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THE SHOOTING NEWSLETTER - SPTEMBER 2003
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By Tom Nordland, Shooting Coach
Volume 5, Issue Number 9, SEPTEMBER 2003
Editor: Tom Nordland
To E-mail Tom
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ATTENTION: You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you'd like to remove yourself from this mailing list, please see the instructions at the end of this newsletter. Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy.

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Welcome from the Coach
2. Purpose of this Newsletter
3. Teaching the "Right" Way (Your Way) or Teaching Awareness?
4. Some General Awareness Exercises for a Team
5. Some Kids Are More Aware Than Others / Jump-starting Awareness
6. Teaching Players to Coach Themselves
7. Comment on Shooting at Nike All-American Camp
8. Some Recent Testimonials
9. KIDS' KORNER
10. If You're a Coach...
11. Shooting Clinics / Private Coaching
12. Please Bookmark this Website
13. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe
14. Contact Information


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1. Welcome from the Coach
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Welcome to my free Monthly Basketball Shooting Newsletter. Each month I write about the skill of shooting in the game today and how it can be more effectively learned and coached. If you like what I'm saying, please tell others about it and suggest they subscribe, too. Remember: Great Shooting CAN be taught!

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2. Purpose of this Newsletter
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This newsletter is a vehicle for communicating what I know about shooting and for a conversation on how shooting can be improved. 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 Nordland

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3. Teaching the "Right" Way (your way) or Teaching Awareness?
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On a recent swing on the East Coast doing clinics, I noted (again) the difference between two ways of teaching (or coaching): teaching a specific way to do things and leading a student into discovering her or his own way to perform an action.

From my experience, most of the teaching I've received in my life was the former, someone telling me how to do something and correcting me if I didn't do it "right." With that way of teaching, there is one way to do something and the coach or teacher's job is to get you to do it.

One of my mentors told a story about this. He asked a group of kids the difference between a "teacher" and a "coach." A boy of about 12 or 13 raised his hand and said, "A teacher is someone who knows stuff and tries to get you to do it, and a coach is someone who knows what you want and helps you to get it!"

Isn't that a great way to put it? In the first way, it's like you're being told and prodded to perform an action the way someone else does it, and in the second way, you're lead to discovering your own particular way to do it (guided by the teacher/coach). The latter is much more powerful.

A masterful teacher/coach knows the essence of what is being taught and thus "knows" the actions or sequence of actions that will lead to extraordinary development.

AN EXAMPLE

In a clinic in Allentown, PA, I started it out, as I always do, with about 20 minutes of the students seeing and feeling how they currently shoot. On this day, however, I had the idea to do something more after they had looked at 6-7 different aspects of their current shooting techniques. After we talked about what they had noticed in their arch, spin, where power comes from, stance, Set Point, and a couple of other areas, I asked them to go back to their baskets and follow my instructions as a group.

I would then call out an area of focus, like stance, and ask them to shoot the opposite way to how they found they had been shooting. Whatever their stances were, open or square, I asked them to do the opposite and observe what happens, how it felt. Then I'd ask them to note where their power came from (lower body or upper body most noticeably, for example) and then shoot the other way. For height, if their shots tended to be low, shoot high. If high, shoot low. If their shots had sidespin, see if they could shoot with just backspin; if backspin primarily, could they alter that and shoot with sidespin? If their Set Points were low, raise them; if high, lower them. If they shot with their Set Point in line with their shoulder or ear, see if they could shoot in line with the shooting eye or vice versa. If their shooting arm wandered all over the place when they shot, could they keep it stable; if it was stable, shoot with a wandering arm. If their wrist and hand were tense during and after the shot, could they relax them more as they shot, and vice versa.

What happened was amazing! Shots started going in more. Shots started to get higher. A number of the players said they shot better than they ever have. It was both a lot of fun and a great learning experience.

Without me even telling them how I suggest they shoot, some of them started to evolve a stroke closer to what I advocate. As an example, one girl was very surprised that just by opening her stance she started to make more shots.

It showed me, again, just how powerful "awareness" is. My mentors have shown me over and over how "Awareness is Developmental." And, as another of my mentors added, in a physical arena "Awareness is the ONLY thing that's developmental!"

Of course, when I guided the students more specifically to the things that matter, their development got even greater, but I'm sure that if they were to just keep on being more and more aware of what they do and how they do it, their natural instinctual learning ability would have taught them most (if not all) of what I had learned on my own so long ago.

