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"Teaching shooting for so long has been one of the toughest aspects of our sport to teach. The SWISH method provides a new perspective to coaching this vital fundamental and we have found it most beneficial in improving the consistency of our players. "I cannot recommend this method highly enough in assisting any player improve their shot." Peter Lonergan, Development Manager, "Coach, Just thought I would give you an update on how we are progressing with the changes in teaching shooting at our association. First, the change has energised our coaching group, to be able to teach shooting and see the results is very rewarding and we are enjoying the challenge. Obviously, there is no change without some pain and some coaches are struggling to come to terms with the changes. "After years of "BEEF" and "lock & snap," it will be a gradual process but we are singing the song. "It is interesting, we have a player in our senior men's team, who has played a club record 362 games and is respected as one of the finest players in the SEABL, the second tier of senior competition in Australia behind our NBL. He is a career 46% three point shooter and once we started to use some of your principles, we realised that he had been adopting many of the principles of your system for years, obviously un-beknown to him. "He has his lead foot foot quite forward and his follow through is very relaxed, very little tension in the wrist at the point of release. This is a useful "selling tool" for our new teaching philosophy! "Again, thanks for opening the door on some of the most exciting changes/advancements in shooting for 20 years!" Regards, Peter "Just a few notes while I am on the keyboard: "I took a year off from coaching after some disappointments in 2001. I didn't get the high school job I wanted, but did have a successful year coaching 5th and 6th grade girls. "Being out of coaching for a full year was agony for me, though, after a few months, and became unbearable when I went to all my Granddaughter's games last Winter and had to observe the team playing with almost no shooting skills and no coaching to be seen either. "Nevertheless, I began coaching Ashley, who began 5th grade last Fall, late in the Summer and she made the 7th Grade team easily. I started her on the Swish Method, and for some reason, she did well at first, then didn't improve for a while. I then went back and tried some of the old ideas I learned from Ace Hofstein, a shooting coach who uses the square up method to teach shooting. Same problem.... "Then I read one of your articles that was on your site in the coaching department and you said that the coach's job was not to correct, but to act as a guide to make players aware of their bodies, the flight of the ball, and to encourage them to think about what happened when they shot and how it felt, and to be aware of what was happening and to do what seemed natural within the general framework of good shooting principles relating to using a constant pure release, and using UP-Force from the legs and body and the angle of the shot to determine distance for the shot, etc. "I had had a somewhat frustrating day (for us both, I suspect) with Ashley that day and I decided to change my approach from saying "Shoot higher!", "Use your legs"!, "Follow through!", etc, etc, and instead, I told her that today we were going to just have her shoot and she would think about her shot and say what she felt and what she thought might fix the problem if she felt there was one. "It was an amazing thing. She was relaxed and when she missed a shot, she thought and then talked about what she thought happened. I nodded and said nothing , or said "Ok", and she shot again. The only thing I did was, from time to time, reinforce the ideas of simple pure release with a relaxed wrist, catching the wave of the UP Force, and that higher shots saw a bigger target. No suggestions were made at all about a particular shot, I just listened most of the time and rebounded and threw her the ball. "The result was that she was swishing shots within 15 minutes with a set point over her head at the free throw line. She just turned 11 and is 5'3" and wiry and slim, unlike her ole Grandpa (me). I used this method on a 10 year old the other day in a 20 minute session with a similar result, though we used a low set point that allowed her to just see the basket over the ball. "Tom, you have found an important principle of shooting here. Not only are your mechanics of shooting sound, but the more important thing is to teach self discovery and the body's ability to learn if it is not interfered with too much by a coach's constant admonitions to do this and do that and the other thing. "Your personality lends itself well to that style and it was natural for you to adapt it, but in my case, I always love to correct and demand it be done my way as a coach. I had to learn that sometimes it is better to provide guidance than a detailed rote routine to memorize, specially in something that is so tied to the state of the mind and one's self confidence like shooting. I know that you know these things, but I want to encourage you anyway, because I have tried it both ways and have seen how much wiser your philosophy is on this matter." -- Mike Burke, Illinois "It was so interesting to watch him as you spoke and demonstrated the arm movement you believe is necessary to develop a consistent stroke. He struggled at first to adapt his shot. Ryan has always been taught to "finish high and stick his hand in the cookie jar". Your philosophy of fully extending the arm and finishing with a relaxed wrist is contrary