Glenn's Review Glenn is an award-winning sports journalist and covered basketball and the NBA for 17 years. He is currently the Managing Editor of TheInsiders.com, an online sports network. ------------------------------------------------------------ My "For Coaches" page is now up and running at this URL: For Coaches It is being fleshed out with this information: Soon: I'm about to put a new document out there: "Coaching Thoughts & Suggestions." This will be a collection of writings, both as thoughts I've had and as replies to questions from coaches, players and parents. In the next section you can see some samples from this document. It will be a growing work as I write up more and more insights. If you have questions you think other coaches would be interested in, too, please send them to me and I'll add to the list. ------------------------------------------------------------ Following is a sample collection of thoughts and suggestions I wrote mostly in response to questions. They are from a much larger document that will be placed on my "For Coaches" webpage within a couple weeks. It's a way for you to read my slant on a number of subjects related to shooting and how to learn/coach the skill. Please let me know your thoughts on these subjects: Email: Tom@swish22.com
---------------------------------------------------------- The grip can be a very simple and natural thing. It just requires that the ball be held with the Shooting Hand such that the fingers are spread wide, but not strained, with the ball on the finger pads and upper pad of the palm (not touching the center or bottom edge of the palm). There is a little finger pressure to hold the ball more firmly. This gives control without tension. When the ball is released, the shooting hand relaxes and simply passes under the ball as the arm straightens, with the ball rolling off the relaxed finger tips creating perfect, consistent backspin. To show you how much finger pad pressure to give it, hold the ball with the palm facing up. Now, with no finger pad pressure, slowly move the hand in a horizontal circle. As you move it faster, the ball will simply fall off one side of the hand. It has to if there's nothing holding it in place. Now position it again on the hand and add a little pressure with the finger pads. Do it just enough so that, when you move the hand in the horizontal circle, the ball doesn't fall off. Can you feel how you have more control now of the ball? Now if you bring the hand around and up to the Set Point (the starting point for the Release), you will see that there is a little gap between the ball and the base of the palm. This is the way the ball is held when a little finger pad pressure is applied. This gives you control of the ball, without strain. The Guide hand supports the ball to the side and under and a little behind the ball. During the Release, it drops away without interfering with the action of the Shooting Hand. If the player is shooting with two hands, a learning process is necessary where the one-handed option is shown and practiced, and the player notes how s/he shoots with two hands, comparing the two options. With the coach's encouragement that a purely one-handed action is more reliable because it has fewer variables, the student has to choose to do that motion. It will also help to "open" the body (rotating counterclockwise for right handers, the opposite for lefties) in the stance. That encourages a one-handed shot, rather than two. With awareness of what happens relative to the goal, a one-handed shot, the player will gradually choose the new possibility. It's important during the learning process not to judge the two-handed shot as "bad." It is simply "What is." Awareness will lead to the change you want. ---------------------------------------------------------- The Guide Hand is used only to "support" the ball as you go to shoot. To do that, it has to be to the side and a little under and behind the ball, in such a position that it doesn't interfere with the shooting arm and hand as they do their pushing Release action. Have her notice where her left hand is and how it works. Start where she is right now. Don't force a new position until she can really "feel" what the left hand is doing now; otherwise it will creep back to where it was and she won't know the difference. Have her feel it and describe to you what it's doing. Describe exactly where it is, what it does, etc. Be patient with her. I used to shoot that way in high school somewhat, using the left thumb as a final correction and a little power. I didn't even know I did that, but I'm a better shooter now because I've stopped doing that. The left thumb was a variable and hard to control. I got good at it, but it was still something I had to manipulate just right or I'd be a little off. Now I have the fewest possible variables and shooting is easier. Awareness is the key!!! With the goal in mind of the left hand NOT interfering, then just have her observe and report without trying so hard to change it. The body will learn with time NOT to use the left hand because of the variation it causes ... if she can feel it. The one-handed shot will evolve as the preferred method. I've had a lot of experience