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<<<HERE IS A TESTIMONIAL FROM THE DAUGHTER, ABOVE >>> "Hi Mr. Nordland, By watching
your video, I became eager to see the new techniques that would
help improve my shot. When I went outside to practice basketball
right after viewing it, I focused on the shooting techniques
I had learned and which I never used before. This included: putting
a high arc on the ball by having a quick, high-angled release,
using my legs for upforce to shoot, and watching the basket throughout
my shot, not the ball. I also practiced drills that showed me
how to use these techniques such as the jumping up and down drill
which helped concentrate on the Upforce. Two days after watching
the video, I went to the WNBA pre-All STAR game and entered an
all-age knockout contest. While waiting for my turn, I remembered
your video and all the new shooting I had practiced. I thought
this contest would be a great way to test my abilities so I tried
using the new techniques when shooting. Before long I had incredibly
become the knock-out Champion, won a pair of Diana Taurasi's
Nike sneakers and had the chance to play another game with Diana. "My two sons just went to
a two evening shooting camp at a local AAA school. Our 5th grader
was 10 for 10 at the free throw line and won hotshot for his
age group. Our 8th grader was near miraculous in his threes.
He had to perform 80 three-point attempts (which he had never
done before). He was 15 of 20 in a corner, 15 of 20 at the left
wing, and 15 of 20 at the right wing. He moved to the top of
the arc and missed his first three attempts, then drained 17
in a row. I shot with him yesterday afternoon and he couldn't
hit a barn with a hand grenade!! He said he was still tired from
the day beforeimagine that! Thanks!" "P.S. FYI, the big improvement came just recently after I read one of the monthly newsletters and watched the video clips. I paid close attention to the locking of the elbow just before the release of the ball. We call it 'lock and limp.' The elbow 'locks' lightly at completion of the push while the hand and fingers remain relaxed or 'limp.' "Thank you for giving them
a great start. Since we bought your tape three years ago the
boys have been the best % shooters on their teams. I wish I had
been taught your technique when I was young. I'm 47, and shooting
the best I ever have. Last Saturday night I had my best night
ever shooting threes, nine in a row. My wife (not credible) as
witness." "I explained how to line
up her shot and explained that she should open up her stance.
I explained how the basket is effectively a bigger target from
a greater angle. After taking about 25 practice shots, I lined
her up on the same three spots. She made 8/10 from the left,
6/10 from center, and 7/10 from the right. We then played a game
of two against one. The young girl and my daughter beat me 10
to 8 and the girl made 7 of the 10 points with all shots being
of the 12 to 6 feet distance. The girl, as well as I, was very
excited at the immediate difference in her shooting success."
"Hey Tom, You have my permission to use whatever I write as a testimonial. The main thing that I was so excited about was the discovery that I could dramatically improve my shooting ... by just following your advice and practicing at it. The practice is relatively effortless, compared to running until dropping and then possibly losing. I unfortunately did not document how poor of an outside shooter I was prior to getting the DVD, but lets just say that my game had always been either driving in or passing off and standing around watching other people shoot from the outside. "I realized that on offense I was not doing my share and many years went by being painfully aware of that. That is why being able to shoot 10 out of 10 or an average of about 80% from the top of the key is such a kick!!! All of a sudden I have a weapon that can be, and now already has been, lethal to the other team! I never had the feeling of basically not missing before. (Its also a lot of fun to be hard to beat!) "I just want to encourage anyone that if they do what you say, they can improve their shooting, unless they happen to already be doing everything that you say. In that case they're probably already shooting about 90%. The thing is this ... There are many different skills involved in basketball and some of them are key skills. If you can't really shoot from the outside, the other team not only doesn't really need to guard you ... they can double team the guy that can shoot from the outside!!! You can be great at virtually everything else, but if you really can't shoot, you're not only selling yourself and your teammates short, you might ... like me ... not even make the team!!!! "I believe 100% that I would
have at least played high school ball if I could have shot the
way that I do now and I just hate to see anyone else not learn
from my experience. My mistake, specifically, was to not develop
naturally into a great shooter and not figure out on my own what
I was doing wrong. Some people just don't put it together on
their own and I was one of them. [Editor's note: "Most people,"
I would say.] The result was many wasted years and being a good
player instead of a game-deciding player. If you follow Tom's
advice, you can certainly nail the shooting aspect of the game
down and this makes it even easier to drive. It has been amazing!!
