Consistent Shooting

How do you keep your shooting consistent???  I can shoot and make everyone and then I can shoot and miss every other one. . .
Patrick W.

Well Patrick, To be a consistent shooter, you need to have (1) a consistent Release motion, and (2) power  your shot mainly from the strong, reliable, big muscles of the legs and middle body. Train yourself to release the ball with the same action, same speed and force, every time.  And let the arm do the work of the Release, not the less reliable wrist and hand.  You can practice that over and over until it starts to become automatic.  Do not work all the time at a basket. When the basket is there, you will be wanting to ìmakeî the shot more than you will want to practice your stroke, thus youíll learn less. Work away from the basket a lot in the beginning, like against a wall or with a friend, so you can concentrate on just the Release motion.

Secondly the more dependent you are on your legs and body to power the shot, the more stable and, thus, consistent will be your shot.  I advocate shooting quickly, on the way up, for most shots, and this, plus the constant, automatic Release, will start you and keep you on the path of more consistent shooting.

Correcting A Funny Spin on the Ball

I coach an Under 16 Boys basketball team.  One of my better players is 13 year-old who is moderately large and quite strong for his age.  He is 5"10' , but wears size 15 (US) shoes and has hands which are at least as proportionately as large.  He is left handed.  He has recently started shooting a jump shot.  The player has generally good form and, if anything, shoots with a little too much arc (a first for me).  However, every fifth shot, or so, comes off with a clockwise, sideways rotation.  The player's final hand position after release looks fine -- elbow straight, arm angled towards top of backboard (maybe higher sometimes), hand reaching into the cookie jar with fingers pointing to the floor, guide hand well off the ball, with thumb pointing to the sky.
 

Since the sideways rotation is always clockwise and the player is left handed, the only sense I can make of this is that the player is cascading his fingers as he releases, pushing off first with the pinky, then the ring, then middle and last the index finger.  Especially with his large hands, this could impart sideways rotation to he ball. Unfortunately, the release happens too quickly for my old eyes to verify what's happening. I have asked the player to do one handed shooting from 3-5 ft, concentrating on releasing off the middle finger.  He does just fine with that.  But as soon as he goes back to shooting a jump shot, the sideways rotation appears.  Is this a question of just getting more reps with the one handed shooting, or should I be doing something more -- or differently?  Any guidance you can provide will be much appreciated.

-- Richard  Surrey, London



Hi Richard, 
The way to coach this is through your players awareness of what he is actually doing.  He has to ìdiscoverî it; your telling him will not get it done.  Obviously the hand and fingers are sometimes creating sidespin as he releases the ball.  Spend some time figuring out what he is doing and when.  Then, here is what I suggest for a different way to shoot.  Work with him to learn to do nothing with the wrist, hand and fingers.  Then the sidespin will disappear.

Also note my coaching is NOT to end with the hand in the cookie jar....
I know thati one of the common instructions these days, but it invites a wristy, flippy motion.  Usually the spin is backspin when you drive the fingers down, but this boy sometimes gets some sidespin, a little variation in the motion of the fingers, thus an unpredictable action.

The way I coach it, the arm does all the work of the Release as it straightens on line with the eye and basket, with a constant speed and force.  The only job of the wrist, hand and fingers is to keep the ball on line.  Then they can let go and the hand just flops forward and down, relaxed.  When you do this, you will get perfect, medium backspin every time.  The whole shot is driven by the bigger muscles of the lower & middle body, but the Release is just from the arm motion.  The speed of the arm action, an accelerating motion, is about 70% of max.

Try this with your own shot and with your player.  You will find tremendous consistency and ìrepeatabilityî start to appear.  The shot is aimed high, 45-60 degrees if possible, depending on power and distance, and to control distance you vary the arch, not the Release. This new stroke will eliminate that occasional side-spinning action. Comparing and contrasting this way of shooting vs. how he currently shoots will lead to a choice of the more effective new way.  Remember that he has to see and feel things in order for change (learning) to be possible.

Correcting Flat Shots

i have a girl that continues to shoot at the top of her jump, which really makes her shot flat and with little range. i have talked with her and demonstrated shooting earlier in the jump, but cannot seem to get this across to her--do you have any suggestions?