coaching golf in the past, and I know awareness cures. And fact it may be only thing that cures. You telling her not to use the left hand, or me or anyone else telling her that, probably will not work. She has to feel the differences, and when the one handed shot feels more in control, more free, more able to shoot the ball consistently to a target, then she'll "learn" it and the body will make the natural choice to use only the right hand to shoot with. It will take a little time. ---------------------------------------------------------- Q: I am trying your technique, but my shot isn't very good right now. I don't really know what it is wrong, my old shot was almost the same as your technique. I just didn't open and turn 45 degree. Now my shot is even worse than before. I am not saying your technique is wrong. I shot early, open my stance (Open means to open the feet farther apart right?) and turn 45 degrees. I think the problem is my wrist, I try not to use it as much and now my shots are short. I used to flick my wrist hard and it worked. A: I suggest opening your stance, meaning rotating your body counter-clockwise so your left foot is back a bit (assuming you're right-handed). I didn't say how much you should turn. That's up to you. Larry Bird turned about 45 degrees, but maybe 20 or 30 degrees will work for you. And no, opening does not mean opening the feet further apart. It means turning your body. Have a natural, athletic stance, with the feet balanced, not too close, not too far apart. When you develop a Release with a relaxed wrist and hand, you lose power and gain repeatability. To make up for the lost power, you need, then, to shoot from more leg power, shoot earlier in the jumping motion. That is desirable because it gives you a quicker Release, a more upward action, and, most importantly, a more stabilized shot. If you are not getting a lot of leg power, then, yes, you're going to be short. Just shoot earlier, quicker and the ball will get lots of power and go higher!!! Wrist flicking will never, in my opinion, give you consistently great shooting, only streaky shooting, because it adds variables and flattens the shot. Q: Long ago i use to shoot upward and my shot would go really high and hit right in the center but when i miss it is an airball. Then a friend told my to flick my wrist harder and use my legs. He has a really good shot. I try that and it worked for me a little but the shot wasn't consistent then i found your website. A: If you shoot from a lot of leg force and have a relaxed wrist and hand, you should be getting accuracy right away. If your distance control is poor, look at your Release. Is it always the same speed and force? If yes, then all you have to do is vary height and you should start swishing everything. Don't hold back with the Release. Do the same, what I call "full out," motion every time, and you should start getting consistency and accuracy. Distance control comes by being ready to vary the arch with each shot. Q: Part of the reason I'm not shooting so well is, i think, i am trying too hard to shoot the right way. Do you have any exercises i can do at home or on the court to improve my technique? I can't go outside because it is really cold and in practice we learn plays and stuff so i don't really have a court i can practice on. But in the summer I can go to the court. Well, I am going still keep on using this technique. Thanks for all your help. A: Yes, don't get too serious about this. It's really very simple. Worry is not a good pre-shot routine. If you just pay attention to how you shoot, with feel and awareness and a goal in mind, you'll learn very quickly. You can practice against a wall or with a friend indoors. Maybe sit on the floor and shoot back and forth, practicing learning a relaxed wrist and hand action. That is probably the most important part of this to learn. When you learn that, then you'll realize you HAVE to shoot from the legs because the Release is constant, less powerful than before. The local YMCA or fitness center might have an indoor wall you could practice against, if not a gym with baskets. This is not difficult stuff, so you don't have to practice it for hours and hours. When you do get a court, you can learn it quickly. ---------------------------------------------------------- Q: Why does my elbow stick out to the side? A: You're probably "squaring" up. Allow your body to turn to "open" it up, and the elbow will drop naturally, but it will not go all the way to directly under the ball. We're not built that way. Key is that the shooting hand, the center of the hand, be aligned directly in line with the shooting eye and target. When you do this, the elbow will be a little to the outside. Leave it there. Check this out. Open your body a bit and pick a spot on the wall up high. Then bring your shooting hand in line with your eye and that target. Note how the elbow is to the side 4-6", depending on how long your forearm is. Now bring the ball in directly "under the ball," and notice what that does to the shooting hand. See how it tilts the hand off the target. You could shoot that way, but I'd rather have the hand directly behind the ball, giving me the most stability, the