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4. Some General Awareness Exercises for a Team
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In line with what I said in the section above, I thought to spell out for you a set of group awareness exercises you could give to your team (or for yourself) and then sit back and watch the fireworks (of learning) happen. You'll see some crazy stuff, of course, but you'll also see examples of amazing learning. Keep it free form, without judgment of the results and without attempting to make any specific changes to the strokes.

It's my contention that if you just guide your players into awareness of how they do things, they'll start to experiment and learn, all on their own. Of course, if you know the Swish Method and can follow this exercise with specific instruction, the learning can be even deeper, but just these exercises can make a difference.

I think if you did this from time to time, you'd see on-going learning as they continue to play and experiment. Once the "play time" is over, then you'll see if any learning has taken hold. With some it will be remarkable, with others, less, but all will learn something. The more curious and creative ones could have tremendous breakthroughs, even if they are not coached to any specific way to shoot.

STANCE
o Ask them to notice if they're squared up or open when then go to shoot.
o Then suggest they do the opposite and shoot and see which stance feels the best, feels most natural and connected to the target. Does one stance have more or less tension in the area of the Set Point and Release?

WHERE POWER COMES FROM
o Ask them to notice if the power for their shots comes more from the upper body (wrist flipping, throwing, slinging, etc.) or more from the whole body, with leg power and upper body working together. If shooting from upper body, they'll notice an "extra" amount of force added. If it's flowing and smooth, then probably the entire body is involved.
o Then ask them to power the shot in the opposite manner. If upper body at first, then shoot with the whole body, however they figure that to be, and vice versa.

WHEN IN THE JUMP ARE THEY SHOOTING?
o Notice when they shoot the ball. Is it at the top of the jump? Is it with some hesitation? Is it right away, a quick Release? It might even be on the way down.
o Then change it: Shoot later if you shoot early, shoot early if you shoot late. Experiment with different timings. Ask them to notice any differences in power, height and effort.

HEIGHT OF THEIR SHOTS
o Ask them to notice how high their shots get above the rim (the bottom of the ball) at the highest point.
o Then ask them to do the opposite: if their shots were flat, shoot higher, to medium high and even super high, if they can. If high, shoot lower. Observe how they do that and how it feels.

SPIN
o Ask them to observe the spin they create. Is it pure backspin or is there side spin or a combination of back-and-side spin? Maybe it's a dead ball. If back spin, is it slow, medium or fast?
o Then ask them to completely alter the spin and see how that's accomplished.

SET POINT
o Ask them to identify where they "set" the ball prior to the Release. How high is it (the bottom of the ball)? Is the center of the ball aligned with the nose or the shooting eye or the ear or shoulder or even the other ear? If they take the ball overhead, how far back does the back of the ball go?
o Then change it: If low, shoot from a higher Set Point. If high, lower it. If in line with the eye, try it in line with ear or shoulder or nose. If it's above the eyes with the back of the ball half way back or all the way back overhead, try it more forward. If more forward, try moving it back and see what happens.

HOW DO THEY RELEASE THE BALL?
o Is their release motion a throw or a flip or a push? What direction is it, aimed at the basket or aimed above it?
o Then change the release action: If a flip, make it a throw and a push. If a throw, try flipping and then try pushing, etc. If aimed at the basket, what happens if they aim above the basket, and vice versa?

RELEASE ARM & FOLLOW THROUGH
o When they shoot, what does the release arm do? Does the elbow lock? Is the arm straightened in line with the target and then move up or down or right or left afterward, or does it stay straight in line? Do they pull it back? Is it a "short arm" motion?
o Change whatever it is, try different ways of releasing and following through.

WRIST AND HAND --- RELAXED OR TIGHT?
o In the Follow Through, are the wrist and hand tight or relaxed, and in what direction does the hand end up pointing?
o Change it: If tight, try relaxing wrist and hand. If loose, tighten these muscles and see how it feels and what happens to the shot.


If awareness is developmental, as I contend, then the above awareness exercises will start some powerful learning in the kids who do it sincerely. You, as the coach, can just set up the exercises and watch. After each exercise, have a powwow and ask what happened. When the players see and feel development in their shots, they'll want to continue to experiment like this. This starts them in a strong level of self-coaching and shooting performance will start to rise. If you can then coach them in the distinctions that truly make a difference (the Swish Method), even more amazing progress can be achieved.


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5. Some Kids Are More Aware Than Others /
Jump-starting Awareness
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I noticed on my last trip that some of the kids I coached were very aware of their bodies and some were not. I expected this, of course. It's always a mixed bag. Kids, as well as adults, learn things at different rates and our levels of awareness differ. Sometimes when I asked a player to bring the ball up to the Set Point keeping it in line with the shooting eye throughout the setting motion, some could do it easily and some couldn't.