to all of the work Ryan has done for two years, and breaking that muscle memory was tough for him for about 30-minutes. I left the gym to get something to eat, but when I got back, my wife Julie grabbed me and said that I really needed to see Ryan. She said he hadn't missed a shot from anywhere in 15 minutes. One look in his eyes told me that a switch had flipped. He hit shot after shot after shot with beautiful arc and very consistent rotation. "There was a time when Ryan was in the fourth and fifth grade when his upper body wasn't strong enough to get the ball to the rim from out side 15-feet without using a lot of legs in his shot. The result of concentrating on his lower body was a beautiful shot that had sort of evaporated over the years - replaced by a nice looking shot by today's standards. That great stroke of the fifth grade Ryan was back, and the results were also very similar. "On the way home, all Ryan could talk about was how much fun he had shooting after learning your method. Monday after practice, he shot for two-and-a-half hours. Ryan has always worked hard on his shot, but after about an hour his arm would get tired and he would have to stop. He was ecstatic that he can now work on shooting "as long as I want because my arm doesn't get tired anymore." The concentration on UpForce and using the lower body has taken all of the strain off his arm. "We've spent money on videotapes before - put together by people who were great shooters themselves - but after watching them, Ryan and I were confused. There have been two that I haven't even let him watch because they were too complicated, and I believe in any athletic endeavor - the simpler the instruction the better. There are different rules for different shots, and it is all too complex for me. Your technique and the way you communicate it, makes your method much easier to implement. "There is a simplicity in philosophy and communication that allowed Ryan to understand and develop right there in front of us last Sunday. Add your enthusiasm for basketball and teaching, and this was perfect for Ryan. "What a gift the session on Sunday was (and is) for Ryan. Your dedication to developing an easy-to-learn and understand system is greatly appreciated by our family. Everyone involved in basketball bemoans the erosion of shooting ability in the game, and I believe learning your system can be a huge advantage for a player of any ability who wants to work hard to become the kind of great shooter that is so rare these days. People who check their ego at the door can walk away from a session with you as a considerably better shooter than when they walk in. "I'll let you know how Ryan does through the rest of the season and beyond." --K. Sterling, Indianapolis "He's hit his last four threes in varsity, and hits from everywhere in the JV games. He had 34 in a 45-38 win last weekend. He's really blossomed since your workout. I included the link to today's Indianapolis Star story about last night's game. The end of the piece mentions Ryan a bit, with a nice quote from the head coach. "The assistant varsity coach told Ryan last weekend that if he can improve defensively that he'll be an Indiana all-star. It's a long way off, but Ryan was excited to hear this pretty reserved guy speak that enthusiastically about his future. "Ryan is too modest to write to you himself about his accomplishments, but he says thanks." -- K. Sterling, Indianapolis -- R. Sterling, Indianapolis
"I am now putting on 'mini-clinics' based upon your SWISH method for players in the local community education program. I have modified the teaching a bit to keep the parents off my back. Everyone learned the "square up; elbow under the hand" method and I get an earful when I teach the more relaxed and natural SWISH method. "My solution has been to essentially show both methods, explain they are both valid, but each player should try them both and see which feels better or more natural. The goal, as you so aptly stated, is to control the flight of the ball to the basket, so whatever works for the individual is the best method. I work hard on having the players be aware of their shot and how slight variations feel and then how those slight variations that feel better actually help or hinder the flight of the ball. "In the end, about half of any group I work with seem to improve their shot during the few hours we are together. I feel there should be some type of follow-up clinic to encourage the players to continue to work on and gain confidence in their new shot so they start using it in game situations instead of just practice." -- S. Meidell, Massachusetts "Since I could probably write several 'newsletter' length notes about shooting, I thought I might share another minor insight. "I've recently been disappointed to find that several travel team, AAU and school coaches are teaching the young players to make their 'set point' next to the ear/above the shoulder. I've seen this technique in a number players who come to my mini-clinics and I finally watched two coaches working with a middle school player shooting free throws. For all the reasons you've noted, and a few of my own, it is frustrating to see young players being taught what I feel is a technique that can't be translated for later years when the player is both taller and stronger. "This is a touch difficult to explain without diagrams, but...my revelation was that this "next to the ear/over the shoulder" position is taught with a square stance (both feet pointing to the basket, hips square, etc.). If you keep the ball and hand position in 3 dimensions exactly the same and have the player open their stance, allowing for