most consistent release action. To me, this is one of those old instructions on shooting that never worked, doesn't work, and never will. ---------------------------------------------------------- How do we learn something new? It's an age-old question. I'll give you just a short answer. You need awareness and trust. You have to learn to observe what you do. You have a New shot and an Old shot, New technique and Old technique. The Old is your habitual pattern, and now you want to change it. Learn to observe and feel exactly what the Old does. Don't hate it. Love it, because it's a part of you! But you just don't want it any more. The more you resist something, the more it persists! Feel exactly how the Old method works. The more you can feel and know it, the better. Then feel and observe the New shot. Get to know exactly what it is that you "want." Now you can compare the two different strokes. Under pressure, you will revert to old habits until you fully trust the new ones. But the more aware you are, the better the chance that you will trust the new stroke and make the transition, learn something new! Once you're aware of both possibilities, then you need experience. Keep committing yourself to shooting with the New stroke. Play games and observe. If you revert to the Old, don't get mad. Just laugh because it's human nature to fall back into old, habitual patterns. But with patience and acceptance, slowly the New will come forth and become the habitual after awhile. It might happen quite quickly, if you approach it with patience and humor. The more you "judge" it as bad, the more it will persist. Make it a joyful process, not an angry or disappointed one. We ALL interfere with our lives with old, ineffective or awkward patterns. Those who are aware, accepting, and patient, BUT also have goals of more effective behavior, will learn and develop just fine. Those who get upset and judgmental of themselves and others are more likely to stay put in old, destructive or ineffective patterns. ---------------------------------------------------------- In response to a player who said he doesn't "have enough control" with his shot, that it's too inconsistent, and it feels like his arm is "flying all over the place" ... There's an easy way to get control and consistency and it works every time. It's called AWARENESS. My coaching is too "Pay attention to your arm." Is it really flying all over the place? What is it ACTUALLY doing with each shot? Don't judge it as good or bad, just see it for what it is. When you know that, through feeling it, then it will start to change, and, in this case, stop flying all over the place. When you start simply observing yourself perform without the judgments, then the body will experiment and learn through trial and feedback. The goal is the for the arm to point directly in line with the basket (though high above it), and stay there during the Release and Follow Through. If it's moving, it's probably due to doubt or fear of failure. You will learn to keep it in line through observation of it (both visually and via feel). Your Coach telling you what happened with your arm makes no difference. Only you can feel it, and when you do, it will start to change. It will change until it reaches stability. When you shoot on the way up with powerful UpForce, and when your Release is a straight, stable pushing action directly in line with the basket (and held that way), with a relaxed wrist and hand, the shot can't not go in that same, exact direction. Then the only thing left is to vary arch appropriate to the distance, force, etc. Start small and check things out. What are the arm, wrist and hand actually doing? Once you can feel what they do, then learning will happen and it will probably be very quick. I think the problem for most players is that they don't learn to feel what they do. It's easy to say "I can't feel that" and give up. Often coaches then start to tell the players what they're doing, and though the coach may feel important imparting all that knowledge and wisdom, it doesn't make a difference because the player isn't feeling what actually happened. Some understanding of principles can help, but it's mostly through feel that we learn physical motions. (And understandings can be way off, like with "Squaring up," "Shooting at the top of the jump," or "Wrist flipping," and thus inhibit learning.) You CAN feel, and you can feel to a very high degree ... with practice. See if you can be really CURIOUS about how you do things and what's happening. Make this an exploration, a joyful exploration! (It will be joyful when you start to swish shot after shot after shot and see your true potential.) What will happen is that lots of Learning will show up. From my training in coaching golf, I've learned deeply that "Awareness is Developmental;" in fact, we now say it's the ONLY thing that's Developmental. ---------------------------------------------------------- My reply to a young person who asked where the "gold" was, after I had said "There is gold in my writings and my video!": The "gold" is the knowledge of how to become a great "pure" shooter. It's there in the articles, newsletters, mission, everything. It's in what I say about