Paying attention to your misses.
A missed shot can elicit great frustration, but instead of letting emotions take over, take time to notice where the shot was missed. Missing short tells you something about what you did wrong and how you can correct it, as can missing to a side or long.
For example, the primary reason for missing shots long is that the elbow bends beyond 90 degrees and the ball comes too close to the body or face. The reasons that shots are missed short can be because of a grip problem or a follow through problem. A grip holding the ball up on the fingertips causes the ball to come off too soon. A follow through in which the forearm snaps back lead to missing short as well.
The old adage that misses short and long are caused by too little or too much leg power ignores the important things we need to notice above the waist. Missing to the sides can be caused by off-hand interference or by the elbow and forearm position out of alignment to the center of the rim.
So, we must train players to think "Where did I miss it? What caused it? How do I fix it?" instead of letting frustration take over and erode confidence.
Follow through correctly.
Late in games especially, we see the tendency to drop the follow through too soon. We must teach "lift and freeze" on all shots, jumpers, 3's and free throws. "Lift" means get your elbow above your eyebrow in your follow through. "Freeze" means that you hold that until the ball hits the basket. Doing this can help overcome flaws in a shot from other causes.
At our Shot Doctor Basketball Camps, we go into far greater detail on shooting form and we work players through the process of making the adjustments for improvement. Please check our web site, www.shot-doctor.com, to see more about hosting a shooting camp at your school. Contact me directly if you have specific questions at bobtopp@shot-doctor.com.
Solving the Free Throw Mystery
By: Bob Topp
National Director for Shot Doctor Basketball, Inc.
Frustration over missed free throws is felt in every gym in the country. Here are a few thoughts on how to minimize it.
Pre-shot routine.
Do something simple, but understand and apply the two real reasons that coaches promote a pre-shot routine, for relaxation and focus. Players need to assess their own level of arousal that would hinder a smooth shot. Including a big exhale in a pre-shot routine can be the tension release that helps. Focus can come from the simple act of visualizing a made shot. Research on visualization shows that it keeps the mind on the picture of success, replacing the fears of failure that paralyze shooters.
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