Again, the first two things to establish are (1) does she know she does it [know experientially, not just from you telling her], and does she want to change it? If the answer to both questions is ìyes,î then learning can happen.

Ask her when in her shot she shoots? I like to give a percentage to how much Up Force (leg drive) Ask her if she is catching all of it, just some of it, or none of it. She could even be shooting on the way down and catching negative percent, but thatís usually for the really strong and big guys.

When she can accurately report that sheís shooting with 50% or 75% or 60% (or whatever) of the available leg energy, then ask her to ask her body to ìupî the percentage. You might even, without telling her, ask her what is the secret to catching a high percentage. She should be able to answer that it is simply shooting right away, shooting on the way up. Once she knows that, she should easily be able to figure out how to shoot earlier and her shots will start to soar, as will her percentage of makes.

If, as she starts to shoot earlier and get all that power, she starts to shoot everything long, then itís simply a matter of learning to vary the arch appropriately with each shot. You can play with that by having her shoot from one distance and vary the leg action all over the place and develop her ability to alter the arch to control distance.

Doubting Yourself At The Line

How do I help my players with the mental part of shooting a free throw?  Their form and technique look good, but mentally they are doubting themselves and lacking  confidence?
Phil Miller

Thanks for the question, Phil.  You can practice mental stuff -- concentration drills, rating confidence 1-to-10, rating how much you trust yourself with each shot, etc. -- but if the stroke is ultimately flawed, the concentration, confidence and trust will fall apart very quickly.

Work first of all to get a stroke that is flawless.  One that can send the ball the same distance every time, a motion that is so aligned, simple, accurate and repeatable you can almost do it in your sleep.  You can, certainly, do it with your eyes closed if itís that kind of stroke.  If your release has any variation in it, youíre in trouble.

Find a Release that is everytime the same, same speed and force, a constant rather than a variable. Then work on the mental stuff.  And it will be easier to do because you will come to trust your stroke.  Confidence will follow the success of the stroke, rather than the other way around.

Falling Short

My jumper is always on line and appear to be going in but falls short most of the time. What can I do to be more consistent?

Two possibilities:

Either (1) your body/leg power, what I call Up Force, is too little, or (2) you are aiming too high for the amount of energy you are getting from that power source. The height you chose was not appropriate.

Shooting with my method is a dance between power and height. Since I advocate the release be at the same speed and force every time, and since the leg drive energy is changing from jumper to jumper, something else has to change, and that is the height or angle of the shot.

PLAY WITH HEIGHT...

Practice shooting from one spot, say 15 feet away, and vary the Up Force and vary the arch. Shoot with all kinds of varying leg power, from tiny to massive. You will quickly learn how to adjust this last-second variable and your shots will start to find the bottom of the net regularly. Varying arch is just an instinctive thing. Make sure you have enough leg energy to get the ball there easily, and then you can adjust up or down as required to find the center of the target. If your leg power is minimized, then you will be shooting flat and hitting short is always a possibility. Up the leg energy and you will have more possibilities.

Guide Hand Position

The guide hand: is the correct position with the arm parallel to the floor, the elbow at a right angle, and the blade of the hand perpendicular to the basket? Or, can the arm be extended toward the basket?

Vic Hogen

There is no one correct position, Vic.  How the arm and elbow behave is dependent on how high the Set Point is.  Do not try to force a formula on them.  Key is to have the hand/ball, eye and target aligned, either below the eyes for younger players, or above the eyes when the player becomes strong enough to shoot from there without straining. You will know if the player is ready.  It will look easy and un-strained. If thereís strain (and usually a very flat shot, too), youíll know she or he is not ready yet for that higher Set Point. When your Set Point is determined, then just use the guide hand to support that position.  Your body will figure it out.  You do not have to tell it where the parts of the arm and hand have to be.  As far as the guide hand, some coaches say to have it on the side of the ball.  I like it more under and behind and a little to the side.  Both can work, but I like the fact that when I set the ball my guide hand does all the work bringing the ball up to the Set Point and then the shooting arm and hand (my right) just take over and complete the shot.  Itís seamless.  The action is a simple change of direction.  The ball is probably on line more easily with less chance for extra movement or shift of weight in the hands, too.  Try it both ways and see which works for you.