controlling the flight of a basketball, in minimizing variables and maximizing the use of bigger muscles. It's in the higher arch, the softer landing, the quick release for most shots (plus how to shoot the close-in shots that don't need as much leg drive power). It's in how to learn, how to increase awareness and trust. Learning is the goal, because if you are aware and awake, you can learn to do just about anything. My writings and my video give you specific "answers" to great shooting. And they're very simple. They're right there (the gold), but you have to be willing to play with them and be willing to experiment and fail for awhile. You have to be open to the discoveries that will help you become an amazing shooter. The great news is that it's very simple. It's not 12 of these rules or 20 of these steps. It's just a couple basic principles that will guide you to your own discoveries. You have to be like an explorer, open to new things, aware of where you are and where you've come from, but focused mostly on the future, on what you want to become. Shooting can be approached like this. Like an exploration for gold. And when you find traces of it, dig deeper. It's right there! It's not hidden or complicated. Most people are asleep when it comes to shooting (and many of the fundamentals of the game of basketball). If you can wake up, you'll have a big jump on the sleeping masses. My stuff just tells you where to look and what to look for. It's your experience that will teach you. Does this make sense? I'd love to hear back from you what you got out of the "gold" conversation. It's terrific stuff. Let me know what you understand and what you don't. I would like to know how well I communicated these ideas. Thanks for your effort to put into writing what you see and feel and learn. ---------------------------------------------------------- Two simple keys of the Swish Method A reply to a coach on how to help his son: Master TWO things: Remember "full-out" is, maybe, 75% of maximum, a speed and force he can do all day long without strain or fatigue. The arm just straightens, with relaxed wrist, hand and fingers doing nothing, and the ball will fly the same every time. 2) SHOOT FROM UPFORCE: Once the Release is constant, then UpForce (also called leg drive, leg life, legs) is what's needed to get the ball to the basket from further distances away. Tell him to let the legs and body power the shot and keep the Release the same. Never Under-Jump. Always "at least enough" power from the lower body. If he feels too much power, just aim higher. All he needs to think about is "how high," and that's instinct, not thinking. If the Release changes, then go back to the Pure Release Distance and re-learn it. Once his Release can be constant, no matter what his lower body is doing, he's going to start making a lot of shots, 5-10 in a row and more from anywhere in his range. The only other thing he need do, then, is vary the arch as needed for the different distances and the different amounts of UpForce he's giving his shots. ---------------------------------------------------------- Q: I'm really sorry to have to bother you some more, but games are about to start up again, and my shot has been declining rapidly. I just watched your video again, and I thought I had something figured out, but when I got down to it, I couldn't find my shot. The problem is that I almost redefine my shot every day.. A: Stop redefining it. Just find the simplicity I suggest and stay with it. This is not complicated stuff, but you have to FEEL it, observe it without judgment and let your body learn. The answer is in your experience. Since I'm not there, you have to figure it out through awareness and patience. Q: There have been a couple days I hit almost absolutely everything from anywhere around the baskets, and then I can't figure out what I used to do that. I've been trying to add more leg power and less arm, but whenever I add more power I end up going farther off rather than on more. After re-watching your video I tried to make my release go forward and up as opposed to straight up, but I was hitting airballs all over the place today. A: Check to see that your Release is relaxed and full out, a snapping motion with the hand. It can't be straight up or your shots will just go straight up (unless you add wrist action, which defeats the purpose). When it is forward at some (variable) angle, which controls distance, then you just need to direct the shot in line with the basket and vary the arch and your shots will fly true. Q: I'm not sure where my set point is supposed to be, is it supposed to be lined up with my head or to the right? (I'm a right-handed shooter).. I didn't really understand what you meant by turning the body to the left a certain amount of degrees. I've been hustling on defense and getting all the fast break points I can in scrimmages, but when it comes down to it, I know I'm going to need to hit those three point shots in the actual games... A: Watch the Fundamentals section and listen to what I say. First, you want the ball and hand to be in line with your shooting eye (right eye for right handers) and the basket. The Set Point is best if it's above and in line with your