Swish Graduates
Welcome to this page for players who have taken a "Swish" clinic or camp and/or have seriously worked with the Swish videos and want a review and more inspiration. I'll be describing here the journey to great shooting that you've embarked upon. Being a "graduate" of some level of training to this point, I can mention and describe things in a language
you already understand, and I don't have to define everything as I would for a beginner.
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Here's what we went through together. Hopefully just some key words will remind you of the detail.
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION / Your job … Stay Awake!
In most of my clinics I tell participants, "Don’t believe anything I say!" (But also don't dis-believe it either!) Make it your experience and then there is no disputing it. Treat any and all coaching you get the same way. There is a lot of mis-information out there. It takes work to find the few great coaches and coaching, but when you do, there'll be no stopping you. I feel my shooting stuff is the real deal. If you watch the greatest shooters, they all shoot the way I coach it: Steve Nash, Diana Taurasi, Chris Mullin, Steph Curry, Becky Hammon, etc.
HOW SHOOT NOW?
Based on the theory that "You can't change something you can't feel," we spent a bit of time looking at how you shoot now. We looked at 7 "distinctions" (things that define the skill of shooting). Once you know by feel, vision and understanding, what you do, then a new way might appear more evident and the body can choose new things, if that is what's needed & desired. If what you are doing works, this process will deepen your ability to perform it. It takes time to change a habit, but with awareness and patience you can and will.
First three at a basket:
• Power – where does it come from, more the upper body or the whole body working together?
• Height – bottom of ball, how high above the rim at highest point?
• Spin – what kind of spin do youo get, backspin, side spin, combination, dead ball?
Last 4 distinctions in A-B circles or lines (away from a basket so there's no pull to make your shots):
• Stance – Squared Up or Open?
• Set Point – What aligned with? Eye, ear, shoulder, nose, other eye, etc., and how high is bottom of ball? (If a strong player and ball is above head, how far back does back of ball get from front of head?)
• Action of the shooting arm – full extension or short armed, perhaps fully extended but done so "softly" rather than strongly? Does arm stay straight, on target, or does it move up or down or back, left or right?
• Wrist and hand – relaxed or tight? And where does hand finish up? Aiming left or right, or straight on target?
Then Imitate partners as best you can. Note how you are beginning to "see" things you didn't before.
Then play with spins, one way, the other way, backspin, dead ball, forward spin
Exaggerate -- all for the learning
COACH DEMONSTRATES “POSSIBILITIES”
Next I introduced my “Secrets” of Great Shooting (They're not really "secrets" because our best shooters shoot this way all the time!)
• The first three: Constant Release, Shoot from the U/F, Vary arch to control distance came to me in 1989. (I demonstrated them.)
• Then “play” with them for a couple minutes.
• Then, 16 years later, the Fourth “Secret” appeared to me – Inertia!
Show it and explain it (place ball on floor, at first it's "An object at rest" and you'll need some source of energy (your foot, for example) to get it moving. Then it's "An object in motion," and the principles apply to shooting a basketball.
• Demo one or two players who have little/no Inertia. Any? How increase? Let them experiment.
• Then you were sent off to “play” with the 4th Key. Afterward, you were asked if anybody shot better than ever. You saw some hands raised, sometimes a lot of hands.
THE FUNDAMENTALS
Next we spent a little time on the "Fundamentals" of shooting, as related to the Swish way of shooting.
We looked at the Swish approach to:
• Grip
• Stance
• Set Point
• Release
• Follow Through
• Vision.
LEARNING THE SWISH METHOD
1) RELEASE – the "Pure" Swish Release (The relaxed wrist and hand make it "repeatable.")
2) UPFORCE, how to "catch" it. You were introduced to the idea of connecting your shot to the leg action, the "UpForce!" We played with Zero % (none of it), 50% (half of it), 100% (all of it). You learned that the quicker you shoot the more UpForce triggering and driving the shot. The Release is the "Delivery System," the key component, but the body/leg action drives and stabilizes everything, so learn how to catch and use it.
3) INERTIA – We discussed and played with the idea of setting the ball on line and getting it moving (accelerating) on line to generate Inertia, which can then be "caught," like with the UpForce. You started to notice how accurate you were becoming.
3) AT A WALL (Self coaching introduced)
4) REHEARSE THE PURE RELEASE Find the motion that is the simplest, same distance every time, minimal or no leg action, introduce
"Full Out" Release, ~70% of max. Can you repeat it over and over to the same distance?
5) FIND THE SWEET SPOT, THAT PERSONAL RELEASE DISTANCE FROM WHERE YOU CAN MAKE SHOT AFTER SHOT, HIGH ARCH, FULL OUT
WITH MINIMAL OR NO LEG ACTION.
6) CHECK IN / DEBRIEFING / RE-DO IT (How many in row? How many Swishes in row?).
7) A THIRD TIME AND YOU CAN START TO "PLAY" WITH IT, PLAY WITH HEIGHT FROM ONE SPOT.
