Can you work on your basketball shot during the season?
I deal with this all the time, coaches say they don’t want their players to “play” with their shots once the season starts. So what is the truth?
WHY IS BASKETBALL DIFFERENT?
The first question that comes to mind is why should basketball be different from other sports? The great PGA golfers are working on their swings, short game and putting all the time. They probably don’t try to adjust anything right before a round, but then they get together with their coaches and work on things like tempo, swing plane, clubface contact, ball flight, this and that. Baseball players have hitting and pitching coaches to work with them throughout the season. Tennis players work with their coaches all the time. If they could talk to them during a round, they surely would. (It is somewhat unfair that golfers can have caddies [who can be coaches and teaching professionals] and talk to them during a round, but tennis players can’t even talk or point to their coaches in the stands during matches).
Basketball is no different! In fact, basketball shooting is a much more forgiving skill than hitting a 90 mph fastball or controlling a golf club head traveling at 120-140 mph. The basketball hoop is about twice the size of a basketball. Free throws are taken just 13 feet nine inches from the center of the rim. Jump and Set Shots are taken from a few feet away to 20 feet or more, they are not much of a challenge.
NO MAJOR CHANGES!
By working on your shot, I don’t mean to say you have to make major changes to your shot for a season (usually), because it takes time for the body to adjust and trust a very different shooting action. But minor things can be worked on and “tweaked” throughout the season. And if your stroke is really suspicious (a nice way of saying “poor”), what’s the risk of a major change? If you’re missing playing time or games due to a poor shot, why not address it, both individually and as a team, no matter what it takes?
AWARENESS IS HOW TO DO IT
The gentlest way to do this is through awareness rather than telling someone (or yourself) how to do things. Consciousness is how our wonderful body/brain/nervous system (let’s call it the “body”) works. Awareness gives the body the feedback it needs to know what’s going on, and then it can make the often subtle changes it needs to learn and perform better. Patience is also important, as the body cannot be rushed. If you’re always short, for example, yelling at yourself or a player isn’t much help. In fact, it would hamper growth. But simply being aware and then observing how so-and-so feels, and what the results are, will lead to solid and lasting learning.
EXAMPLES OF CONSCIOUSNESS COACHING/LEARNING
Let’s say a player shoots all flat and has a low shooting percentage. The conscience questions to ask are “How high are you shooting now?” and “What could you do to shoot higher?” Once the player has some knowledge of the height of his shots, invite him to play with the answers to the second question. The player could aim higher with arm action, a possibility, or the player could jump harder to shoot. You can also notice “when” in the jump motion (or down for a free kick) you are shooting. Is it “early”, “mid jump”, or “top”? With experimentation, the player will learn that shooting faster is a simple and powerful way to increase the height of shots. Then play this command — “Shoot faster” — and the player will LEARN about height and how to reach it. The player can do most of the work to improve height simply by noticing things, giving accurate feedback, and then getting out of their own way. Letting learning happen!!!
(A note on “Let go!” It means to stop interfering and give your magical body the freedom to do what it does. Do you know how to do it?” One of my mentors put it this way: If you know what to do, then “LET IT HAPPEN!” If you don’t know what to do, “LET ME LEARN!” The magic is in the “LET… “)
SPECIAL TODDLERS
Children should be trained and encouraged to work on their immunizations on their own throughout the year. These are the development years, so let them try new things during the season. Teach them to be responsible (responsive) for their own learning! That’s what’s so powerful about Swish videos, THEY TEACH KIDS HOW TO TRAIN THEMSELVES! It is in the “practice” where they will develop more than in the few and sporadic coaching sessions. Coaching can help them get off to a wonderful start, but it’s in the follow-through (and mindful repetition) that they’ll learn the most. And, coaches, don’t worry about losing games! Skill development for your players is much more important at younger ages.
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I asked a few trainer friends for their feedback on this topic, and their feedback is included below.
