The Lost Art of Basketball Shooting

There's a problem in the game of basketball. Kids and players at all levels of the game can't shoot. In fact, shooting percentages have been declining for 20-25 years or more. In the decades of the Slammin' Jam and heroic 3-Pt Shots, the middle-range jump shot and the free throw have been ignored ... much to the detriment of the game. Statistics from High School Associations, the NCAA, and from professional sources confirm declining percentages at every level of the game. Failure at the free throw line in top college and NBA games is shocking.

 

The Reasons Are Many

 

When people write or talk about the decline in shooting, they usually mention the advent of the jamming and slamming dunk shots in the era of such great "flyers" as Julius Erving, the great "Dr. J!" Dr. J revolutionized the game, but probably had a part in the decline as great numbers of kids (all boys) try to duplicate his feats. More recently we had Michael Jordan and now we have the likes  of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade doing incredible flying acrobatics, and highlight films are usually of monster dunks, not beautiful, high arching jump shots or effortless, 10-for-10 free throws that win games.

Another reason always brought up is the introduction of the 3-Pt. line in the mid-80's. Now kids are spending a lot of time trying to develop the heroic 3-Pt. shot, and less time at the mid-range distances and at the free throw line. Other reasons include lack of practice time, too many games, better defenses, etc. etc.

A reason not often touched upon is the ineffectiveness of coaching of this skill. As a skill starts to decline, it's normal that the coaches who were, of course, players are less and less likely to have been great shooters themselves. It's difficult to teach someone to do something you couldn't do. And the few who could shoot well may not know how to coach what they could do.

Some people even feel that you are either born a shooter or you're not, that it's something in your genes, not something you can learn. A few years ago I heard a major Division I coach say that "there are bad shooters' and there are 'good shooters' and bad shooters cannot become good shooters. They can improve a little, but they'll always be "bad." He even said he dislikes running the Motion Offense because it creates shots for everyone and he doesn't want the "bad" shooters shooting.  What a limiting Point of View!

It's also thought it takes thousands of hours to learn to be a great shooter, and kids these days just don't have that kind of attention span.

 

Coaches Are Perplexed!

Coaches don't know what to do about this skill, the most important skill in the game. They're "preplexed," as Stanford coach Mike Montgomery put it in a San Francisco Chronicle article years ago.

 

But There's Good News...

The good news is that shooting basketball jump shots and free throws is an easy skill. It does not take thousands of hours to learn. It can be learned relatively quickly. Most players just have to un-learn the bad habits they've acquired. 

...Found!

The Lost Art is "Found"!

This Website offers a solution to this decline in shooting, based on the discoveries Tom has made since 1989. (Click on "Tom's Background" to read the genesis of Tom's discovering the "secrets" of great shooting and learning how to coach it.)

You'll see on this Site a simple, yet powerful, way to learn and coach shooting that works! Tom says everybody and anybody can learn this Method and shoot pretty well, and excellent shooting and even mastery is possible to those who truly devote themselves to it. It isn't "new," but it seems that way. The confirmation that this is a valid and effective technique is that, once you understand it, you'll find it's the way the few great shooters in the game shoot (or have shot, if retired). From this video and Tom's coaching, you will come to "know" what it takes to learn and maintain great shooting.

Click around the Site and read what Tom has written and what's been written about his coaching. You'll see he has a fresh and wonderful insight into what is needed. He knows how to coach it, too, and he'll gently lead you in the exploration and self discoveries needed to learn this master skill in the game of basketball.

 

Screen shot from Swish as Tom is explaining the concept of UpForce (Tom's term for "leg drive" or "leg lift").