Good Luck to all." "I began to remember times when I was playing in games and I felt like on offense I wasn't even participating. I knew that was due to not having confidence in my shot, but in all of the years of playing ball, all I ever did was play ... never really practiced!!! Out of frustration, I took the ball back to my bedroom and began just trying to shoot the ball so that it would drop onto a spot on a pillow. I could immediately see if I was or wasn't hitting what I was aiming at and was trying to be aware of what I was doing when it was going where I wanted versus somewhere else. I started noticing improvement in my shot. "At a scrimmage soon after that, I shot the lights out, much to my surprise. During games I began taking and making outside shots. I stumbled onto your website about two months ago and it was like finding the rest of the puzzle. The other day during a three on three, I only missed one shot out of about 25 from the top of the key. (I actually felt bad for the other guys and finally just stopped shooting,) Add that to the fact that I already know how to drive and now someone is going to have their hands full. I feel like I've gone from playing at about 55% potential on offense, to playing now at about 100%. I really feel like now I'm going to score .. .just don't know how its going to happen. I've never had that feeling before. "Though I can't explain it, I've always felt that success on the basketball court and the confidence that is developed there are transferable to other areas of our lives and I think that that is the true magic that basketball offers. I only regret not learning to distinguish between playing, and practicing a long time ago. I spent 40 years and probably sprinted 50,000 miles trying to win games while shooting about 25% from outside. If I only would have practiced a couple of hours a week 30 years ago, all of that experience would have been radically different!! "My advice to anyone who
really loves this game. Don't be afraid to be the best. (Coach
Carter "What are you really afraid of?") Realize that
there is a difference between playing basketball and developing
certain skills through practice. If all you do is play ... one
day you'll realized that you blew it. You could have been better,
quite possibly among the best, if you would have devoted some
time to practice." "But the big value that came for her was that basketball became fun. Often times I would take her and some of the members of her team to one of the playgrounds where the kids played all the time. We would go earlier in the evening before the older kids came out and took over the court, and these high school girls would play pickup basketball against the younger boys. Although the boys were always more athletic, the girls won their share because they could pass and shoot better. I will always remember the kids running up and down the court, hooting hollering whenever the girls took the lead. "That is the joy of basketball,
and thanks to you I was able to share it with my daughter." "Last night the local Scarborough girls varsity team traveled to Poland, Maine to play a team they had beaten 58-43 in the first game of the season at home. With good defense they allowed 42 points, but scored only 41 of their own when a last second three got on top of the rim but spun out. I kept a shot and turnover chart so I can confirm what your newsletter said. Scarborough had a 30-18 advantage in turnovers, made a decent but not great 13 of 21 FTs (against 7 of 19). But they did not make a three (12 tries) and shot 14 of 62 from the floor overall. A good defensive effort (they press and trap most of the time and do it well) allowed only 35 shots (13 made, including 3 of 6 threes) went for naught. "The culprit was bad shooting all over the floor. "Good friends of mine have a daughter who plays JV for Scarborough this year as a freshman. She started playing just under 2 years ago and got me actively interested in basketball again. I have pretty much given up on the NBA because it is ugly to watch too much of the time, but have always followed, at a distance, college hoops. I started shooting around and playing at a low level (good, unboring exercise) mostly with my friend and his kids (there is a younger brother with some potential). I was not able to shoot as well as I remembered being able to when growing up next door to a varsity high school player a year older than me. I happened upon your web site last year around June while looking for information on the Swish camp that is held at the University of Southern Maine and run by Gary Fifield who has a long running successful Division 3 program (22 straight years of 20 or more wins, ranked #6 by d3hoops.com right now, and fund to watch, more pressing and trapping on defense). "Your video helped me right out of the box and I have been keeping at it, although winter here means a gym must be found to shoot most of the time. I recall making only 13 of 50 FTs before getting the video. On Thursday I made 20 of 25 with most of the makes being swishes. That left me feeling pretty good, although I wonder why I miss that much. "My friends' daughter and son both borrowed the video again over the last couple of weeks. Today we are going to an open gym at a local school and will do some shooting practice using the Swish method. What I find particularly attractive about Swish is that is provides a method to shoot longer shots (threes) as well as shoot well. At the games last night was a girl in about 4th grade, under 5 feet tall, maybe 50 pounds, who put threes on the rim consistently at the half times of the three games we watched and made at least three that I saw. It looked like she was using the Swish method, good up force tied to a nice flip out shot that went mostly straight at the basket. An obvious gym rat who the local coaches must be waiting to get older. One of the coaches obviously knew her and may have been her father. This little girl made a real impression on my friends younger son who struggles to get the ball to the rim because he shoots only with his arms. I think their daughter saw something, too. "I may also end up shepherding an AAU girls team with the daughter, some of her teammates, and others we gather in after the school season ends. On offense I intend to emphasize shooting better and passing better (hard passes, no bobbles catching -- good video topic) because those are the major shortcomings I see all over the place. Defense will be more trapping presses all over the court. "Given last night's loss, and other episodes of low scoring and poor shooting, you really hit the mark with your newsletter with me. I hope this long e-mail had enough in it to be somewhat worthwhile to you. "Also if your travels will
get you to Boston, we are a 100 miles away. I am not plugged
into the local basketball scene except for a passing acquaintance
with a couple of coaches, but my instinct is that there ought
to be interest in both players and coaches in Swish. You are
right that there are very few really good shooters and that that
is a curable (as in teachable, witness me teaching myself at
age 55) condition that you have a working solution for." "P.S. I've viewed several
sports instructional videos through the years (mostly on baseball
and softball). SWISH, in my opinion, is one of the best produced.
You are one of the most articulate instructors I've listed to.
