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and respect your privacy. 1. Welcome from the Coach I've become more aware recently of how I hold and set the ball and I want to pass on some ideas to you and invite you to check them out with your own shot (and/or those of your players, if you're a coach). PURPOSE OF THE OFF HAND* (Note that the "Shooting Pocket" and "Set Point" are the same thing.) POSITION OF OFF HAND There are different theories, I'm sure, as to why the grip needs to be on the side. One theory I've heard is that it gives a stronger grip, another says that grip is closest to a chest pass grip and enables quicker change to move into a shooting grip. In looking at some clips of great shooters I've got, I see both ways of gripping the ball. I don't know which is the "better" grip. I just ask that you examine your own grip (and your players' grips) and play with them to make sure you have the most effective grip for you. The under-the-ball grip has one advantage I can see: As I lift the ball to the Set Point, my off hand, the left, does ALL of the lifting. Being under the ball it can do that, and the shooting hand, behind behind the ball, cannot help or interfere. When I reach my Set Point, then the shooting hand takes over and does the Release, while the Off hand falls away. The advantage I see is that there's no need for the shooting hand to adjust its ball position to shoot. It can be on line with the target the entire time and simple "take over" when the ball gets to the Set Position. See if the on-the-side position has that same advantage. Since both hands are needed to bring the ball up, there has to be pressure from both hands holding the ball. When the shooting hand takes over, there would have to be a disconnecting of the Off hand and a re-adjustment, maybe just ever so slight, of the Shooting hand taking over. It's probably not a problem and maybe both ways work the same. I'd be interested in your exploration of this to see if the side grip approach causes any adjustment before shooting. THE SETTING STARTS THE ALIGNMENT As I bring the ball up from the Triple Threat position, it gets in line with my eye and the basket very early, and I discovered this is a key to control of direction. As the ball leaves the general Triple Threat position, it can be on line, if you choose it so. However, if your setting is off line until later in the setting or until the very last part (as it approaches the Set Point), you will minimize this powerful connection to the basket. Observe how you (and your players) set the ball and you'll see another reason why some are accurate and others are not. I've heard of some coaching that advocates receiving the ball in the Set Position, or at least very high, so there is less chance of it being knocked away and you can shoot quicker. Though this can work, I think it could be self-defeating. A high starting point eliminates the longer on-line setting I mentioned above. High setting seems more difficult to get the ball on line to me. Getting the shot off quickly isn't an advantage if you miss most of your shots. Try it both ways and see what makes sense to you. ONE LAST THING: SET POINT IS JUST A CHANGE
OF DIRECTION But I suggest for most shots that you intend to shoot early and quick (without being rushed), so you can catch all of the leg drive energy, what I call UpForce. In so doing the Set Point is just that Change of Direction, thus eliminating one more possible variable, the stop and start when you freeze the ball there for an instant. So see how you hold the ball, how you bring it to the Set Point, and how you release it. The awareness you develop will help you with however you do things. Awareness always "cures." *Thanks to Lindell Singleton, head girls
coach at Shady Grove Christian Academy in Grand Prairie, Texas,
for the "Purpose" quote. Check out the wonderful article written about me and my coaching that appeared Oct. 23, 2003 in the San Francisco Chronicle and some other papers: "Jedi of the jumper could teach LeBron" Scott Ostler is one of the top sports journalists in the country. I knew of him when he wrote for the L.A. Times 20 years ago. He came to a Coaches Training I had near San Francisco in October and I didn't know he was there. He loved the training and then loved the video and must have gotten the idea, then, for a story. He called me for a 30-40 minute interview and wrote this great piece. As you can see, he calls me the "Jedi of the Jumper!" It's nice alliteration, but I think it's more correct to call me the ancient, wrinkled guy, Yoda. To have some more fun with it, since I'm from Minneapolis, then maybe it makes sense to call me "The Yoda from Minnesoda!"