eye so you don't have to figure an angle when you shoot. A key thing is that the hand, the center of the palm, needs to be facing directly in line with the basket. When you bring the hand above the eye and have the center of the hand in line with target, the elbow will be a little out to the side. That's natural! Don't jam it in as a lot of coaches say. If you jam the elbow in, you actually tilt the hand off the target, making it more difficult to be accurate. From there you can push the arm at a high angle directly in line and you've got Accuracy. If you "square up," you'll have an elbow that's sticking out and you have to "jam" it in. That adds tension. If you rotate a bit (counterclockwise for right handers), you'll find it's relaxed and natural. You will get the feeling of being "under and behind the ball" in this position, with great alignment. Then just Let it Go! Trust yourself. You'll have the feeling of sending the ball with the Release the same distance every time. The varying UpForce and arch allow you to go "full out" every time. ---------------------------------------------------------- The video will show you how to be a great shooter ... all the time. It's about the simple, physical principles and technique for controlling the flight of a basketball. But you're going to have to "get" it. You're going to have to develop awareness of what you're doing now and what the new method is and make the transition to the new way of shooting. I can't do that for you. I can only show you what to look for and what matters relative to shooting a basketball, and give you words describing it and a visual demonstration of what it looks like. You have to actually go to the court and practice observing and feeling everything. It will help if you approach it with a sense of curiosity and, maybe even, wonder. When you do, your remarkable body/brain/nervous system will learn like crazy. Learning is joyful, and when it's something that can make you a better athlete and more successful with the game, then it's really exciting. The good news is that it's so SIMPLE anyone can get it, and results are immediate. If you're flipping that ball and wondering why it 's so hard to control distance, when you stop flipping and start to shoot from more of a pushing action of the arm with NO wrist or hand, the ball will start to fly higher and truer. It's just simple bio-mechanics: you do this and the ball does that ... every time. Read the story I just wrote in my January Newsletter about a boy from Italy who made a remarkable breakthrough on his own relative to the powering of his shot and his wrist/hand action. Here's a line directly to the Newsletter: http://www.swish22.com/Nltr_301.html. This is the kind of discovery learning I advocate. A simple suggestion to this young boy of what to do resulted months later in his own self discovery, totally unexpected. The video they ordered will now "confirm" what he learned on his own and allow the learning to go deeper. How long will it take to learn? The shot motion I teach is very simple and you'll start to get it quickly; however, learning to do it all the time and trust it under pressure will take time. It could happen instantaneously, but more typically it takes a few days to a few months. How long depends on how much practice time you get and how aware and trusting you are. Remember to keep it simple! ---------------------------------------------------------- Q: I did have one question that you may be able to help me on. How can I help my son be more confident in games? You see in practice and away from his real games (When he plays at parks and recreational games) he tends to do really well and plays with this confidence that is pouring thru. But then come Sunday he freezes, Tom honestly the kid can play, he even beats me and I rough him up during our battles and he takes it like nothing but when it comes to his league games he shuts off. These kids are smaller and not as strong as I am and when I play my son I feel the power this kid has. So what can I do to help him invert the same mentality in his league games as he has on the playground. His own friends tell him about this. A: Ask your son to tell you what it is that changes with his Confidence when he plays league games. How does he know it is down? How does it manifest in his shots. The more you can get him to describe it and quantify it the better. Then find some way to report it in the moment. That'll be difficult because you're not on the bench, but you can ask him afterward, and perhaps at half times. Don't try to analyze it or psycho-analyze it. Just let it be and accept it, but that doesn't mean it has to persist. Ask him to rate his Confidence on a scale from 1 to 10, with high Confidence being 10. Tell him what he is feeling is normal and very common, up and down Confidence, but it surely is something he doesn't want to continue. Since he doesn't want it, and it's interfering with his performance, I believe it will disappear once he confronts it. If he could report to you, say, at half time and at the end of the game, he'd have some feedback (from himself) about the monster that confronts him. It would be great if he could write down periodically during a