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----------------------------------------------------------------- T H E “S W I S H R E L E A S E” N E W S L E T T E R A Conversation FOR Great Shooting! ----------------------------------------------------------------- By Tom Nordland, Shooting Coach Swish International, Inc. Issue Number 110 -- June 2008 Tel: 888/SWISH-22 (888/794-7422) or 831/338-4647 Email: Tom@swish22.com
============================================ IN THIS ISSUE ============================================
1. Welcome from the Coach 2. Purpose of this Newsletter 3. Stop the World -- Shooting Myths! 4. Is There Any Inertia in Your Shot? 5. A Great Book for Coaches, for Sports and Business/Management! 6. Lost Emails for NY, PA and NJ! 7. Testimonials 8. KIDS’ KORNER 9. Shooting Clinics & Camps 10. You Can Republish Articles I’ve Written 11. Get the Swish Videos 12. Some Powerful Testimonials/Photos/Video clips for Swish 13. Please Bookmark this Website 14. How to Subscribe / Unsubscribe 15. Contact Information
************************************************* PLEASE NOTE: For these archived Newsletters, I'm just including the heart of the Newsletter, those sections that are instructional, not contact information, outdated clinic info, etc. *************************************************
------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Welcome from the Coach ------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to my free Monthly “Swish Release” 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!
------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Purpose of this Newsletter ------------------------------------------------------------
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 Pure Shooting. Thank you for reading this and subscribing to it and sharing it with your friends. -- Tom Nordland
------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Stop the World -- Shooting Myths! ------------------------------------------------------------
An important article I wrote a year and a half ago is still very relevant. It is about some of the great “myths” of shooting that are being tossed around out there, and how they are part of the problem in the great game of basketball. I called it “Stop the Basketball Shooting World ... I Want to Get Off!” Here is where to view it:
------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Is There Any Inertia in Your Shot? ------------------------------------------------------------
In the April Newsletter, I talked about how it’s helpful to dip the ball (if caught high) or bring it up on line with eye and basket early (if shooting from a triple-threat kind of start) before we shoot. We do this to generate some “Inertia” in the shot which will help ensure accuracy. It may not be known as that (Inertia), but it is.
IT’S A BIG DEAL! I discovered the application of Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion (that “An object in motion and in line tends to stay in motion and in line until affected by an outside or unbalanced force”) -- also called the Law of Inertia -- to basketball in late 2005, just in time for the making of Swish 2. I had a girl demonstrate it in “Section III, What the Swish Method Offers” (time code 00:14:26). But at the time I didn’t realize its importance. I didn’t even call it Inertia. Now I make a big deal about it. One coach in southern California said, after a coaches’ Training, that the idea of generating and catching Inertia was “Solid Gold!!!” In my clinics, I teach it, of course, and it contributes greatly to the success of the players’ development. It makes accuracy easier!
FIRST THREE “KEYS” -- AND THEN “INERTIA!” One little thing I do in my clinics to make them more “experiential” sooner for the kids is the following:
First, right after I’ve done some demonstrating about the principles of my Swish Method and described my first three KEYS, I ask them to go to a basket with a partner and just “play” with those three keys (Constant Release, Shoot From the UpForce, and Vary the Arch to Control Distance). After a couple minutes I bring them back and ask how many improved just from those three ideas. A lot of hands go up.
Then I introduce the idea of Inertia. I show what it is and then demonstrate how I found it, and then I take some shots using it. Then, as a model, I ask someone to shoot whom I’ve noticed does not have any Inertia in the shot. I then ask the player to shoot and tell the group if there was any Inertia in the setting-and-release action. The answer is “No.” Then I ask her or him to play with the idea of how Inertia can be added. What could they do to add or increase it? With experimentation she or he starts to dip the ball if caught or held high, or to just start the shot motion with the ball in a lower position. Key is that generate AND CATCH the Inertia! If they stop at the Set Point before shooting, the Inertia is lost. If they catch it, the result is a straighter shot. The group can see it. It’s often extraordinary.