I just re-read "The Inner Game of Tennis." It's not a book about tennis. It's about learning and concentration and awareness ... it's a book about life! I first read it in 1975, and it was the beginning of a transformation for me. Two years later, at age 38, I actually up and moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles to be near the author, Tim Gallwey. I was unmarried and had no great ties to Minneapolis other than my family and a few friends. I felt the pull and I followed it. It was both a journey of the heart and the start of a career change. Tim's life and discoveries were founded in meditation where he could see how powerful and unstoppable his mind was. Getting into meditation, at least a little, started to open up my heart in a wonderful way. I also could see the possibility of coaching sports with this approach. I had been in the computer business for 12 years and, not having kids, hadn't gotten into sports that way. But something inside me wanted to get back to sports and, possibly, coaching. I started by teaching tennis with Tim and, later, golf, and finally had my basketball shooting discoveries. The Inner Game books Tim has written are based on the idea that the conscious mind (the part we call "ego") interferes with the learning and performance of the rest of the package: the body, brain and nervous system. He calls the first entity he noticed, simply ... "Self 1," and the latter .. "Self 2." In his meditation, and then in his tennis coaching and daily life, he started to see that the relationship between these two "selves" is critical in how we live our lives. Too often it's a dysfunctional relationship: Self 1 is often a collection of thoughts, concepts, ideas, rights, wrong, doubts and fears, etc. we have about ourselves and it then tries to run Self 2. You might say it's a tape of all the instructions we've ever been given ... by parents, in school, in church, etc. Fears and doubts are the most powerful. To use a tennis analogy, Self 1 might see a ball coming to your backhand side and think, "You have a terrible backhand." This thought leads to "trying" real hard (ineffectively) to hit the backhand, with tension, fear, worry, rushing, etc., thus interfering with what the body could have done with it, and then, afterward, criticizing the performance: "That was terrible! What's wrong with you (me)?" It's something that happens with all of us human beings all the time, be it a sport like shooting a basketball, public speaking, playing an musical instrument, dancing, writing, whatever. Tim's book became a best seller, the largest selling sports book of all time in those years, and it wasn't just read by sports people. It became, I heard, required reading in Mechanical Engineering courses, Art and Drama courses, many college courses, etc. It was about the human condition, how we interfere with our own performance. As Tim put it, we don't see a cat leap to catch a bird and miss and then lay there on the ground, pounding its paws into the ground, muttering something to itself ("Dumb cat, why can't you time it right?"). But we humans do that to ourselves all the time. We say something wrong or do something not quite right and then curse ourselves or mope for hours about how ineffective or stupid we are. The self-conversation is all too familiar. It can even lead to this progression of worthlessness: I hit a bad backhand, therefore This is how Self 1 remains in control, but if you know how to play the game, the "Inner Game," you can turn this around. Once you realize that this conversation is happening, that you are NOT the Self 1 (Tim has described Self 1 as the "unnecessary part* of our conscious mind -- the interference factor"), then you have a chance to get out of this terribly defeating cycle. Identification of ourselves with our thoughts, our performances, our self image, etc., is very common. But when you can disassociate yourself from that trap, then you realize you are not those limitations. Rather you are an unlimited being in many ways. The conversation can, then, still go on (and it appears that it always will), but it doesn't run your life. Then you're what's known as "Free!" This great book explains HOW TO PLAY AND WIN THE INNER GAME while you play any Outer Game. It's in paperback and you can get it at any library or bookstore. * The Unnecessary part: One of the things
Self 1 does is to doubt our true selves, the Self 2 ... constantly.
Often in the middle of a performance situation, it can come up
with doubts or fears that make things worse. It's this action
that Tim calls unnecessary, pure interference. There is "real"
fear and there is "unreal" fear. If you were to walk
a narrow plank over a 50 foot gorge with alligators at the bottom,
then the fear you feel is real. It's necessary and valid. That
would be the fear that's the natural part of Self 2. There IS
a real possibility of being hurt. But, we don't need the Self
1 fear we have when we go to the free throw line. That kind of
fear (fear of failure) serves no purpose and, in fact, makes
the shot more difficult. In the realm of golf, we don't need
the fear that comes up of missing a 4 foot putt. It just makes