Mid-Air Shots Fall Short

Hi! What would be the best advice you could give me on why my shots are always short when I hang in the air and what I should do to solve the problems? If u could respond that would be wonderful.
Thank you have a great day.
Farr Duke

Thanks for the question, Farr.
My suggested way of shooting is to shoot on the way up, not at the top of the jump. If you want until the top, there is nothing left of the strong, stabilizing force of the legs and middle body. It becomes more difficult. Try to catch quite a bit of that energy and shoot from it. Youíre often short when you hang because you have lost that power.

Think of it as a percentage thing. If you catch all of the leg drive energy, lets call that 100%. If you wait until the top of the jump, lets call that Zero %. If you wait until Zero, your shot is going to be all upper body, flat and hot and unstable. Try shooting more on the way up, catching 25% of the leg drive energy, then 40-50%, and higher.

For most mid-range shots and 3ís, go for 100% of the leg force and see what happens. Free throws need 100%, too, as it stabilizes them. If you are in close and you have to elevate over someone, then have some hang time, but do not let the percentage get down to zero. Catch at least 10-20% or more. Play with this idea and you will figure it out.

You can also start to relax your wrist and hand as you catch more lower body power, and that will make your shot more reliable, predictable, repeatable.

Mid-Range Jumper

As you are on a fast break and go to pull up and shoot a mid-range jumper, what should you do? Hang longer, raise set point, more arch,...
Aaron Hendricks

Thanks for the question, Aaron.  It depends on how close you are to the basket.  If youíre mid-range or further out, then generally you can shoot the way you normally would, that is by shooting on the way up, Set Point in line with your eye and the basket, and a full out release to the end-of-the-arm, as I coach it.  Realize, however, that you will probably have more power and momentum than usual, since you are running toward the basket.  Thus you have to be very aware of arch, adjusting it to control the distance.  If youíre in close, you definitely will have to shoot higher to compensate for all the power.

You might be able to raise the Set Point for your shot, too, so you have a little less power with the Release and can, thus, let it fly and not be so afraid of being too strong.  If you have to you can hang a bit, but beware of that because the more you hesitate, the less stable is the power coming from the legs and middle body, and the shot becomes more difficult.

The key is NOT TO HOLD BACK with the Release!  It helps to have the same release action, quick and strong, elbow locking, so there is no variation in that force.  Changing arch allows you to control the variation of power and distance thatís happening.

This same coaching applies to runners and floaters, and to teardrops, where youíre in close and shooting off one leg, moving left or right or toward the basket, etc. If the arm is pushed quickly to the end of its extension every time (with passive wrist and hand), it minimizes the variables and you know whatís coming off the fingertips each time.

One Handed Release

Recently at a camp, the coach told us to shoot free throws with one hand ("to help with the release") until we establish our form. Is he right?
-- M.M.

If he meant to use one-hand only from the free throw line, that is a bit far to be doing that, but if you can do it then go for it.  It is a great way to isolate the Release motion to learn it.  Once the Release is starting to be learned, then you can add the ìoffî hand for more stability.   I would suggest you learn the Release in closer, shooting a mini free throw, for example, from 7-8 feet away with a tiny amount of leg energy to drive and stabilize the shot.  The Release sends the ball medium high, approx., and youíre aiming for a swish.

When you can do that beautifully, then move back a bit, add more leg power and learn to make those shots well.  The Release stays the same.The feeling you will get is ìto the end-of-the-arm, it can not go any further.  Then all the way to the Line and use the biggest leg action for that distance.   By starting small, you can train yourself to be more controlled and repeatable, getting a lot of success, and then slowly increase the difficulty by moving back.

As to the Release itself, I teach a pushing action with just the arm doing the work, not the wrist and hand.  The main power comes from the legs, not the upper body.  Also, if you use two hands to shoot with, using just one hand for a period of time is valuable to teach you NOT to use the second hand.

Playing With Small Hands

I have relatively small hands which makes it difficult for me to maintain control of the ball when shooting.  Do you have any tips for helping players who have this problem?