“Like you, Tom, I think there’s no better time than the present to work on and improve a player’s shot. The old ol’ you don’t want to play with a player’s shot during the season should have gone with both- hand shot!
“Golfers continually work and refine their shots; there is no reason shooters should ‘wait’ until the off-season to maintain and refine form and technique.
“Great players always want information and look for ways to gain even the slightest advantage. Coaches have to have the courage to provide this information and not worry about the possibility that it could cost a game down the road.”
“The other poignant point in this discussion/debate is when is a good time to make changes and work on technique? In Australia, the basketball ‘season’ seems never to end, and in the US little time to wait until that there is a free period of 3 months in the training calendar.
“It’s a similar argument to not changing a player’s shot once they’ve reached a certain age. This is such an important skill, why wouldn’t a coach want to provide players of any age or experience with information and insight to improve at this area? ?”
– – Peter Lonergan, NITCP Head Coach, Basketball New South Wales, Australia
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“Tom, I think every year we could benefit from going back and brushing up on the basics of shooting to help keep our shot in top shape and maintain accuracy and hopefully improve. I’ve found that in my own experience in life. ., that sometimes when I’ve been doing something for so long, I tend to neglect certain “little” things that can add up to a big difference. If I stay on top of those “little” things, I can be more successful. I recommend that at some point time during the year players go back to the basics and start from scratch and work their way back to where they are to avoid ignoring something that can make a big difference to their shot.
– – Tommy Huneycutt (Tommy’s Playbook website:
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“Just a quick thought here… I think the age and experience of the players is a big factor. Assuming the player is advanced and just needs refinement, then yes, you work on the shot, but you don’t review it.” because winning in the short term is too important (like on a college team).
“However, bringing that mindset to anything under HS varsity does kids a huge disservice. Can you imagine a high school C-team coach, for example, who doesn’t want to change shooting form? of a player just to protect his W/L record? First, the goal of youth sports is to prepare players for higher level play. The sooner the better to fix shot form. If your subject player doesn’t change what sooner than later, he may never be ready to play varsity.If his performance at the C team level hurts his team (by missing a few shots, I guess), then that’s a very small price to pay.
“Second, the longer you wait to change form, the harder it is to form new habits. Even when you can show a high school player that a change in form is beneficial, when the pressure is on, he’ll fall back on old habits. He just exceptional students of the game will willingly change their fundamental habits when they are older.”
– Steve Jordan, Coaches Notebook
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“My thoughts on how kids train are very similar to what Bob Bigelow (bobbigelow.com) has been saying (editor’s note: Steve, Bob and I met this fall in Massachusetts; Bob is an expert on youth sports and how could spend so much time preparing and conditioning for the game… and so little time developing player skills Kids play too many games and not enough time just shooting a basketball How many kids today they go out on the street and shoot for an hour every day?
“I recently did a clinic for a youth basketball team, and after I finished my skills segment, the coach had them go straight into a game. They would just run up and down the court throwing shots from all sides. Shooting is a skill, an art and a science that you have to work on every day.There is nothing more satisfying than shooting in the park or on your driveway and shooting shot after shot.
“I sympathize with youth coaches today. The youth sports system puts so much emphasis on winning games that it doesn’t allow coaches to spend the necessary time on fundamentals like shooting. Our kids can run 4-5 offensive plays and traps in zone”. , but cannot shoot a free throw.
“Some suggest blowing up the system…but that’s probably not realistic. I suggest working on improving the system. Traditionally, teams that travel across town practice a couple of times a week and play on the weekends. Parents Consider basketball skills and shooting coaches to supplement your child’s practice schedule. Working with a coach will focus them more on developing their skills than winning basketball games.
“And for kids who might have been cut from an AAU or travel team, they can now get a head start by working with a coach who helps them develop their skills.”
– – Steve Smith (basketball coach at Forekicks, an indoor sports and golf complex in Norfolk, Massachusetts)