it tougher. When I was in Chicago this summer I shot some hoops outside at a hoop near a coach's garage, and he had a basketball return device called the "Back Atcha" by Huffy Sports Accessories. It is amazing and inexpensive. I just got one at a discount store for $10. It hooks quickly at the back of the rim or the support structure and hangs down behind the net. You'll need to stand on a chair or step ladder to hook it up, unless you're a seven footer with long arms. When balls come through the rim, they're deflected back in the direction they came from, generally, and always in a 60-90 degree arc. It interferes with the "swish" effect to some degree, so you won't want to use it all the time, but when you're looking for lots of repetitions, it's a great tool. It's about 2 1/2 feet long and looks like a big, crude infinity symbol with hooks at the end. It's flexible mental coated with rubber. With the way I shoot and shooting in close, my shots usually spin back to me, slowly, and I get a lot of practice in a short time, but with this device I got probably three times the practice I would usually get. And when shooting from further out when accuracy isn't as great (but you're still able to make them), I'd guess you'd get even more shots in the same time. I don't recommend shooting devices and
apparatus in general, but this one's a keeper. If you've been coaching with my Method
and have some kids with great results, what we can call "pure"
shooters, please consider making a video tape of their shots
and sending them to me. Things to look for are: I will be looking for ways to display great shooters on my Website and in other mediums that epitomize my Method and I'd love to get yours. My payback to you for the effort will be some feedback as to what I see, perhaps some ways to improve the stroke, if possible. Be sure to include your email address, name of the shooter, phone #, etc. If you have a video of a shooter like this,
please email me beforehand and I'll send you a "Release
Form" to be signed, which permits me to use the clip(s)
in other forms without compensation. I might put them on a DVD,
for example, along with other great strokes. It would be a great
teaching tool to see a variety of pure strokes in one medium
like that. Thanks. (I've been wondering for a few months if I should post this interview for my basketball readers. I read it again today and decided Yes! It's about life! Basketball playing and coaching is about life. How we learn and how we perform affect how we live, what value we get from our time on this planet in these bodies. This wonderful human being and good friend, Fred Shoemaker, is a constant inspiration to me. When he uses the word golf, substitute the word "basketball." If you love golf, read Fred's remarkable book, "Extraordinary Golf." If a 3-day golf school in California suites you, contact me. -- Tom) From "The Monterey (Calif.) Herald" "Fred Shoemaker: Teaching life through golf" If there's one thing to learn from world-renowned golf coach Fred Shoemaker, it's this: the body is a genius and is only disabled by the mind. He demonstrates: We go into his carpeted Carmel Valley garage, where he extracts a golf ball from a pile and tosses it to me. I snatch at it nervously. Then he says to tell him whether the ball is spinning toward or away from him. In doing so, I turn my focus to the spinning, not the catching, and the natural rhythm of my body takes over. Amazing. "Our bodies have gone through 2 million years of evolution," he says. "They're not dumb." The 50-year-old golf guru has taught body wisdom to golfers on five continents. In fact, he sniffles from a cold he just caught in South Africa where he and his manager wife, Johanne, played golf on vacation. He picks up a golf club, casually twirls it, and swings -- as if it's an extension of his body; an old, easy friend. Yet, he has no easy prescription for playing good golf. "There's a lot of ba-da-boom about people dropping their handicaps and making holes in one, but that's not what's really important in the long run," he says. "The purpose of golf is not to be good at it. Rarely does anyone look at what being good at golf will get you. It won't help your relationships or bank account, unless you're a professional." Q: Then what is golf about? A: The big question is: what can you learn while learning to play golf? Wise, intelligent people are hitting a piece of rubber and chasing it around a big park. That's golf. Most golf is about failure. Even at the professional level, the ball usually goes where they don't want it. I still mis-hit about 85 percent of shots. The thing to ask yourself is, "In the midst of this failing, can I have grace?" If you watch golfers, they're mostly upset. Q: Devil's advocate: Golfers are just a bunch of beer-bellied, cigar-munching, lazy, male chauvinists. A: We're not lazy. (laughs) No, I'm kidding. Right now golf is 26 percent women and huge numbers of people are taking it up. One thing I'd like to change is the perception that it's a rich Republican sport. Q: So what has golf taught you? A: Not to take myself so seriously. To trust and let go. Q: Why do you use workshops to coach businesses? A: CEOs learn about teamwork, coping, handling failure. Golf is a sport played by more people in executive positions than any other sport. Imagine if they used golf as a training tool and learning ground, rather than golf being seen just for performance. You walk off a golf course and people ask, "How'd you do? Score?" We're asking, "What did you learn? What insight did you have?" Games were invented to teach about something that we consider more important than the game. Q: On the cover of your book, "Extraordinary Golf: the Art of the Possible," Michael Murphy, author of "Golf in the Kingdom," says he's never met a better teacher of golf's inner game. What makes you so good? A: I'm right in the middle of it with everybody else. I'm as fascinated by my own learning process as I am with my students'. If anyone assumes I've got it all handled, that's not the right assumption. In our golf school, we create an environment without judgment, where amazing things can take place. Tim Gallwey and Michael Murphy were my teachers. They helped me see that human beings are really geniuses and it's about time we speak to them like that. You don't fix or repair them. In Latin, educate means "to let out," to let their natural ability come out... Golf swings are as unique as fingerprints. Everybody's got to discover their own. One of the greatest causes of suffering is people thinking they should be different from what they are. Q: Was it realistic for "Bagger Vance"