some rotation of the shoulder, you get a good eye- ball-basket alignment with a more relaxed shoulder and arm which can then use the rest of your method. I've used this where I know the team coach works on this "next to the ear/over the shoulder" form. This allows the player to get mostly consistent help from two separate coaches and just allows them to see the alternative, and hopefully more natural feel, of the open stance. "As you may be able to tell, my whole goal in teaching is not to force a particular method (although I do believe yours is about as good as it gets) nor imply all the teaching they've gotten to this point is wrong. I try to show there are alternatives or variations of what they are doing or learning that may be able to help the flight of the ball and make their shot easier and more accurate. If they see that use of a couple of these variations makes a difference in a short session with me, hopefully, they'll start to incorporate these changes into their shot. "I offer an hour of shoot around time at a local gym each week during the season for those who have gone through a mini-clinic to give the players a chance to experiment and work on their awareness in a supportive environment (although I do admit I tend to emphasize the SWISH method). This is where I hope they start to see what works and what doesn't work, and gain confidence in that set of mechanics that works for them." Regards, "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. "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 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, Hamilton, OH "I was out of town this past week, but she was working on her own. She's shooting about 150 shots per day. She told me she hit 15 in a row. "Yesterday she finally got a few minutes of playing time for her middle school team. She was fouled while trying to make a put-back. She went to the line and sank the first shot- hitting nothing but net! The other team called time out. After play resumed she shot the 2nd shot and 'swish,' nothing but net! The net was hardly disturbed on either shot. She told me later 'that new form really works!' "Again, thanks for the investment in my daughter. I hope our paths cross again." -- S. Worley, Mechanicsville,
Virginia "My daughter has been playing basketball since she was six years old. She is now thirteen. She has always been recognized as one of the best defenders around. If someone was killing us with her shooting, the coach would always put my daughter on her and shut her down. That fact and the fact that she always hustled to get steals and could rebound like someone much taller allowed her to play on some pretty good teams. "The problem was, she couldn't through it in the ocean. It got to the point she was afraid to shoot, thankfully she became a very good passer. About a year ago I purchased your video and we set about changing her shot. It didn't happen over night and I must admit there were several times we both almost gave up but this month she tried out for and made the middle school team. "I am not bragging when I say this is a powerhouse team. Thirty five girls tried out for ten spots and my daughter bagged one of them. Before trying out, a former coach told her, "just do what you do best, they have plenty of scorers on that team". But now, not only is she doing "what she does best", she's a scorer too! One night she was four for seven and the next she was four for six and added a free throw. That's nine points in twelve minutes. (I told you they were a powerhouse, no one has played over twelve minutes in any game). "Another former coach asked me what happened to her, she said, "she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last year". She wasn't being mean spirited, we all knew she was right. I just wanted you to know, I am not writing this for any sort of publication, just to thank you for helping us find her shot. Keep up the good work." -- G. Hartley, Kingsport, Tennessee "I bought your instructional tape last March and both of my sons have become disciples of 'UpForce.' I emailed you last spring to tell you of their successes and you courteously replied. I thank you for that. "New update: Both 3rd grader and 6th grader have had a good year. However, last summer, little did I know I would have to coach the 6th grade team. I had not coached a great deal in my life but I did play high school ball many moons ago. "I decided I would start the kids at square one. We watched the "upforce" video one evening and then practiced all of your techniques. Other than warm-ups our first week of practice consisted of nothing but 'UpForce'. Two years ago this team was 1-14. This year their record was 10-5 (should have been 12-3 but they had a bad coach) and we beat both of the teams that played for the league championship. Our foul shooting was between 80-85%. "Credit where credit is due: Our team has gained some height, seven kids with great heart, and a little video titled 'UpForce.' "You have probably heard
this a million times but.... --K. Wilson, Morgantown, West
Virginia "Hello Tom, I did some shooting in the side yard before reading the booklet accompanying your video (ok, I'd scanned the booklet). I shot ok, I've always shot ok, pretty well as a kid. I used to pride myself on my precise arm shooting and would wax philosophically about where my elbows were positioned. Then 2 weeks ago I read the booklet like I was preparing for finals. "At rec league ball last week I put what I'd read into motion. Keep in mind that I hadn't really played since about 1985 until this year. I started my usual game of defense and passing. Then I started to shoot, and shoot, and shoot (until guilt made me back off). It was as if there was a string running from my legs through my line of sight, up through the ball and my finger tips and through the middle of the basket. At one point I made 8 straight 3 pointers. In between games I sank 10 straight free throws, backed up a step and rang out another string. "Last night I started off
