While the weather is still warm, time to sharpen those shooting skills before the season starts.  In the driveway, you can find a distance that you are confident with, and try to make 65 out of 100 shots.  If you can do that more than 2x in a row, the move back another step or 2 and try the same thing.  Try to take the shot off of a dribble or by "passing it to yourself" simply by spinning the ball out in front of you so that it bounced back to you.  If you can go to a park with 2 baskets, a great way to practice shooting and get in some game type of running, is to find a distance you are again comfortable with, and that might even mean just taking lay-ups, and run back and forth between the 2 baskets for set period of time.  Start with 2 minutes and watch how fast you get tired and the shots stop going in as you do!  This is a great way of increasing stamina for the 4th quarter.  Michael Jordan use to like this drill and he turned out to be a pretty good player!

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 01:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Ever run into that dreaded shooting slump for one of your players or for yourself as a player?  Most coaches will tell you to "shoot your way out of it", by continuing to shoot in a game until a shot falls or in practice, doing more shooting, maybe at closer distances.  But most of this is in  the shooter's head, so here is an easy solution.  Get a ladder that will able you to get up above the rim so that you can look down into it.  When you see the goal up that close, you will realize how big it really is and it will actually fit 2 full size basketballs in it at one time.  So when you go back to shooting, it will feel like you are shooting into a bigger target and might help you get out of that slump.  Keep your techniques correct and remember to use your legs more the further you move away from the hoop.  A good way to judge your range as a shooter is to take 100 uncontested shots from your desired distance.  If you can make 65 or more, 2 times in a row, then you can move back 3 feet, but if you make less then 50, maybe you should move in 3 feet.  When a player makes 65, then it is easy for a coach to say it is OK to shoot from a certain distance and gives the player a goal to reach in practice as well. 

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 03:03 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The past few days, my 6 yr old son and his 2 buddies about the same age, have been attempting to shoot baskets in the driveway and getting a little frustrated.  Since I have 3 older daughters who can shoot at the normal 10 ft. basket, it makes it hard for us to keep lowering the basket to 8 ft. for my son and his friends.  But leave it to kids to figure out a solution and to be honest the more I thought about it, the more it makes sense.  Do you know those bouncy balls we all see at the grocery store?  The ones our kids and every other kids either are playing with in the store or beg us to buy and only have the dog pop it!  Well my son and his friends began shooting one of those balls at the 10 ft. basket and all of a sudden the ball was going in on a regular basis and their excitement level increased.  With the lighter ball, they were able to maintain a decent shooting form for their age and not put so much effort into "chucking" the regular basketball and getting into bad habits.  Also, they were able to dribble the lighter ball easier and control it better, and pass it to one another without worrying about getting hit in the nose!  I think for kids in the pre-k, kindergarten and 1st grade ages, this might be a way to maintain their confidence, so that when they are strong enough, they can reach the bigger basket.  Remember, boys or girls, in the 1st through 3rd grades, should be using the smaller woman's basketball as well for just the same reasons.  The smaller ball is a nice transition for boys because they can handle it better and again avoid learning to many bad habits.  Overall, a simple, fun and effective solution to "reaching your goal".

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 01:34 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

My 8-year-old son has just taken up basketball, and I want to teach him the right way to shoot the basketball. What are the keys to having a good shot?

Just like Coach Thom covers in our segments on shooting, we want to make sure the player knows it is a one-handed shot, form an “L” with his shooting arm, put the ball on your finger pads and reach up and follow through, all while maintaining a good base with his feet. Just watch our segments and you will see all the building blocks of a good shot.

Posted by Bill Sniffen at 11:06 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)