Focus on the Target When Performing to Reduce Fear!

(A young girl from New Mexico has a realization!)

One problem we all have is trusting a new stroke (or new anything) when there is pressure, when it "counts!" Why is it that, even when we're getting pretty good with a new stroke or behavior, we revert to our old habits in games and screw things up?

FROM PRACTICE AREA TO THE COURSE

Golfers have this problem all the time, the difference between golf swings or putting strokes they can make on the driving range or practice green and the swings or putts that happen on the course when each shot counts. The latter is usually disastrous, with tension, fear, doubt, or all of the above interfering with the result.

MAKE THE TARGET MORE IMPORTANT!

A young girl from New Mexico I coached awhile back just wrote me with her discoveries in this area. The question is what can you do to perform your best in competition, in what she calls "in public." Here are her words:

"Hey Tom! I think I have a clue that may help me to better my shooting in public. When I was reading some things on your website, something really clicked. There was a question that a boy had that had the same weakness as myself. Your guess was lack of concentration on the goal.

"I started to notice that when I am being very self aware of how I am shooting, I miss. Now that I have gotten the method down, I just need to focus mostly on the goal, and not worry about much else. Does this sound familiar? Thank you."

-- Kelly B., Springer, NM

PROFOUND DISCOVERY

Yes, Kelly, you had a really profound discovery! Thoughts about HOW you're performing in the middle of a competitive action usually lead to fear (of the future) and doubts (about your abilities), those two worthy adversaries we all have in our lives. Thinking is not in the same dimension as physical action. If you're thinking, it's usually about some future outcome that you're interested in or about some failure from the past. Often these thoughts are about what did happen, what could happen, what might happen, etc., and they're usually negative (I could miss the basket, I could airball it, I DID screw it up, I could look foolish, I could fail!).

However, if you can minimize the thinking and return more and more to the "present moment," to the action that's happening, and be more with feel than with thoughts, you will perform better. That's been my experience. It's tough to do when the doubts and fears get really intense, but with practice you can get better and better at this process, like you are doing.

THE TARGET -- A GREAT FOCUS!

One wonderful focus is on the target. You could focus on other things, like feeling the ball in your fingers as you shoot, or noticing when in the jump you start your Release, etc., and that focus will help put you in the present and performance will improve. Focus on the target is another place to put your attention while you perform, and it's probably the most effective because it increases awareness of where you're going!

TRY IT!

Play with this and notice if you can just see the basket clearly with little or no emotion or attachment (how am I doing?) as you shoot. Just see it! You'll find your mind gets calmer and your "connection" with the target goes up. Trust will also go up because trust occurs in the present, not in any future or past. If you're truly aware of where you're going, there's a natural sense of trust that occurs, especially when you have a stroke that works, a stroke you can count on, which is what Kelly is developing. Try shooting this way and your experience will teach you how to do it.

TO SUMMARIZE

In practice pay attention (awareness) to HOW you do things, what's happening with your body, where you're getting your power from, your wrist and hand, height, spin, etc., but in games, when it counts, shift your attention to the TARGET, to where you want the ball to go. When it counts, keep it very simple and learn to trust your body to do what it knows to do. It won't always do what you want, but with practice and more and more trust, you'll surprise yourself with how well you can perform under pressure.

Thanks, Kelly, for a wonderful subject for other kids to study and learn!

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance (a rebirth, a revival) in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the “essence” of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that it’s very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Tom’s website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting.

The Danger Signs of Poor Basketball Shooting

How to tell if your team needs work on shooting!

A few years ago I was watching a women's professional ABL basketball game and I was struck by how ineffective were the shooting styles of most of them. Only a few were what I would call good or great shooters. I see the same in the men's game, at all levels, still today. Few really understand how to shoot "lights out" ... all the time! The thought occurred to me that, though I can see what the problems are, probably most coaches are not seeing what I see. This article is an attempt to describe what to look for. If you see these danger signs, realize your team needs to work on shooting because the flaws I point out are probably going to lead to missed shots. Missed shots at crucial times will lose games.