PLAY WITH THE IDEA OF INERTIA I then ask them all to go off in pairs and do the same progression. First shoot as they normally shoot and notice if there’s any Inertia in the way they set and shoot the ball. And then I ask that they start to add it any way they can. W hen I get them back and ask, again, if the exercise resulted in any improvements, more hands go up. They’ve already started to coach themselves.
This is a great way to start a clinic. They’re empowered, excited about possibilities, ready to learn.
------------------------------------------------------------ 5. A Great Book for Coaches, for Sports and Business/Management! ------------------------------------------------------------
Recently I attended a conference for Inner Game coaches held in Los Angeles. It brought together 56 professional coaches from both the sports world and the business/management coaching world. It was lead by Tim Gallwey, the author/co-author of the Inner Game books on tennis, skiing, golf, music and work, plus Sir John Whitmore, a master coach from the U.K., and Robert Siegel, Ph.D. a well-known and respected Psychologist who co-authored “Inner Skiing” with Tim. Sean Brawley, one of the few “Gallwey endorsed” Inner Game coaches in the world, was the organizer and host.
It was a thrill to be with these four wonderful coaches for 3 days. I had spent five years working with Tim in the late ‘70’s and early 80’s, and have been in touch with him ever since. It changed my life greatly, and we try to play golf now at least once a year. I had also met John when I was in the U.K. in 1982 & 1983.
The Inner Game is a huge part of the way I coach basketball shooting. It’s about learning and the games we play inside our heads as we play any outer game. It’s about overcoming the interferences that restrict our performance. Sir John, a former champion race car driver, met Tim in the 70’s and was instrumental in bringing the Inner Game to the U.K., first with sports and then (now) with business and management coaching.
Sir John’s latest book, “Coaching for Performance,” is an excellent book and considered the “bible” in Europe for business and management coaching. I am reading it now and seeing (being reminded of ways I know but forgot) ways to alter how I’ve been coaching shooting. I heartily recommend the book to any coach. Also read Tim’s first book, “The Inner Game of Tennis,” a classic that’s not really about tennis but is about the human condition we all face ... against inner obstacles we create. Win that game against yourself and the outer games you play become a lot easier and more fun.
(“Coaching for Performance,” Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London/Boston. Google it and you can buy it on line. The latest is Version 3.)
------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Lost Emails for NY, PA and NJ! ------------------------------------------------------------
Due to a computer problem, my database of people from NY, PA and NJ who had emailed or called me to be on my emailing list for clinics in those areas has been lost. That particular spreadsheet got corrupted somehow awhile back, and even my backups had the same problem, as I had erased older backups with new ones over the months.
If you had contacted me about clinics in New York, Pennsylvania or New Jersey before (or you want to be informed now), please email me and you’ll be added. I don’t have any plans right now for such a trip, but things can change fast.
------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Testimonials ------------------------------------------------------------
“Hello from Connecticut and thank you, Tom, for continuing to include my daughter, Jessica , in your email list. I printed out your Trouble Shooting Guide and have given it to her. Jess attended your clinic when she was nine years old and in the 4th grade at our CT Wave Ultimate Wave Challenge at the University of Connecticut. My father also purchased your DVD at that time.
“Jess is now 13 years old and in the 7th grade. She continues to play AAU basketball and recently scored 15 points at our first game this past Sunday morning. She continues to have a high percentage on assists and at the foul line and a low percentage on turnovers. She is a stellar athlete playing very well on offense along with being a very strong defensive player. Her coach states she is her most aggressive player. Your Swish shooting clinic was Jess's first clinic and it was a great start in her future years of training.”
Sincerely, - - Diane K., Windsor Locks, CT
-------------------------------- “Tom, Your trouble shooting guide in the recent newsletter is outstanding (maybe too long for the young learner) but extremely helpful. You end your guide with how incredible the human body is. I have been working with high school athletes this spring on shooting and individual skill development workouts and I have been saying the same thing to them. I use the idea that their brains and bodies have been incredibly designed by God, and the more awareness of what is happening with their bodies and the flight of the ball, then the greater chance they have of actually learning and improving.
“I have taught many clinics on developing a Culture of Shooters in Your Program and I use many of your ideas. All 3 of my sons have been outstanding shooters (each shooting above 45% from 3 point range in high school and one in college ball). Thank you for all your thoughts on shooting that you share with us coaches.”