It helped to have them exaggerate, feel other possibilities.

For those who had a harder time being aware of things, I found it helped to have them exaggerate their motions in order to feel where they wanted them to be. For example, if I asked a player to bring the ball up in line with the eye and she or he kept bringing it up in line with the ear, if I would then ask that it be brought up in line with the shoulder and then the other ear and in other ways, THEN she or he could more easily bring it up wherever I asked. It's like the awareness had to be jump-started for some kids. And once they started to be more aware in one area, their awareness of other areas also got easier and more accurate.

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6. Teaching Players to Coach Themselves
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One of the most important things I do as a coach is to teach my students how to coach themselves. This is a critical factor, since I cannot be with them all the time. Even if you are their coach, you can't be with them all the times when they play and practice, so if you can empower them to be their own coach to some level, it will reap great rewards.

I teach and coach two things, basically:
(1) A technique of great shooting, and
(2) How we learn and how we can coach (ourselves and others)

If you have a great technique to impart to someone but don't know how best to coach it, results may be spotty. And if you're a great coach but don't know the key distinctions of a skill like shooting, then the results will also probably vary a lot. When you have both, then the students can soar and you can soar as their coach.

SATISFACTION WITHOUT MUCH EGO
When I witness my instruction working well and learning taking off, I feel a great satisfaction but little ego gratification. I know it's not me or my cool words that made the change. It was the student. The experience was the teacher. My part was to help set up the structure and the intention (goal) and then provide the words, demonstrations and coaching to help them bring about a learning miracle. If I try to take credit for it ("I'm a great coach," "I really know how to coach shooting," "Boy, I said it just right that time," etc.), I know I'm setting myself up for failure the next time. If I think I DID IT, then next time I'll try to "do" it again, try to repeat the great coaching or whatever it was, and mess it up.

GRATITUDE IS A NEAT PLACE TO BE
My intention is to be in a state of gratitude for what I've learned about coaching and appreciate the remarkable learning and development that I can be a part of. Then I have a chance to repeat it. Remember that the next coaching situation will be a totally different challenge and opportunity. No two situations are the same, even with the same player. How present I am in each situation and how I react to it is the key. If I'm "in the moment" with what's happening, then I'll be most able to recognize it, adapt to it, and be an effective coach. If I'm in my "own" head, thinking and wanting to bring about change in them, rather than into "their" experience, I'll almost always interfere with what's possible.

Learning and Coaching are their own rewards.

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7. Comment on Shooting at Nike All-American Camp
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A shooting coach I met from the Philadelphia area referred me to an amazing comment in the current (November) issue of "Slam" magazine about the shooting at the Nike All-American Camp this summer in Indianapolis. In a five page spread by DeMarco Williams on the players who attended the camp, which included descriptions and photos of some of the thunderous dunks that were happening everywhere, these sentences appeared on page 119:

"What proved shocking was the lack of quality shooting. In fact, over the camp's six days, there were probably a total of five jump shots drained -- (almost) no joke."

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8. Some Recent Testimonials
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"Tom: Two years ago I took over a program that was horrible. I had been out of coaching for 12 years. For two years I have tried to get our players to develop good shooting technique, but no matter what I tried we were a horrible shooting team from both the FT line and field. This spring I began reading your newsletters, read the testimonies of players, coaches and parents who have used the SWISH method. I knew I had to do something to get things turned around. I ordered your video. I had to watch it at least two times before I became a "semi" believer. I shared it with my coaching staff and a couple of parents. We all agreed it was something we should pursue.

"We set up a weekly shooting session that was run by a volunteer parent. I can't begin to tell you how much improvement we have seen in many of our players in just a short period of time. Our players are beginning to understand how to use the UpForce to power their shots and to rely less on arm strength. Players are "aiming high" and we are seeing more shots go in because of the arch they are using on their shots.

"I held mini camps for players entering grades 1-9. Each camp was 3-hours long. The first two days were used (just) to learn and work with the SWISH method of shooting. All players made progress, and many of the JH players made tremendous progress. The third day of the camp was for individual offensive skills. You can bet that we reinforced the SWISH method as the girls went through the shooting drills using their offensive moves."

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"I want to share one particular case from our mini camp with you. On the second day as we started camp, I showed the group a portion of your SWISH video. It is the part where the little left handed girl is shooting. We broke down her technique. It was a great visual. We also watched the next two male players shoot and studied their high release points. This helped our players to see someone their own age, or younger, successfully use the SWISH method.