LIST OF THE DANGER SIGNS

1) Flat Trajectories / Little Use of Body & Leg 
2) Set Points Not Aligned with Eye / Too Far Overhead! 
3) No Inertia in the Shot Motion! 
4) The Release - Slinging or Throwing vs. Pushing 
5) Jerky or Stiff Follow Through 
6) Funny Spins

DESCRIPTIONS

1) Flat Trajectories 
Watch your players and the team as a whole while they're shooting in practice or as they warm up before a game. If shots are getting only a foot or two (three feet for longer shots) above the rim, then you're probably in trouble. Such "flat" shots have a very small target and they come in very "hot," meaning gravity has not had time to slow them down. This is usually caused by not using any or enough lower body power in the shots.

If the apex of the arch of shots (the bottom of the ball) is approaching the top of the backboard or higher, then you can know the players are using more leg drive (what I call UpForce) to power their shots, thus giving larger, more forgiving targets, softer landing. Better shooters put up shots more like mortars, very high. Think of it this way: YOU HAVE TO GO UP IN ORDER TO COME DOWN! And a more upward action gives gravity a chance to slow the ball's flight.

2) Set Points Not Aligned with Shooting Eye / Brought Too Far Overhead! 
Observe the "Set Point" of your players. This is where they bring the (back of the) ball before starting the Release. (For a Free Throw, there's no need to pause at that point in the motion.)

If the Set Point is aligned with the ear or shoulder, accuracy and consistency are more difficult. If it's too far overhead, a mostly horizontal motion is required to get the ball to the target. Better shooters have the ball in front of the head in line with the shooting eye and basket and then push the ball upward from there. I see otherwise great players take the ball too far overhead and decrease their odds of making shots because the ball flight is so flat and hot.

3) No Inertia in the Shot Motion! 
"Inertia" is from Newton's First Law of Motion and means that the ball is moving and in line with eye and basket before the Release, and, by shooting on the way up, that energy is captured and used in the shot. This makes Accuracy much easier! If you bring the ball up off-line, or if you bring it up moving and in line AND THEN STOP, you lose any Inertia possible.

4) The Release - Slinging or Throwing vs. Pushing Motions! 
Watch how your players power their shots. Are their Releases slinging or throwing motions, or are they more of a pushing action? Slinging and throwing create horizontal ball flight - a flat trajectory. They also mean that the arm and hand muscles are doing most of the powering. A pushing action -- with passive wrist and hand -- is more reliable and is more upward. The key to great shooting is to rely on the larger, lower body muscles to provide most of the power and keep the Release down to a simple, pushing action, always the same speed and force. Once you have that down, varying arch is how you solve the puzzle of distance.

5) Jerky or Stiff Follow Through / Arm Not Straightening! 
Watch the shooting arm and hand of each player in the Follow Through. If the arm jerks or pulls back, you can guess there's fear or doubt in the player's mind. If the wrist and hand are generating much (or all) of the power, you'll see the hand stiffen in the Follow Through. The old instruction to "reach in the cookie jar" causes players to fire the wrist and hand, even to the extent of the hand winding up pointing downward with a lot of tension. These actions employ small muscles and flatten the shot. Watch better shooters. They have a relaxed wrist and hand in the Follow Through. Such a motion is more "repeatable," especially under pressure.

Observe if the shooting arms straighten in the Follow Through or if they wind up bent at the elbow, indicating a "short arm" or throwing motion. Better shooters straighten the arm to its full extension so it can do the same thing every time. This gives greater consistency.

6) Funny Spins 
Watch the spin your players give to their shots. If the ball is dead in the air (no spin) or if there's side spin, you will know the player is doing something "extra" in the Release. The most effective spin is medium backspin ... not too slow, not overly fast, just in the middle. And it's not something you have to "do." If you just straighten your shooting arm with a relaxed wrist and hand, perfect backspin is created ... every time. If your hand or fingers manipulate the ball in any way, you interfere with this natural backspin. If you twist the hand during the Release, side spin is created.

Though you can make shots with any spin, some of the time, little manipulations introduce variables that are difficult to repeat, especially under pressure. Work with your players to have them relax their Release motions and observe the resulting spins.