FREE THROWS
First play with and discover how you shoot them now: Stance, power, setting of ball, Inertia, Release, Follow Through
Then two new distinctions:
The START – when you're ready to start the leg action to trigger and drive the shot, where is the ball? And where is the hand pointing?
The FIRST MOVE – As the leg action (UpForce) begins by going down, what do you do with the ball? Do you take it up, down, or stay neutral?
Then my recommendations: Start with the ball mid-torso with arms relaxed, ball in line with eye and basket, hand facing in line with plane of eye/basket. Then let your first move of the ball be down to create (more) Inertia to increase accuracy and give a little more power.
Learn it in stages: First re-find your Sweet Spot, then move back 1/3 of the way to the Line and work on the "Mini" Free Throw. For this you need a little leg action (UpForce), Dip the ball for some (more) Inertia, and fire off your beautiful Swish Release. When you're making more and more "dead-center" swishes and feel comfortable, move back another 1/3 and practice the "Medium" Free Throw. Add a bit more UpForce, same setting and Release and you'll start to swish these effortlessly. Then move all the way to the Line (or respective distance) and give it the full "Regular" Swish Free Throw motion. Swishes should start to be the norm for you as you know how to generate power and accuracy. You can always change the angle of the Release (the trajectory) as needed, but the shots will start to become automatic and consistent. Aim for approaching perfection with dead-center shots, not just making them any old way.
DISCOVER SWEET SPOT AGAIN (can’t do this too much)
This time, from the Sweet Spot, start adding leg power and shoot higher and higher, move around, play with height. (We're now raising the bar!)
OFF DRIBBLE
How shoot with movement. Keep is slow and small at first, working on footwork and the Swish "keys." Besides generating and catching the UpForce, key is getting the ball moving On Line in the "setting" process and then generating and catching the resulting Inertia by shooting early and quick.
Moving to your strong side (right for right-handers) is a bit more complicated than going to your weak side because of the complications of movement left & right, up & down, rotation, etc., but there's more power because you're stepping in to the shot. Going the opposite way is easier because you're already "open" and don't have to rotate, but it's less powerful, so as you move back, the more complicated motion to the strong side gets easier to do due to the power factor.
Keep everything small and slow at first, to learn it, and then extend distance and speed.
3-PT SHOTS
First just shoot and observe yourself. What do you do for this shot? Is there a pattern, always short, long, left, right? No pattern?
Then realize three things: This is the longest shot so it needs the strongest UpForce you can generate and you need to "catch" all of it by shooting quick and early. Then be aware of the generation of Inertia: dip the ball down as far as you can to get as much Inertia as you can, and catch all of it, too. Next comes, of course, the beautiful Swish Release, relaxed wrist and hand, a push to full extension, on line, etc. And finally realize you need a strong and focused Follow Through, the target being SO small from that distance.
VARY ARCH FROM ONE SPOT
A powerful exercise, a "Mastery" kind of drill, is to stand at one spot (free throw distance at first) and vary arch for each shot. Use very minimal leg action and see you have to go very flat, then add more and go higher, and more and more, higher and higher. How high can you shoot? Then do six shots, one flat, one medium high and one very high, and repeat. Then switch with your partner. [You could also do a 1-10 scale, from very flat (1) to the highest possiblel (10).]
EYES CLOSED
LOOK AT FLOOR
BANK SHOTS
WHAT WORKED/DIDN’T WORK
PLAY WITH RELEASE -- VERY VALUABLE!
GAMES (if we had time)
A) Yes-No in or not (Eyes open, then eyes closed)
B) Eyes closed, tell where ball landed
C) Yes/No -- is it going to Swish or not?
D) Look at floor (spot under basket)
E) Create 10 shots from scratch
F) Over backboard
G) Tandem shooting
H) Knock Out
REPEAT EXERCISES
Sweet Spot – Find it again. Don't assume where it is. Re-discover it!
Wall exercise -- what more can you learn?
MASTERY PRACTICE (if we had time)
Direction, distance
JUST SHOOT – Everybody just shoot for ~5 minutes from different angles, different distances, enjoying your new shooting ability.
FREE TIME JUST TO SHOOT!
START OF PERSONAL ATTENTION
FINAL A-B EXERCISE
A-B Circles -- experience all the different ways to shoot
If time, Opposite Hand at a basket -- do whole progression
FREE TIME – FINAL SHOOT-AROUND TO ME (Observe what I see and how I coach it)
WRAP UP
It's in your court now. You have to learn to coach yourself. You know what's important and how to get there. A wonderful tooll now is my "Trouble Shooting" document: http://www.swish22.com/assets/TroubleShooting.pdf Download and print it as a guide to take to the court.
What you've experienced so far:
What's to remember:
Distinctions, the "Things that Matter!"
How to practice:
Attack the Defense!
If you're serious about this... keep in touch