Wilson Montague

Dear Wilson, 

With the way I coach it, the size of the hands is not that important.  You are not powering, guiding or stabilizing the shot with those smaller muscles.  I feel the job of the shooting hand is simply to cradle the ball and deliver it exactly in the line intended by the arm motion.  (I remember when I was practicing so much in my backyard in Minnesota when I was 14 and 15 years old that I could shoot well even in Winter with cotton gloves on.  The gloves were needed to keep my hands from getting the ball warm and then wet when it landed touched any snow.)

You need to have the fingers and thumb of the shooting hand spread wide apart to give you as stable a cradle for the ball as possible, and a little finger pad pressure helps to secure the ball more in the fingers.  As you go to shoot, the hand just keeps the ball cradled as long as it can and then relaxes totally and flops forward, completing the action.  It is critical that the hand be facing exactly in-line with the target the entire time, from the setting of the ball to the end of the release.  With a pushing action, the arm does all the Release work, powered by the legs and the middle body.

Pure Release Distance

What are some good shooting drills that one or two players can use to improve their shooting? Inside and out?

Costley Marr
New Zealand

Coach Marr,

The best shooting drill for every type of jump, set and foul shot is to find the distance where, with minimal leg action, you can fire off your Release at medium height and the ball comes down dead center, swish, every time! I call this the Pure Release Distance (PRD). It is a distance where, with the same release action every time, the ball can not go any further or any less far. Aiming medium high (maybe the ball clears the basket by 1-2 feet for this close-in shot), the ball will find dead center just about every time. You will be able to make 90-95% of your shots, 5, 10, 20 in a row anytime you want. You can close your eyes and do it. Even with your opposite hand, with practice. (Using the opposite hand is a great way to coach yourself.)

The distance will be just 4, 5, or 6 feet from the basket (depending on your strength). For younger players, where it is hard to get the ball easily up to 11-12 feet, then add a little leg action to give you power, but make it same every time, not a variable. If you are a really strong player, then maybe your PRD is up to 8, 10 feet or more. But further out is not necessarily better. Stronger players can have a Set Point that is a couple inches above the head up to 6, 8 or more above the head. Just find that perfect distance and Set Point where you can drill shots consistently over and over and over.

When you have trained your Release to do that, like a machine, then, as you move back and add legs and vary the arch appropriately, you will start to make everything.

Putting Arch On A Shot

Hey coach! I got a point guard (14 years old) that I'm trying to teach him how to put some arch on his shot and his shot starts from his shoulder. How would be the best way to approach this?
Coach Luis Zeno

Coach Zeno,

As usual in my coaching, the first thing to do is increase awareness of what he is doing. You are telling him he is doing something does not help much, if any.

ARCH...

Ask him what he notices about his arch. Ask him when, in the jump, he shoots: early, middle or late. Suggest that an earlier release might give him more arch. Have him do that and report to you what he sees and feels. Heíll surely realize that shooting earlier creates more arch. One way to play with this is to assign a percentage of how much of the leg energy he is catching as he goes to shoot. 100% just means heís catching it all. Zero % would be shooting at the top of the jump. 50% is missing half of the energy. Then he can report to you what he feels and he will start learning more deeply to shoot earlier. Higher shots just have more power and stability than do flat shots.

SHOULDER...

Starting from the shoulder is a way to get power, but itís not aligned with the eye so itís not the best Set Point. Discuss with him the advantages and disadvantages of different alignments with the ball and eye, how being in line with the eye is much more accurate. Then he has to choose between a Set Point below the eyeor above. At 14, it depends on his strength. If heís not strong enough, he will have to keep it below the eyes until he develops more strength. Above the eyes is preferableas itís less likely to be blocked, but if taken up too early in relation to strength, he will be straining to get the ball to the basket. Use awareness of this aspect of his shot and he will discover what is most effective for him.

A comment about shooting on the way up for most shots: For inside, turn-around type shots where elevation is important, then you can hesitate before shooting, but do not wait until the very top as the shot becomes unstable. You can also raise your Set Point for these shots so you can fire off the Release more quickly, without holding back.

Raising Your Set Point

I need help getting my son to get the ball up when shooting instead of shooting from the hip.
Jay Foster

Thanks for the question, Jay. First, does he want to make the change? If not, he probably wont listen to you or to me or to anyone. If he wants to, then it is simply a process of awareness. Show him the different possibilities for a higher Set Point. If he is quite young, then he will have to keep the Set Point below the eyes, but it can be just below the eyes, much higher than the hip.