game how much Confidence he feels. It's my contention and experience that this darkness, this negative way of being, will disappear in the light of awareness. But he needs some kind of non-judgmental feedback. Maybe this reporting could even be started practice and pickup games, where he'll report it is high. Maybe it's not as high as he thinks, once he looks at it. But it would be good practice to report to himself (or someone else) what he's noticing about it. I think this is the way to handle any kind of mental block we have. If you fight it, it just gets stronger. If you run from it, it persists. If you try reverse psychology, it just figures another tricky way to reinvent itself. But if you just acknowledge it, with neutrality, with no judgment, and find a way to measure it, it will slowly disappear. ---------------------------------------------------------- Q: Hi! I am a basketball player and a coach from Finland. I've been getting your newsletter for a while and have a few questions for you. First, when I practice shooting should I try to pay attention to the mechanisms of my shot (try putting my arm higher or keep my wrist relaxed, for example) or should I just try to concentrate on the shot and let it take care of itself, like I do in a game situation? If I shoot relaxed the shot goes in better, but can I correct the faults in my shot if I don't try to shoot in the right way?" A: There are two aspects you are asking about, Performance versus Learning. When you are playing a game where performance counts, then you don't want to be practicing awareness because it leads to change, to growth, to learning. In a game, you don't want variations and exploration going on, you just want to do your best. Here is where concentration on the goal is most powerful, and relaxation and trust in yourself to do your best is what you want. However, when you are practicing and when learning is the goal, then awareness is your great friend, and you will learn by awareness, observation of how you do things, experimentation, etc. That is the time to focus on where your arm is and how relaxed your wrist and hand are, how you follow through, for examples. Then is when you can be willing to fail in order to learn. Learning happens most, I feel, in the failures, when you make mistakes. So welcome them. And just keep paying attention. Get very aware of everything about your shot, the use of the body and leg power, when and how you release the ball, how high it flies, the spin, where your shots land (exactly), etc. etc. etc. The result will be incredible learning. But if you don't want to miss, and make performance more important than awareness, then learning is shut down. This is the way most players practice. Q: Also, should I count my shots and/ or count the ones I make? A: From time to time keep records and see if you are making improvement. But mostly during practice sessions, increase awareness without regard to "how well" you're doing. Awareness leads to growth and development. In fact I believe it's the only thing that does. If your shot is developing, then you are surely practicing awareness. ---------------------------------------------------------- As a student of shooting and the art of coaching the skill, I've thought a lot about this subject of where to look when shooting. As some of the replies have said, looking at the front rim or the back rim are not the best targets because you don't want to hit what you're looking at. The body does know how to adjust, so you can look at the front rim, for example, and still learn, pretty well, to go beyond your target to dead center. However, I find that I really shoot best when I just see "the whole thing." If I have what I call "soft focus," I connect visually and mentally with the basket in its entirety and my body gets what it needs. Along with that, I have the intention to shoot high and have the ball come down as softly as possible. High arch both allows gravity to slow the ball's flight and creates a high angle of approach (hopefully at least 45° and, more preferably, closer to 60°). With the way I coach shooting and perform it, I can look at a spot on the floor that is exactly under the basket (or even close my eyes after I have sighted on the basket) and make a fairly high percentage of shots. The key is "connecting" to where it is in space and having the intention to deliver the ball to that spot from on high. ---------------------------------------------------------- Q: I bought the video and my son and I subscribe to your newsletter and first we want to say thank you for producing such informative and quality coaching instruction. With basketball try outs a few months away Andrew has come into a shooting slump that is characterized more by highs and lows of making and missing. He will be a member of the second team off the bench if he makes the team. This means probably only a few good shooting opportunities that he will have to take advantage of. Together we have tried to develop Andrew's awareness of his shooting. I ask him many questions concerning how things felt, or why a particular shot did not go in. Mechanically he seems perfect, especially with the release point, up force and arc of the shot but