Sincerely, - - Mike D., Bellevue, Washington
-------------------------------- “Tom - I purchased your Swish video's a few months back and since that time I have been working with my now 9 year old son. He has been a fairly inconsistent shooter, particularly in his release (as any kid can be). Over this period of time we have been working on his release a few times a week, teaching Up-force and stance. As you can imagine this is no easy task, but a lot patience goes a long way (something I have had to learn). The great thing about young kids is that muscle memory comes fast and they don't have a lot of bad habits ingrained. I have to give him a lot of credit as he worked on implementing your method even on his own, learning what works and doesn't.
“Recently he attended a basketball camp in which he placed 3rd in one shooting competition and 1st in another, this was out of 50 fourth and fifth grade boys (he will be in fourth grade next year), needless to say he was pumped and and it was a great lesson to him on what hard work will get you. He obviously has a long way to go, but is really becoming a impressive shooter, the other night we were out and he was shooting around and hardly paying attention to his shot as we talked, I counted and he made 13 out of 15 shots in a row, with near perfect release. It is really amazing to watch the growth.
“I greatly appreciate your videos. Thanks for the help.”
- - Rob P., Bismarck, ND
-------------------------------- “Hello Tom, First I would like to express my appreciation to you for taking the time in a very busy schedule to email me with a response to my concerns regarding my daughter. I did as you suggested having Katy do the squared up shooting while under her AAU coach and then at home on our gravel driveway doing the Swish method (with an open stance).
“I know you said that a squared-up stance would still work [Ed’s note: ... to a degree it will work] and that is the way my daughter shot the ball during the AAU season. But she constantly kept telling me, ‘Dad, I feel so much better with that open stance like in the video you showed me.’ It was obvious her confidence was another level higher when she shot with that open stance. Plus a college coach was brought in to do a clinic on ball handling drills and shooting. Thankfully he did not spend a great deal of time on the shooting as he kept insisting that the girls should be shooting like they were picking a cookie from a cookie jar up on a shelf.
“Well let me get to the real point of this email. Katy's last AAU game for the season (March to early June) was this past Saturday. And now the story book ending. Katy did not shoot much during the season, never looking for the shot and not taking one when she had a wide open shot. I attribute that to her lack of confidence when her coach insisted she was shooting the wrong way and needed to square up and form that goose neck with her shooting arm/hand.
“Well, since it was the last game of the season I told Katy that if it was all right with her she should shoot ‘just like in the video’ for her last game. Well I will never forget this last game. Katy did not score a ton of points. What was most significant for me was that when the game was on the line, she looked for the shot and took the shot using the Swish method. Playing against a team that handily beat her team three previous times, Katy twice tied the game in the last two minutes of play and then with 20 seconds to play she actually took a three point shot and swished it. (No pun intended). That put her team up by two. The other team tied the game with just a few seconds to go and the game went into overtime.
“In the overtime Katy hit two baskets. One about fifteen feet away and the second, ten feet away - off the dribble - with nine seconds left in the overtime to give her team a one point overtime victory. The thrill of victory and being a big part of it created a look of ecstasy on her happy face I will never forget. Thank you for giving her the opportunity and the confidence to be successful. We will continue to work on the Swish Method during the summer and into the Fall.”
- - John C., Pennsylvania
[Below is a Follow Up email from John.]
“I just took Katy to a week-long basketball camp yesterday. Hopefully the shooting instruction will not play games with her again. But now I think she realizes what many instructors try to teach in opposition to the Swish Method and that it may even help her to better understand the benefits of the Swish Method.
“When we watch college or pro basketball, whether it be the men or the women teams, Katy is always looking at the way players shoot, whether it be a foul shot, three pointer, or pull up jumper. I find it reinforces her take on the Swish Method. Upforce and being relaxed are the keys for Katy. I think the confidence she gains with the use of the upforce in her shot has led to her being more relaxed in her shooting and that carries out to being more consistent and successful in her shooting.