to listen to the grass and for Kevin Costner to listen to Rene
Russo in "Tin Cup"? Q: How does the "sweet spot" relate to life? A: We've all hit the center of the ball; when it feels effortless, like you weren't thinking a lot or doing a lot. It's times in your life when time disappears and you disappear. They are the moments of the most joy and highest learning. But that's always scary to the mind. It wants to control and remember. The capacity to be present is the single most important skill of human existence. Q: How is a hole-in-one possible? A: I've had 10. It's not necessarily a skill. It's not luck either. Every once in a while in golf, the intention becomes stronger than this addictive mind we go to. It usually reads out in something quite remarkable. Intention is a non-doing kind of thing. Gandhi and Martin Luther King had strong intentions, bigger than their minds or emotions. All your directions line up behind it. Q: Your spiritual beliefs? A: I consider myself very spiritual. Each person has their own path, whether it's the Bible or the Koran. I get there sometimes when my wife and I go on retreat where writing, reading, etc., is not allowed. When the incessant drama in our heads begins to let go a little bit, it's always a wonderful time. Q: Why are you a coach? Q: Aside from golf, what has been your psychological sand trap? A: Like most guys, I like to be in control and I like to have answers. But those two things dis-empower a student. Q: How have you overcome your fear of the game? A: Most people quit golf out of fear of being embarrassed. They think their character is their performance. Men grow up thinking, "If I don't perform, I'll be diminished as a human being." That's a lie we bought into. There has to be something more permanent than the highs and lows of life. There are two places you can play golf from, and never have a bad day: appreciation and gratitude. You can't screw up from there. Q: Is there a Golfer's Anonymous? A: When it gets to be totally about performance, people can get crazy. It mirrors our society. It's about never having enough. I would drop into a faint if someone said, "I am enough. I have enough. Just help me lead it out of myself. You don't need to change me or fix me." Q: You've played the world's greatest spots. Describe the perfect day on your favorite course. A: On the municipal golf course in Stockton,
with my wife, brother and dad. We'd have a conversation after
which we were the better for it, for the rest of our lives; we've
learned something, we've grown, we've connected. (This is a reprint from Issue #18, Oct. 2000.) Please love the game! Just a note to remind you to see if you can love the game of basketball for it's own sake, not for any special glory you're getting or not getting (frustration). Enjoy being alive out there, and having the strength, energy and coordination to run up and down the court and have fun with your friends. It's a great "Team" game, both the offense -- dribbling, passing and movement to get yourself or a teammate open for a shot -- and defense. Statistics from the American Basketball Council say that it's America's #1 Team Game. It's great fun to work together to accomplish something like winning games, but it's really the self development and the relationships we're making while playing basketball that are most important. Only a very few get the major glory and adoration. But we can all enjoy the game and get tremendous satisfaction from whatever level we're at. ATTITUDE IS CRITICAL! The beauty of this way of life is that YOU are in control, not the outside circumstances. You can't always control what comes at you in life, but you CAN control how you react to those approaching events, words, attitudes, etc. Peace and joy and love come from within. There is no intrinsic beauty in a sunset or a great piece of music. The sense of beauty and serenity you feel comes from inside of you as you see the sunset or listen to the music. The next time you go on the court, look
around at your teammates and coaches and see if you can appreciate
a little more the joy of sports and physical movement. Don't
get to heavy on yourself when you make a mistake, and hopefully
your coach isn't the kind who yells at you when you screw up.
Mistakes are expected when you're young, and your challenge is
to learn from them. Stay awake, stay conscious, and you'll have
more fun. Sure, keep striving to learn and get better and succeed,
but keep a joyful attitude and see if you aren't happier. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------ 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 speaking engagements being planned for this fall: Nov. 8-9 -- IOWA Nov. 9, Pella Nov. 22-23 -- MISSOURI · St. Louis, Mo. -- Saturday and
Sunday, Nov. 22-23 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
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