These, then, are Danger Signs that will reveal your players are probably not going to have a nice day in the shooting stats area. Of course, there are exceptions. You'll find some players doing all of the above and shooting quite well. Sometimes just powerful intention and will power, raw confidence and high expectations take over for a while. In my experience such shooters are almost always "streak" shooters who will just as easily have days and games when they can't make anything. When the technique is flawed, all the mental gymnastics in the world won't help for long.

I offer my Swish videos and my writings and coaching as resources to improve your team's shooting. The Danger Signs will start to disappear from your players' shots as you coach them to more effective use of their upper and lower body actions and effortlessly control distance and direction. The first step in learning it is careful and patient awareness of what they're doing now. Then when you help them to see and know where they want to get - what works - learning can be relatively quick.

Print out this page 
I suggest you print out this article and add it to your coaching notebook. Refer to it to help you see your team's shooting tendencies. You'll start to see why they shoot well or poorly and know where to start to improve their skill at shooting. If you have a great shooter or two on your team or an opponent's, watch them carefully -- you'll start to see what they do with lower and upper bodies that makes them such consistently fine shooters. Have team shooting discussions where you talk about these things and ask everyone to watch (and learn from) the better shooters. Good Luck!

-- Tom Nordland, Shooting Coach

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the "essence" of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that it's very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Tom's website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting. See video clips with 20-25 of his students of all ages shooting "lights out," not just the coach.

Basketball Shooting Instruction Nobody Gave You

Suggestions for improving your basketball shot. Not the usual kind of coaching, but you'll find it's the way of the great shooters.

Let me ask you some questions, and then I'll respond. First remember that shooting is at a low ebb in this country, and we need to question all the coaching out there, including mine!

STANCE 
Do you Square Up? If you do and are not taking a two-handed shot, that's your first mistake! The best shooters do not Square their bodies to the target; they have an Open Stance! Check it out. An open stance is more natural and athletic, plus alignment with the eye and target is easier the more open you are, and it's more powerful because the body energy can drive the ball upward and forward, not just up. It's like a boxer stands to throw jabs, open, jab arm forward. Try it and see how such a stance is strong and stable.

SET POINT (where the Release starts from): 
Is the center of the ball in line with your eye, your ear, your shoulder, nose, other eye? For greatest shooting it's best aligned with the shooting eye. Then you know where the target is and you can fire off your Release exactly on line. Direction is thus not as much a challenge.

THE SETTING ACTION 
As you bring the ball up to the Set Point, is the center of the ball in line with eye and basket a long time, or is it so aligned only at the last moment, or not at all? If the latter, accuracy is compromised.

FLOW OF THE SHOT IN THE SETTING 
Is there a flow (a one-piece action) from the setting to the release that helps you with accuracy, or are you hesitating before shooting (breaking the flow) or bringing the ball up off line?

RELEASE 
How would you describe your release action: throw, flip, push, or catapult? Most people these days flip the ball, and I feel this is one of the main reasons no one can shoot any more. I recommend an upward pushing action with relaxed wrist and hand with a solid, connected Follow Through. That's what our greatest shooters are doing. It defines them. Mediocre shooters throw or flip the ball, thus adding variables that are hard to control.

When you release the ball, is your arm action going to full extension at the same speed every time, or is the speed inconsistent or is the arm stopping short (called "short-arming") or moving around or pulling back quickly? Great shooters go to the "end of their arm" with full extension every time at the same approx. speed and thus have reliability and predictability.

SPIN 
What kind of spin are you putting on the ball? Is it pure backspin, or is there some sidespin creeping in? Maybe it's a dead ball, or all sidespin. If it's not medium backspin, you will know you are messing things up with the wrist, hand or fingers. A "push and flop," as I recommend, will give you beautiful medium backspin every time.

HOW CONTROL DISTANCE? 
What do you do to control distance? Do you vary the Release? Or change leg action or the timing of when you release the ball? Or do you vary the angle or arch? I recommend the latter, because with a release action that's the same speed and force every time, your only decision in the moment of Release is the angle, the trajectory. That's an instinctive decision, not a thinking process. Shooting becomes less complicated.