half a bubble off plumb, adjusted my leg push up, then started
up again. Shooting in between games I did an around the world
from baseboard to baseboard from behind "I got to tell you Tom, this is all before I've watched the video. This is based [just] on the book. I'll be watching the video real soon. I'm already a believer and can't wait to start coaching my 4th/5th grade girls team next fall. I'll be teaching your shooting technique with absolute confidence. "And, I can't believe I'm writing such a fan mail type email. A pretty fawning letter to a Minnesotan from a born-and-bred Iowan, I'd say!" Best, P. Wingate, Hadley, MA "Two exercises from your tape have been very helpful in helping the players develop their shots -- the first being where the players shoot to a partner about 10 or 12 feet away. We incorporate this into a passing drill so that one player passes, the other catches and shoots. It's great to see the shots get gradually higher and the backspin get better as the drill progresses. The players naturally involve their legs and the UpForce more in this drill as they try to get the ball to come down directly on their partner's head. "The other exercise is where players shoot a foul shot (or a closer shot) and call out where the ball is going to end up, so as to increase their awareness and feel. Usually it only takes four or five attempts before players become very good at feeling where the shot is going -- left, right, short, long or in. Short and long are the tough ones for my players -- that seems to be a more sophisticated feel that is tougher to master than right or left. "Recently, after some poor free throw shooting in games, my high school team started working on foul shots more in practice. We did the feel-call-your-shot drill, then I had them do it with their eyes closed. At first they didn't believe I wanted them to shoot with eyes closed, but when they did it they loved it. I believe that if a coach can get his players to do this exercise he will help their shooting immensely. The players were amazed that they (1) made foul shots with their eyes closed, and (2) could so accurately tell where the shot was going to land. And once they started doing it, they couldn't get enough of it. "Thanks very much for all your work" -- M. Gillis, Salt Lake City" -- K. Leas, D.C. area -- E. Michaels "I have read everything you have published on the web. I've probably read every one of them at least twice. Somehow I just hadn't really got it, not until last September when I made great progress. This season I've played in an unfamiliar team in an unfamiliar city, since I started to study in an university. I was doing well in my new team, getting playing time, scoring points because I was such a good shooter. But I haven't had time to practice during the winter and my shot started to slip back to the old. And when I did have time to practice I was just basically wasting my time. "Now I'm on a holiday and trying to regain my form. I also wish to increase my range. First I realized that my limited range was due to lack of power. I have a good release ( I can't force myself to say it's great but I have mastered it to some degree) but I lose the release as I move back. I haven't practiced what you call the UpForce ( I think it's a great name) very much so I thought it would be easy to just work on that while of course giving notice to the release and the sun would be shining again. Easier said than done. I had also forgot how to learn, how to practice during the winter. I've always had the difficulty to complicating things. "Last September I realized how very simple learning is. Somehow I just didn't get what I was to do when going to shoot: What to look at, what kind of mindset should I have. All became complicated, practicing became waste of time, in plain words: I learned nothing. Just an hour ago I was outside shooting in our driveway, I live in Finland so it's rare to be able to shoot outside during the winter and even then gloves are a must. I was missing as usual and not making any progress. "Then all of a sudden everything clicked. I was just about to leave when I captured the feel I used to have and again I was making everything. First I did my routine work from in-close on my release and when I got that down I move to 13-14 feet and started to work on the UpForce. I was going back and forth catching a lot of it. I tried to look at the basket in different ways, to be relaxed when going to shoot but nothing seemed to work, I just didn't learn. The thing I then realized was that all I had to do was to channel my mind fully to the shot, that is to say to be completely in the moment. It was only then that my body could learn as the mind wasn't interrupting. "I was giving the normal feedback of when in the jumping motion I released and my body just got it. I'm pretty sure that the difference was in my mindset since that was the only thing I changed. All along the answer was so simple that it seemed too simple. Just connecting to the basket. I'm looking forward for tomorrow and new chances to learn but that's just great about this journey that I'm on that I can only get closer and closer but there's always a ways to go." -- Risto ja Anja Autto, Finland "I concentrated on several of your key points. Constant upper body release (what you use to