"About midway through our second day of camp we were working on short bank shots just above the block. Again emphasizing the SWISH method. We had a little girl who will be a second grader next year make four shots in a row and was displaying great SWISH technique. I stopped the camp and had this little girl show everyone (about 35 players) how she was being successful using the SWISH method. Not only did all the campers get a kick out of watching this little girl have success, but the confidence and positive self gratification in the little girl's face was glowing. It gets better, this same little girl the day before could not get the ball to a 10 foot basket. We did not have adjustable rims so we taped off squares on the wall at 8 1/2 feet for the younger players to shoot at. By the end of the second day, not one younger player needed to shoot at the square on the wall. Each was having enough success of getting the ball to the basket they refused to use the square.

"I have rambled on long enough. Just wanted to say thanks. I know we are in the early stages of developing good shooting for the entire program, but if we continue to make as much progress as we have already made, no telling how well we will shoot the ball come season time."

R. Lyttle
Varsity Girls Basketball Coach
Hamilton, OH

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(This Testimonial was added to last month's Newsletter after I sent it out to the subscribers.)

NOTE: Coach Nagano was shipped the video August 13th. He watched the video and worked with it and presented it to his team Aug. 23rd, less than 10 days after getting the video. Here is what he had to say:

"Tom, I presented your system at practice for the first time this Saturday to 13-14 year old girls. I thought it went well, but the real result came on this email from one of the parents. Your system made practice organized and coherent so that I was able to get this fine report."

-- D. Nagano, Los Angeles

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To Coach Nagano:

"Oh.My.Gosh.

"Bethany just spent about an hour outside with Paul shooting baskets. At dinner, I started to tell Paul about the scrimmage and drills you had them do yesterday at practice.

"Bethany elaborated, and it was amazingly detailed, which impressed me so much ­ she was
really listening! I quietly rushed outside to move my car out of the driveway, then casually suggested the two of them go shoot some baskets.

"Oh.My.Gosh.

"I TRIED not to overreact. First of all, she was practicing shooting (while occasionally telling us something you had told her). But also, she was shooting with one hand!

"She was making what seemed like 90% of her shots and was following through!

"I commented on it (again, as casually as I could), with something like 'Hey, when did THIS
happen?' And she said she just learned this one handed shot with follow through yesterday! She seemed very pleased with what was happening.

"Do you KNOW how many people have tried to teach her this shot?

"She shot from different points on a semicircle around the basket and repeated and repeated. I know you said you thought she was ready to make a leap, but...

"Oh.My.Gosh! Can it be starting already? Thanks, Coach."

-- Shirley

"Thank you, Tom. I will continue to build your system at my next practice!"

-- D. Nagano

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9. KIDS' KORNER
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WHAT TO LOOK FOR WHEN WATCHING BASKETBALL
(This is a reprint from March 2000, slightly revised.)

Most people, when watching a player shoot a basketball in person or on TV, follow the flight of the ball to see what happens. They want to see the result of the shot.

If you're interested in learning about shooting and how different players shoot, may I suggest a different focus: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE SHOOTER, all the way through the Follow Through! Resist the temptation to follow the ball. Here's what to look for:

Watch each player's motion!
o See if you can tell, just by observing the Release and Follow Through, if the shot is going to go in. Predict "Yes" or "No" with each shot. You'll know by the later reactions whether the shot went in or not, and many of the better "makes" will make it to a highlight playback. Most shots miss anyway, so why focus on the ball?

Observe when, in the shot motion, the player releases the ball!
o Is it on the way up, half way up, or is it at the top of the jumping or free throw/set shot motion?

Observe the height of the shots!
o Are they flat, medium high or high? It may be a little difficult to see this on TV, but do the best you can. You'll find you CAN see differences. If you're there in person, watch the warmups and see how many shooters put up shots that rise as high as or higher than the backboard. I think you'll notice that few of them do.

Observe the Release and Follow Through carefully!
o Is the Release a throwing or slinging action, or is it an upward "pushing" action?
o Can you tell if the player is "wristing" the shot, flipping the wrist?
o Does the player extend his arm fully when shooting?
o Does the shooting hand stay pointed at the basket during the Follow Through, or does it jerk to the side or up or down or pull back?
o Is the shooting hand relaxed, or is it tense? (You can tell the wrist and hand are totally relaxed if the hand bounces or not.)
o Can you see a "flopping" or "bouncing" motion with the hand, meaning a relaxed wrist?
o Does the player demonstrate confidence? ... or is the motion full of doubt or fear? This is especially noticeable with free throws when viewed from the front. For example, you may see the player look up to watch the flight of the ball, a certain sign of doubt.