If he is 14 or 15 or older, a general age where he is probably strong enough, then a Set Point above the eyes (where he looks under the ball to see the basket) is appropriate. A higher S/P is preferable as it is less likely to be blocked, and I find itís easier to get aligned with eye, hand/ball and target when itís above the eyes. See if he agrees with that assessment. If not, explain it to him.

Once he knows the two possibilities, old S/P versus new S/P, then it is a Learning Process. Ask him to shoot and report which S/P he used. You might want to move in very close and do it very deliberately so he experiences his new S/P and stroke more. With patience and awareness, he will gradually CHOOSE the higher S/P because it works and offers a superior way to set the ball.

Setting The Ball Prior To Release

What do you teach in terms of the mechanics of getting the ball to the set position prior to release off the hard penetration dribble?
Phillip Strenkowski

Dear Phillip,
As you are dribbling and begin to set your body and ball prior to releasing it, you have two options. If you are dribbling to the right (for a right hander), you will want to pivot on the left foot, the inside foot, and step forward and rotate the body to a generally open position. If you are moving to the left, the right foot is the pivot foot and you do not rotate in, rather you hang back because you are already open to the target. I find it is easier to shoot moving to my left (Im right handed), but that I get more power with the stepping-in motion when I go to my right, so that is an advantage, too. They both have their advantage.

The ball starts from the triple threat position. As you start the knee bend to generate power, the ball is simultaneously brought up to the Set Point so that it is ready to be released in conjunction with the leg action. A key for most shots is to shoot early in the jump, on the way up, and a quick setting of the ball is needed for this. Young kids have to have the Set Point below the eyes so they can look over the ball and see the target. When strong enough, its superior to have the Set Point above the eyes so itís not so easily blocked. Itís also easier to see and feel alignment when you can see the ball, hand and target. The goal is to catch as much of the leg drive energy as you can so that your shot is quick, high and stabilized by the big muscles.

SET POINT AS SIMPLY A CHANGE OF DIRECTION

A recent discovery of my way of shooting is that the ball does not really stop at the Set Point the way I grip it. My off hand is generally under, behind and to the side of the ball, not just on the side. With this off-hand grip, when I bring the ball to the Set Point my left hand doing all the work and the right hand is mostly passive. When I go to shoot, the right hand takes over and the left falls away. Thus the action is merely a Change of Direction. If you grip it on the side of the ball with your off hand, as many players do, then both hands have to be involved in bringing the ball to the Set Point. This can work, but I think it is less complicated when the left hand does all the lifting.

As the ball is brought up to that point by the arms and hands, the motion is timed to keep the ball moving and simply change direction from an up-and-back direction when moving to the Set Point to an up-and-forward direction for the Release. That simple, always-moving motion eliminates one more variable, a stop and start at the Set Point.

If you are hesitating in your shot before you shoot, then you are probably stopping the ball at the Set Point, thus requiring a re-star of movement in the shot. I think most players do it this way. If you shoot early and quick, there doesnít have to be any real stop at that point.

Try it both ways and see which is more fluid and flowing. I think you will see that a quick change-of-direction setting and release is a simpler motion, thus easier to do consistently and under pressure.

(Note: I feel most shots can be shot this way -- mid-range jumpers, free throws, and 3s. For inside shots, especially if youíre needing to elevate over someone to shoot, there is hesitation and a stopping of the ball at the Set Point as you elevate. But youíre in close you have a larger margin for error so it can work well. For those shots, too, you can have a much higher Set Point so you can shoot more quickly. Rasheed Wallace shoots that way with his inside shots and that is why he is so effective.)

Squaring To The Basket

I am having a problem with parents and other coaches regarding squaring-up when shooting. I am teaching turning slightly to enable the shooter to create better alignment of the shoulder, arm, and shooting eye. How do I deal with these parents and coaches who insist on squaring to the basket?

John Avery

Dear John, I see a couple of possibilities:

1) Ask the parents and coaches to try something. With a squared-up stance and without a ball, have them bring their shooting hands in line with an imaginary target and their shooting eyes, to a set point above the eyes. Ask that the hand face directly in line with eye and target, the center of the palm lined up. Then ask if they feel any tension in the shoulder and upper arm. I think they will report ìyes.î (Try this yourself first, of course, to see if you believe it.) Then ask them, with the hand in the same place, to open their stances 30-45 degrees andnotice if the tension disappears. I think theyíll find that there is no noticeable tension when you rotate open.