SHOOTING CAN BE A LOT EASIER THAN YOU THINK!

I've been researching and writing about shooting for over 20 years. Almost every shooting coach I'm aware of (and regular coaches who attempt to teach shooting) teaches ~4-5 things that are not effective. Somehow in our history, coaches started teaching and demanding things that are not effective, not how our bodies are made. One of these is the first thing out of their mouths... SQUARE UP!

Squaring Up is appropriate... for two-handed shooting!!! It's not appropriate for the one-handed shot of today! But coaches still say it. (A few have told me they mean "Face Up," not "Square Up," and an open stance is implied.)

The only line (make it a plane) that matters is the one from your eye through the hand and ball to the basket. If that's achieved, direction is controlled and easy. If not, direction will always be a challenge.

Some of the other "Myths" of shooting I see include these:

o Flip your wrist

No, flipping puts control into small muscles.

Rather, use a pushing action with relaxed wrist and hand, and the benefit you get is a simple, effective and repeatable shot.

o Elbow under the ball

No, that prohibits the hand position from aligning on target.

Instead, focus on the hand, centering it on the eye-target line (and the elbow has to be out a bit to do that).

o Shoot at the top of the jump

Only if you are elevating over someone. It's a great weapon if you can do it, but it's extremely difficult, as all you have left for power are the smaller muscles of arm, wrist, hand & fingers. Much easier and more effective is shooting "on the way up!"

o Reach your hand in the Cookie Jar

No, if you have such an action, the wrist is engaged. Thus you would be flipping the wrist.

If wrist and hand are relaxed, they'll hang down a bit but not be in a forced, downward position. One sign of a great shooter is the hand flopping in the Follow Through.

o The arm should form an "L" at the Set Point

No, that applies only to those strong enough to have ball above the eyes, near top of the head.

Younger kids have to have the ball below the eyes, where the arm forms a "V," not an "L."

Stronger players who have the ball above the head a couple inches or more have an extended "L," not a true "L."

o Cock the wrist and hand back such that there's a reverse "C" formed

No, that encourages, even requires that you "un-cock" it as you release the ball, thus engaging those small muscles which are hard to control and repeat. Backspin is interfered with.

Instead, just let the hand fall back to approx. 50-75 degrees from vertical, from where you can push the ball upward and forward without engaging the "flippy" muscles.

Every one of the answers given above are what our greatest shooters do/did naturally: Chris Mullin, Steve Kerr, Diana Taurasi, Steve Nash, Sue Bird, even older "shooters" like George Gervin and Detlef Schrempf, and more recently, Stephen Curry, to name a few. My guess is that these players, as for me in my high school days, were self-taught. We didn't have coaches harping on us to square up, flip the wrist, etc., etc., so we developed naturally to what works best. And we all found the same stuff, as will you with this simple coaching.

DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING I SAY!

I say this in all my clinics. Don't believe me! But also don't dis-believe me! Check everything out with your own experience! That will tell you if it's true or not. Not many people check out the myths; they just keep thinking they're the truth and keep performing or teaching the same way... and the result is what you see: poor shooting everywhere!

The answers are very simple, and they lead to a way of shooting anyone can do well with Free Throws, Jumpers, Set Shots and 3's, even runners and floaters. The elevated, athletic shots we see the more gifted players perform take more strength and coordination, and the best they get to is streaky shooting.

Scour my website for the articles, testimonials, video clips, etc., that support what I say. You CAN do this. Commit to it and keep things simple and you'll become the best shooter on your block/team!

Tom Nordland, shooting coach

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter (and really "work") in shooting. His "Swish" and "Swish 2" are top-rated videos, and he's now working on "Swish 3," to be on Free Throws.

A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the "essence" of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that it's very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Tom's website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting. His videos and video clips show students of all ages shooting "lights out" with this approach, not just the coach. The videos come with a full, unconditional money-back guarantee. Order them and great shooting CAN be yours!