call "zero point release"), power from the legs (UpForce), and a high arch. When I practice on my own I always start off with the zero point release until I make a lot of swishes from about 5 feet away. Then I step back a few feet and start to add the leg power to my constant arm release. I pay attention to putting a high arch to my shot and adjust it a little for different distances. If I get the other details and practice more then I know I'll even get better. "I feel confident enough to start teaching these few points to my 8th grade girls b-ball team soon. Thank you and I'll write again if I feel I've hit another milestone in my shooting or my team's shooting." -- V. Magno, Fremont, Calif. "I also sincerely appreciate your allowing me to assist you at the clinic the following afternoon. The clinic really cemented in my mind the methods you use in coaching shooters. This was a very energizing experience and I look forward to sharing what I learned with my players so that they may all benefit from the "Swish" method. I intend to run my own "Swish" clinic for my players, utilizing your lesson plans and teaching principles. "Best of all, I got to watch three of my players grow immeasurably in the course of one afternoon. When we finished, one of my players stayed around and was shooting free throws. Her shooting had improved so much that she couldn't help but hang around the gym and watch that beautiful shot fall time after time - even after spending four hours in the gym that afternoon. And I was amazed to see a girl who had been struggling from the line taking free throws and finding it next to impossible to miss a shot. She was in an amazing zone and, on those rare occasions when she missed, she knew what she had done wrong, corrected it, and knocked down another string of 7-8 straight. While 7-8 straight makes from the line might not set any world records in any age group, for her it is a remarkable turnaround. "I spoke with a coaching colleague who sent a daughter to the clinic. He was very impressed with the video. His son, a star shooting guard at one of the local private schools here in DC with a great natural shot, watched the video as well and was equally impressed. You will probably hear from Walter as well. We only want to know when you will come back so we can get more players out to benefit from your teaching method. I would really like to get with my Flames organization to work on having you come out for another go around. We have a number of teams who could fill some clinics with appropriate coordination. And those of us who have seen the results will definitely spread the word. "Thanks again for a wonderful weekend of hoops. I will have to let you know how our clinic goes in a few weeks." -- J. Grant, Maryland Flames
Girls AAU Basketball "I MUST SAY IT IS INDEED VERY ARTISTIC, NATURAL, FREE, EASILY EXPRESSED THEREFORE EASILY REPEATED, AND MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD. THE THING ABOUT THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD IS THAT ONE IS TOO BUSY CONCERNED OR THINKING ABOUT HOW TO PLACE THE FEET, HOW TO SQUARE UP, THUS THEY MISS THE ART OF FREEDOM OF SELF EXPRESSION. "I WANT TO SAY I THANK YOU FOR THIS VALUABLE WORDS OF WISDOM, THEY REALLY HELP ME SEE MORE CLEARLY THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ART OF SHOOTING." YOURS IN THIS BLESSED GAME J. Bryan, Tequesta, FL "Now, I should mention most of these boys had poor form over the past four years. They relied on passing to a great shooter, and never developed their own shooting skills. After getting approval to start working with some of the boys, during practice, one of them said to me "Mr. Richards, it doesn't matter." That's how low this kid was on shooting. Another kid cared even less. That's because they never were taught how to shoot. An they were never taught how to shoot, I believe, because no one had a copy of your video. "Well, during one practice, when I had two of the boys for 15 minutes, one said the "Mr. Richards, it doesn't matter" line again. Under the threat of running laps with their arms raised up, they realized it did matter!!! The poorest shooter on the team, one of these boys had never made a shot in four years. We worked and worked, and in practice he was consistent out about 8 feet. "The season was coming to a close, and we were supposed to play in one final tournament. A notoriously hard tournament at that. The head coach was reluctant to sign-up for it, but with a little encouragement, he went ahead and did it. I don't blame him for being reluctant. These boys never advanced in a tournament over four years, why have one more disappointment? "Well, this team of only eight boys lost the first game to a team of at least sixteen that ran them down something fierce. But we did go on to the consolation bracket. While leading during the last game of the bracket, our boy who had never made a single shot sunk a jumper with "video-perfect" form. The place went nuts, and after the buzzer, we were able to take pictures with the boys holding a trophy for the first time ever! "There were a lot of factors that turned this team around. Simpler plays, harder practices, higher expectations all played a roll. But I really do believe your video made the biggest difference. "You know how they say you're not supposed to dwell on the past, but look forward to the future? Well, I can't help but wonder how much better my son and his teammates would have been had we used your video from the start. I hope more people get their hands on your video and embrace the techniques. It's so easy, and natural, that it feels like cheating!!! "Best Regards and Thanks
Again." |