For Free Throws, observe the following:
o Is the player relaxed?
o Does she or he go through an elaborate pre-shot routine, or is it quite simple?
o Does the player crouch down awkwardly before the shot, or stand comfortably upright and start the shot from there?
o Is the shot powered from body/leg action, or does the body stop and just the arm & hand do the shooting?
o Is the overall shot energy more horizontal or vertical?
o Can you see that the motion is more or less repeatable, a sure thing? ... or it is a guess?

These are some of the clues as to whether the shooter is a great shooter or not. The better shooters in my view ...
(1) shoot on the way up, for all but close-in shots,
(2) have medium high to high arch, and consistent, medium backspin
(3) release the ball with a repeatable pushing action, rather than a throw or wrist flip,
(4) hold the Follow Through and have a relaxed wrist and a hand that bounces, hanging down pointed in line with the target

When you see a "flopping" motion with the better shooters, it means they're not doing anything with the wrist and hand to power or guide the ball. And you can see in the Follow Through that they are very "connected" to the basket throughout the motion.

See if you can observe these things in other players, and you'll learn a lot. And then start to watch yourself shoot.

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10. If You're a Coach...
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If you'd like to start on the process of learning how to coach shooting with my Method, please join my Coaches' Mailing List. The list is a quick and easy way for me to communicate to all the coaches at once. As I develop new things and post new articles, coaching ideas, etc., I use this vehicle to let you know. Also, visit and bookmark my "For Coaches" page, as it will have more and more coaching ideas, lesson plans, articles, etc. There's a "Homework" document that can get you started on this path very quickly.

To join the List, go to this webpage on my site ("For Coaches" page), scroll down to the "Sign up" section and click "Join List." You'll be prompted as to what to do. Your email address will not be sold or given to anyone else, and you can easily un-subscribe yourself on that same page.

If you're having some wonderful results either from working with the Swish video or just from reading my coaching suggestions, lesson plans, etc., please write them up for me to post on the coaches' page for others to see. We can all learn from each other's experiences and insights.

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11. Shooting Clinics / Private Coaching
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For the latest news about Clinics, Camps and Coaches' Trainings across the country, go to the "Clinics" page. I'll be posting the details as soon as they're finalized. In the meantime you can email me if you're interested in attending any of these clinics and camps.

Clinics and camps being planned for this fall:

Oct. 17-19
IDAHO

Boise, ID -- Friday thru Sunday, Oct. 17-19
......A Coaches' Training plus two half-day clinics and one all-day camp

Oct. 24-28
MINNESOTA

Eden Prairie, MN -- Friday & Sunday, Oct. 24 & 26
......A Coaches' Training on Friday night plus two half-day clinics on Sunday
Elk River, MN -- Saturday, Oct. 25
......Two half-day clinics
White Bear Lake, MN -- Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 27-28
......Four half-day clinics

Nov. 8
IOWA


IOWA BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOC. CLINIC

I'll be speaking and demonstrating at the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association Clinic in Des Moines, IA, on Saturday, Nov. 8th, at 1:30PM.

Nov. 22-23
MISSOURI

St. Louis -- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23
......A Coaches' Training Saturday morning
......A 7-hour, two-day Camp on Saturday and Sunday afternoons
......A half-day Clinic on Sunday morning

Other possibilities for the fall:
Cincinnati
Indianapolis

If you'd like to organize some shooting clinics or camps, please email me (Tom@swish22.com). I'll be scheduling Coaches' Trainings at each stop as much as possible, too.


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12. Please Bookmark this Website
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I invite you to bookmark my Website (http://www.swish22.com) so you can go there easily to catch my latest news and 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 this newsletter, my site, and my video. Forward the newsletter to them and suggest they read it and the many archived issues. Send them the URL (http://www.swish22.com) and let them know there's a proven method for powerful shooting.

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13. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe
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To SUBSCRIBE to this Newsletter, click on the link below.

***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 OPTION!

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. Remember to expect the Confirmation email.

To UNSUBSCRIBE from this Newsletter, just send a blank email to the following:
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14. Contact Information
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Tom Nordland, Shooting Coach
325 Crows Nest Drive
Boulder Creek, CA 95006
Website: http://www.swish22.com
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Tel: 888/SWISH-22 (888/794-7422)
or 831/338-4647
Fax: Call above #'s to get fax # and to get fax turned on.
To E-mail Tom
Creator of the video "Swish - A Guide to Great Basketball Shooting"
For a Renaissance in Shooting!
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Special thanks to E-ZineZ.com for helping format this Newsletter.
(http://www.e-zinez.com)

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(c) Copyright 2003 Tom Nordland
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