How To Get Better At Shooting – Basketball Shooting Tips
Providing basketball shooting tips to players is usually one of those few times in life when you have a captive audience – every player wants to be a shooter. And I think that’s a good thing. Shooting is one of the most important basketball skills your players can learn.
You never know what shot the defense will give you, which player will find themselves open and in position to shoot. The more of your players who know how to shoot a basketball, the more likely your team is to score.
But shooting a basketball is a bit of an art form – it takes lots of practice to get it right and keep it right, and even good shooters will lose their touch if they lose their focus – as can happen, for example, after spending the summer playing pick-up playground ball or watching too much NBA or And 1.
If your players want to consistently put points on the board, they need to shoot with good fundamentals, and to do this, they need those fundamentals drilled into them constantly. Every season needs to begin with a refresher, a focus on some basics that everyone on the team needs to know.
As soon as tryouts have finished and the team is picked, start scheduling practice time for shooting fundamentals.
There is always a lot to do at the beginning of the pre-season, so you won’t have an entire practice to hand over to handing out basketball shooting tips, but a solid fifteen-minute block of time each practice will help you develop skills, as long as you teach the skills well.
Basketball Shooting Tips Fundamentals First
In the beginning, focus on Basic Shooting Fundamentals. Set players up in a semi-circle and demonstrate proper shooting form. It would be best if you have a player with good shooting form to use as an example, pointing out aspects of his basketball shooting technique as he shoots.
It is equally effective to point out problem areas that your shooter displays as well, explaining how he could fix them.
If you have players who have been playing for a while but have developed bad shooting habits – maybe they didn’t have proper training at the younger stages – then trying to change their shot overnight will likely be ineffective.
You would be better off trying to push only a few of the more important shooting tips – the most essential tips a basketball shooting coach should focus on.
Then break your players up and have them run some Simple Practice Drills. These drills are not run-in-game situations, as the focus should be on developing good shooting form. As the players perform these basic drills, coaches walk around and make adjustments to players’ shots as needed.
It isn’t necessary to have them do all these drills in one practice – introduce one drill at the first practice, then another the next.
Basketball Shooting The Jump Shot
Focus on shooting fundamentals until you feel the majority of your players are getting it – there will always be a couple of players who just can’t seem to pin it down, and if you wait for everyone you’ll be teaching fundamentals for the entire season.
But once most of your players seem to be able to shoot with a decent basketball shooting technique, move on to the jump shot – most shots taken in the game will be jump shots, not set shots; now you can start to prepare players for game-like situations.
Again, start by focusing on the basics, this time on teaching solid Jump Shot Fundamentals. This is essentially an add-on to the shooting fundamentals already taught, but it needs to be done. Players can then perform the basic practice drills again, this time taking jump shots, and again the coach walks around making adjustments as needed.
This should go much quicker than teaching the fundamentals since players already have an idea of what they are doing. Soon after introducing the jump shot basics, you can introduce some more advanced Shooting Drills that will require players to shoot jump shots in situations more game-like.
From this point on, work one of these shooting drills into each practice, especially at the beginning of the pre-season, and continue to give players feedback on how they are shooting.
Remember that players need to continue to focus on good shooting form through all these drills so that proper basketball shooting technique is ingrained in their muscle memory and they automatically use good form in any shooting situation, whether alone in the schoolyard or the middle of a high-pressure playoff game.
To add to this, have players warm up before practices using the push-back shooting drill to reinforce technique – a simple warm-up that has their focus on maintaining proper shooting form no matter where they are on the court.
Basketball Shooting The Foul Shot
There is one more type of basketball shot that needs to be taught – the foul shot. This is a special shot because it is more of a mental game than anything else – if the player practices enough, a shot taken during a game will come naturally since he won’t have time to think about it.
But when shooting a foul shot, the player will be standing alone at the foul line, everyone watching, nothing happening around him – plenty of time to get nervous and forget how to shoot.
There are some Tips for Good Foul Shooting that every player should use – ways to reduce the stress and pressure of being on the line with all eyes focused on you.
There are some Practice Drills for Foul Shooting that you should use at every practice, which will place players in pressure situations so that they get used to shooting in these conditions.
Give them the tips, have them practice at the line, and then integrate the practice drills at the end of every practice.
How to Improve Basketball Shooting?
Unless you never miss a shot when you play basketball you can improve your shooting. It is important that at whatever level you play, you are always looking to improve.
Being a good or even great shooter has a lot to do with details, and with our basketball training, we are extremely keyed in on teaching these details. If you can master the details of the shooting, you will see your shooting percentage increase.
That is why we have created a list of shooting tips that will help you improve your shooting.
Every player wants to make their shots time and time again. After all, shots are where the glory is, proper? If you want to improve your shot, then follow these 7 tips :
Seven Simple Basketball Shooting Tips:
- Tip #1: Different Colored Balls Can Help Develop Your Rotation
Straightening your shot is vital. To determine where you’re going wrong, use a colored ball instead of the regular orange. This will let you see how the ball is rotating and in what direction it’s going. This feedback will help you quickly adjust and get better.
- Tip #2: Forget About Doing “Kobe Shots”
- Tons of kids look up to Kobe. So it’s only natural that they try to copy his style. But this is a bad idea. Why? Because only Kobe can shoot like Kobe! So first improve your short selection.
- Shoot as you should: one inch before you reach the top of the jump. Let Kobe shoot like Kobe, and save yourself the frustration!
Basketball Shooting Tips By Basketball Champs
Shot preparation is going to be the first area that we talk about, and it is comprised of 3 things that you should be doing as the ball comes to you. These 3 areas will help to set you up for a great shot.
- Drop your butt: For you to get a lift on your shot, you need to be low and in an athletic stance when you catch the ball.
- Show your hands: This will help give the passer a target to hit, and it will also help you with catching the ball. You want to catch the ball with your wrist cocked and in shooting position.
- Momentum to the basket: When you catch the ball you want to be stepping or hopping into your shot. This is important as you move out further from the basket.
Now that you have caught the ball the right way, we are going to talk about the shot. You have already done all the prep work, so now it is time to execute a great shot.
- Jump straight up and down: It is important that on your shot you stay balanced and jump straight up and down, or slightly forward (unless it is a game situation shot where you are fading on purpose).
- Straight up your body: As you bring the ball up, you want to bring it in a straight line up your body. This will help to eliminate variables in your shot. You want a consistent and clean shot every time.
The final part of your shot is the release and follow-through. This is important, and like all the other parts of your shot, the details matter.
- Elbow above eye: When you shoot the ball you want to make sure that your elbow is finishing above your eye. This will show you that you are getting the right arc on the shot.
- Snap your wrist: The snapping of the wrist allows for great backspin and touch on the shot.
- Follow through: Even though the ball has left your hands already, you must stay on your shot until you make or miss your shot.
These are the primary shooting details that we cover regularly at Champs Hoops, and they are great for any level of shooter to work on. It is important that you not only work hard, but work smart when you are in the gym, and these tips will help you do that.
Final Reminders
Remember to always insist on good shooting form in practice.
The more they shoot properly in practice, the more their muscles will remember to do it in the game – because their brains won’t. It needs to come naturally.
And once you are past the fundamentals stage, and the basketball shooting tips start to focus on shooting under pressure, always insist that players perform all drills as in-game situations – again, if they don’t practice as if in a game situation, they won’t be able to perform in game situations.
Their muscles will act as if they’ve been conditioned, for better or worse
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