they still fail to consistently fall into the basket for him. As a result we are both frustrated." A: They say frustration is the last stop on the subway before enlightenment. Don't despair! Q: Are there any exercises that you are aware of that can develop more of Andrew's awareness to the basket...his connection with the target? I know that Dan Milman has suggested tossing crumpled paper into a waste paper basket 10 feet away in order to pin point one's awareness to the center of the target. Is that something we should attempt to pursue? Again, here is a beautiful shot that just does not go in. As you have said, if you can make shots you are a person in demand on a basketball team." A: My guess is that his focus, his intention, his connection to the target, his completion of the shot need to be examined. If his form is really good but the shots just aren't dropping, then he's just not connecting mentally to the basket, in my guess. Have him tell you, on a scale of 1 to 10, how powerful his connection to the basket is during the previous shot. (That includes his intention to make the shot, his trust in himself and in the Method, how he Releases the ball and holds the follow through.) I feel if he ups that, he will probably start to make everything, as long as he's shooting early and quick, from powerful UpForce, and his Release is "full out," to the end-of-the-arm, strong, sure, with no holding back. Varying height is how you allow yourself to do that, to go "full out" every time. (Full out is about 70-75% of max. speed and force with the Release.) Ask him to rate how "full out" each Release is, for example. Having him become aware and reporting on those things is a powerful, non-judgmental way of coaching. Take a look at these things and let me know what happens. Check, of course, to make sure he's REALLY shooting with the Swish Method, not just "kind of" doing it. It's very simple, and keep it that way. This is not Rocket Science. It's simple Bio-Mechanics. You "do" this and the ball "does" that ... every time! Q: If you can be of any help I certainly would appreciate it because I have a frustrated boy at the moment. And I want him to not fear anything he does in life. I want to help him, encourage him on a path of his own awareness and ability to do things in a confident manner. A: I'm for that!!! ------------------------------------------------------------ Last month I said I would be putting up a "For Coaches" section on my site within a week or so. Excuse me for missing that deadline. It was a much bigger job than I anticipated and my time to work on it has been short. I will put it up this week and it will have some "starter" information. Slowly I will add more articles, ideas, suggestions, lesson plans and more. These will be some of the components that will eventually be "fleshed" out: · Articles on how to coach the skill
of shooting Soon: The Suggestions document will answer your questions about a number of issues in shooting, from how to coach the Fundamentals to how to address and coach ball spin, height, developing a repeatable motion, shooting off the dribble, etc. etc., plus a myriad of other ideas that relate to improved shooting. This will be a collection of my thoughts about, and answers to, questions that all of us have about shooting. It'll be a Work-in-Progress, as I get inspired to describe ways to coach the critical skill of shooting. Though it will be aimed at youth coaches who impact the younger players, it will be "universal" and apply equally to all levels of the game. I also solicit your own coaching stories of what works and doesn't work for shooting using my Method, and I'll include the best of those for all to see. When we have a Discussion Forum running, you'll have a place to write of your experiences and questions for all to see and respond to. Thanks for staying tuned. ------------------------------------------------------------ Starting in May, I will be traveling as much as possible to do Coaches' Trainings and Shooting Clinics across the country. If you would be interested in having me to your area, contact me. There are available weeks this summer and weekends in the fall. A suggested format is a Coaches' Training one evening, followed by a couple days of clinics at which the coaches can observe and assist. My wish is to leave an area with empowered kids and coaches/parents so that a "Shooting Renaissance" is started and can be sustained and developed. After a shooting clinic with me, here is what the kids will "know" about their shooting: 1) They know they CAN do it, that they
can become very fine shooters Coaches will: Please keep in touch with my Clinics
& Camps section on my website for the latest plans. Early
June in Georgia (Augusta and Atlanta) are in the final stages
of planning, with plans developing for several other major areas
(Indianapolis mid-June, the Twin Cities and northern Minnesota