You should apply your talents to producing and writing scripts
for other sports instructors on video. The results would be a
significant increase in accurate application of method and technique.
Too many instructors allow themselves to get caught up in the
heavy use of sports jargon. All too often sports jargon is based
on (misconstrued and/or unclear) meanings that vary widely from
coach to coach, player to player. The final product is muddled.
Your product is clear from beginning to end. The results were
apparent on our first few shots we took. Great job Tom." "Last week his team attended their first tournament in Marietta Ga, just outside of Atlanta. The team finished an impressive first place after defeating two teams that were ranked 5th and 9th in the YBOA Georgia State rankings. Chris averaged 10 points a game and made 9 out of 14 from the 3 point line during the tournament. You could see his confidence had reached a level I had not seen in the last two years. "The first game, which was on Friday night, everyone seem to be having problems with the rims, at this particular gym. Chris went 3 out of 4 from the 3 point line, with an arch that was much higher than anyone else. After the game, the coach stated that Chris was the key to the win, and it was very noticeable that he had been making drastic changes to his shot. Chris went from being the 6 man on game 1 to starting on each preceding game. I believe if Chris continues to strive to implement your methods, he will quickly become the best shooter in the region." - - Gary R., Atlanta - - Al E., Raleigh, NC 'Tom, What I didn't tell you
is that my son isn't one of those really confident kids when
it comes to sports. Finally, finally, this method of yours has
instilled in him a certain confidence. He awoke 45 minutes earlier
than usual this morning with excitement and said that he cannot
wait to view the DVD again and practice this afternoon after
school. Now, friends of his are asking where to get the video. -- Al "Thanks for sharing this
with the kids." -- Doug M., Nova Scotia, Canada Thanks, "UNBELIEVABLE !!!!!!!!!! "I do have an interesting observation for you. I was trying to figure out how much of my improvement was moving my shooting hand from along side my head to in line with my eye and how much was knowing and understanding where the power comes from. I believe it's 80% placement of my hand and 20% understanding where the power comes from. The reason I place such a high number on placement of my hand is because I notice when I start missing it's because I slipped back into the bad habit of the hand next to my head. "Thanks for helping me out with my shot." -- Mike "But the big value that came for her was that basketball became fun. Often times I would take her and some of the members of her team to one of the playgrounds where the kids played all the time. We would go earlier in the evening before the older kids came out and took over the court, and these high school girls would play pickup basketball against the younger boys. Although the boys were always more athletic, the girls won their share because they could pass and shoot better. I will always remember the kids running up and down the court, hooting hollering whenever the girls took the lead. "That is the joy of basketball, and thanks to you I was able to share it with my daughter." -- Bill W., South Euclid, OH "I made a little challenge
with two of them -- they shoot 20 free throws each, and I have
to beat their combined total on the 40 free throws that I would
then shoot. If I won, they would have to watch the video, and
at least try to implement some of the changes they see in it.
Oh ... the kicker to this challenge? The first set of 20 FT's
I shot would be done left-handed (I'm a natural right-hander),
and the second set would be right-handed, but blindfolded. I
still think I had the advantage -- I've been working on the method
for myself ever since I got the video -- my FT percentage (right-handed)
was around 77% before I started working on my shot....now it's
around 94%. "After the first ten shots she started to get the feel. She kept on shooting with me reinforcing her to lock the elbow and relax the wrist. It was kind of funny when she missed a shot and I asked her how many she shots she had made in a row. She had no idea and I told her she had just made 28 in a row, with a majority of them swishes. I realize she was only 2 or 3 feet from the basket, but it sure sold her and I could see the confidence immediately. "I quit counting after that,
but I had her shoot at least 100 more shots and she had to hit
95 of them. I then had her move out another 3 or 4 feet and shoot
a little jump shot. I personally was amazed with the back spin,
nice arch, and the percentage of shots she made. She would even
tell me when it left her hand if it was a bad shot, just by the
feel. She wanted to shoot some free throws after that, but I
told her I wanted to keep in close for the first few times. "I took my 7th grade daughter back to the hanger last night for the first time since last Thursday, as we were gone for the weekend. I first had her shoot about 75 shots from zero point range. After she started to get the feel, I had her start shooting with her eyes closed and had her really start to concentrate on getting the feel and try to be aware where the ball was going. I then had her move out and start shooting from 10-12 feet. It was amazing after a couple of shots and she started to get in the groove, how many shots she was making. My wife was also there and she could not believe how well she was shooting. I had her shoot for awhile and there were a number of times she made over ten shots in a row. After a break, I told her I wanted her to shoot 100 more shots from 5 different spots 10-12 feet form the basket and jokingly I wanted her to make 90 of them. Well, she hit the first 12 and ended up 18 of the first 20. I didn't keep an accurate count, but I'm sure she made around 75 of the 100. "I did notice when she started to get a little tired, I had to stress to use a little more leg power, and also when she got out a little farther her follow through wasn't as straight and was moving to the left a little bit. Once I corrected her, the shots would start going right back in. I think she is sold on the system. Thanks." - - Don L., Reedsburg, WI |