“Recently a basketball practice of Katy's ended and I let Katy shoot around for twenty minutes in the gym while her teammates got ready to go home. Katy started shooting from different points on the court starting at five feet from the basket and working her way out to fifteen feet. And she would hit shot after shot after shot. It was like watching some of the girls in your video. The players on Katy's team (all older by one or two years) actually sat down on court side to watch her shoot. ‘Wow’ after ‘wow’ was heard from her teammates and their parents. Katy was just beaming and hitting shot after shot. Seven out of ten from just about anywhere within the fifteen foot range were falling in.
“The ‘Upforce’ is a code word now in use in our household.”
Thanks again. John
-------------------------------- “Hey Mr. Nordland, I recently went to your session in the Woodlands at Legends Sports Complex to learn your shooting method. This weekend I went to a tournament in San Antonio. We played five games and I scored 26, 10, 29, 22, and 17 points! They were all against very good teams in which most of them had a majority of older players. I have never in aau scored that many points and it was mostly all of my shooting. I also went 24 for 25 in free throws. I am very excited to work with your program this summer and come back next year to my school team. My coach told me that I had to put emphasis on my shot this summer and I think this will really help. I will stay in touch like you said.” - - Rafael M., Houston area
[Examples below of Rafeal coaching himself...]
“Hey Mr. Nordland, Seeing people shoot on video gave me the idea of filming myself and comparing it to what I saw. I saw I still had the problem of making my shot like a slingshot like we went over at the clinic and sometimes my release when I flicked my wrist was still funny looking. Watching the videos over again helped me fix both of those things. I still think I have a little glitch with making my shot like a slingshot but I will fix it and either way my shot is still on the money so I'm excited to see the results.” - - Rafael M.
------------------------------------------------------------ 8. KIDS’ KORNER ------------------------------------------------------------
CAN YOU BE MORE “FEARLESS” WHEN YOU SHOOT?
I just gave a private lesson yesterday and one of my coaching instructions for a 16 year old girl was to be fearless with her Release. It’s one of the instructions I use a lot because I know that fear and doubt are our ever-present enemies, created by our minds as we go to perform actions. Somehow, as humans, we’ve been given this ability to interfere with our own growth and development. Animals don’t seem to have it. If a cat leaps at a bird and misses it, you don’t see it hanging its head down for awhile, pounding the ground, muttering to itself something that could be imagined to be self criticism as a “poor bird leaper.” (Thanks to Tim Gallwey for this analogy.)
But human beings can miss a 4-foot putt in golf or an easy volley in tennis and be heard to moan and gripe for all to hear. (I get attached, too, more often than I care to admit, and resemble that remark.) Missing a simple free throw in basketball might engage some self-putting-down like “I’m an idiot, why can’t I make this simple shot?”
THE SWISH RELEASE ALLOWS FOR FEARLESSNESS, LETTING GO! The way you “release” the ball with the Swish Method allows for, even encourages, being fearless. That’s because the motion is a complete, to-the-end-or-the-arm action, sort of like snapping a whip. It’s so simple anyone can learn to do it, often quite quickly. It is a total action done at a certain speed. The final adjustment is for distance, varying the angle of the Release, but the Release motion itself can be the same. If you flip your wrist, you might ask “How much do I flip it? How fast? How do I get it to be the same motion every time?”
With Swish, the action is a push to full extension done at the same speed every time. I call it “Full out,” meaning about 70% of max. That motion can be practiced to be like a robot, the same each time, thus “repeatable.” Now we can introduce the idea of just letting it go to the end of the arm, same speed each time. You can then understand the idea of doing that action with no fear. Knowing that the force of the Release is going to be the same, then varying the arch to control distance becomes easy and instinctive. There is no need for thinking once you’ve zeroed in on the target and started your trained motion, just sense the power and distance and vary the angle of the shot appropriately.
This makes shooting an easy and simple motion. We need that, a simple motion we can trust. Fear of failure and self doubt will gradually fade to the background as we focus on the target and let it fly ... and make our shots! The more you make, the higher the self-trust and confidence, which makes the next shot just that much easier.
Try this stuff and let me know what you discover.
************************************************* End of archived Newsletter *************************************************
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