latter July, and possibly Chicago and Green Bay in mid-late-August). Just a quick bit of coaching on a couple things that really matter when you go to shoot: The Setting of the ball and the Release/Follow Through. I'm getting more and more interested in the importance of the "setting" of the ball just before you go to shoot. When you watch the few great shooters out there, like we just did in the NCAA finals with Juan Dixon of Maryland, with the three sharpshooters for Indiana, Coverdale, Fife and Hornsby, and with Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi from Connecticut, they have a strong connection to target as they go to shoot, a quick Release, and a great finish. They shoot from their whole bodies. You can just "see" how their shots have a high probability of success in the way they power their shots and in their release and finish. The setting of the ball is critical in the whole process. For my coaching, just start to notice how you "set" the ball and release it. Is the ball solidly in your hand, and when you bring the ball to the Set Point (or Shooting Pocket), is the center of your hand pointing directly in line with your shooting eye and the target (whether it's above your eyes or below)? If the answers are "No," then your shooting is probably sporadic. If yes, you can probably shoot pretty well, assuming your Release and Follow Through stay connected to where you're sending the ball. Note that connecting the center of the hand with the eye and target will require that the elbow be out to the side a few inches (4-6" depending on how long your arm is). The "Elbow under the ball" instruction interferes with this plan, so make the hand more important than the elbow. Try moving the elbow directly under the ball and see what it does to the hand alignment. Where is your Set Point? Look to see where, exactly, you bring the ball before shooting. Is it above the eye or below the eye? Is it in line with the eye or off to the right or left? How high overhead do you bring it, if above the eye and head? (Note the Set Point is where you bring the ball and stop, momentarily, before shooting a jump shot. That gives you a solid base from which to shoot, which is especially important with shots off the dribble, to counteract all the chaotic movement. Set shots and free throws don't need a "Set" point, since the body is basically stable. For those shots, the ball starts lower and goes up and through the area of the Set Point without stopping.) Next watch your Release. Does the arm straighten at the same speed and force each time? Does the arm stay connected and in line with the target in the Follow Through? Are your wrist and hand relaxed, and does the hand flop forward, staying in line in the Follow Through? If yes, you are probably pretty accurate and consistent. If no, then you need some work (awareness) in those areas. You could do some of this examination at home without a ball. Pretend you have one and go through your motion. My coaching is to propel the ball with a pushing action of the arm rather than a throw or a wrist flip. See which way you shoot, and then try my way and see what happens. In order for the upper body motion to do less (and thereby become more predictable and repeatable), you have to shoot from the leg action. Shooting quickly, on the way up, does that. And, voilâ, you'll get more height shooting this way. Experiment with these ideas and see what develops. You'll start having discoveries that will "teach" you what really works. Stay in touch with my website. If you have some great discoveries, write them down and email them to me. For questions, go to my new "For Coaches" section and read some of the "Shooting Suggestions." (This will be up soon on the site.) Most of your questions will be answered there. If not, then drop me an email and I'll give you a quick answer. Cheers and great shooting! I invite you to bookmark my Website (http://www.swish22.com) so you can go there easily to catch my latest comments on shooting. You can read about my video there (including endorsements, testimonials, reviews and an Overview of the video), my coaching, and the many articles on shooting I've written. You can see video clips and archived back issues of this Newsletter and, of course, subscribe, if you're not already getting this on a regular basis. Please tell others about my site and my video. Send them the URL (see above) and let them know there's a proven method for better shooting. ------------------------------------------------------------ If you'd like to organize some shooting
clinics or camps, please call or email me. I'll be scheduling
Coaches' Trainings at each stop as much as possible, too. Stay
in touch for them. ***Important: Please note that when you "subscribe," Topica, the company that manages the free list for me, will send you a "confirmation" email and offer you two ways to "confirm." I SUGGEST YOU USE THE SECOND OPT ION! The first option is to click on a link to Topica where they will ask you open a free account with them. This is okay to do, as they have good free mailings lists, discussion groups, etc., but I think most of you just want to subscribe to the newsletter. You do that most easily by the second option, just REPLYING to the email. That's all you need to do, no need to key anything. Click on this email -- it will start the subscription process: Subscribe me. To UNSUBSCRIBE from this Newsletter, just send a blank email to the following: Unsubscribe me ------------------------------------------------------------ |