Also mention and demonstrate how squaring up is appropriate for a two-handed shot but not for a one-handed shot. We naturally want to reach forward with the one arm and hand, rotating rate our bodies to allow for the extension of the arm and shoulder toward a target. Alignment with the shooting eye is more natural in an open stance. You could also ask them to shoot both ways and decide for themselves which is more natural and tension-free.

2) Tell them youíve heard that most, if not all, of the great shooters in the game opened their stances, many as much as 45 degrees. Jeff Hornacek, Chris Mullin, Larry Bird, Steve Kerr, Detlef Schrempf, etc. They were NOT squaring up. They can check old clips of these now all-retired shooters and theyíll see their strong feet are forward of the other feet and their bodies are open.

Strength and Shooting

How do strength requirements for the shot change when you move from the foul line out beyond the three point line and what if any changes should I make in my shooting technique?
Tisha Edwards

Dear Tisha,
If you have sufficient strength, the only major difference between a free throw and a three is in the leg action, what I call the Up Force. You need all you can muster when you go out to the 3-point line. And, of course, you need to shoot early to ìcatchî all of the leg drive energy. If your intention is to catch all of the strong leg/middle body power, you will find you have more power than you thought.

If necessary, especially for younger kids, you can lower the Set Point to give you more power. You might have to bring the ball down from a Set Point above the eyes for mid-range shots and long Twos to a position below the eyes for the three. Make it appropriate to your strength. If you are needing to jump over anyone to shoot threes, my suggestion is to pass off if you can. It is much too difficult to hesitate and then rely excessively on the more unstable power of the upper body to power the shot.

Suggestions For A Shooting Program

Could you please give me a shooting program I could complete in about an hour 3-5 days a week?
Mark Badrov

Dear Mark,  It would take too much space and time to write a detailed program for you.  Let me just say that you need to work on a few simple things, and however you find to do that will work. 
Those few things are these:

1)  CONSTANT, AUTOMATIC RELEASE

First, with my Method, youíll want to develop a constant and automatic release motion.  This is a Release thatís a simple pushing action, always at the same speed and force, aimed high, a to-the-end-of-the-arm motion, with the elbow locking, the follow through held on line.  The
wrist and hand are relaxed and do nothing more than cradle the ball and keep it on line with the action of the arm, which does the aiming.  The hand will actually ìflopî forward and bounce in the follow through when the wrist is relaxed.  (To me, thatís one of the signs of a great shooter!)  Letís call this a ìPureî Release.  The speed and force of the arm action are about 70-75% of maximum, something you can do all day long without hurting your elbow.

2)  SHOOT FROM THE LEG POWER ON THE WAY UP

Secondly you want to learn to shoot FROM the leg drive energy, from what I call the UpForce.  This is the powerful and stable energy created by
the legs and middle body.  For most shots, you want to shoot early in the jumping motion to catch all of that available energy.  Start close in and then move back, increasing the energy and power.  The shot will start to feel ìeffortlessî because itís coming more from the big muscles.

3)  LEARN TO VARY ARCH TO CONTROL DISTANCE

With varying power coming from the legs, and with varying distance to the basket with different shots but a constant Release action, all you need do then is change the ìangleî of the Release (the arch) to control distance.  If you have a lot of energy, you shoot higher.  If less, you shoot lower in trajectory.  It all depends on the moment.  There is no set arch, no perfect trajectory.  Higher is generally better, as the target gets larger and larger the higher you go, but you have to adjust the arch to reality ... to how much power you have and how far away the basket is.

MAIN THING -- THE RELEASE!

From my research Iíve discovered that the key practice you can do is find the distance where, with just the release motion (with no or minimal leg action, just enough to trigger the release), aimed with medium-high arch, you can drill shot after shot after shot, dead center, swish.  To find this distance, first approximate where you think it will be and then just fire off your ìpureî Release and see where the ball lands.  If you did the action as intended (see #1 above), then observe where the ball lands and adjust your distance forward or back so you are making dead-center swishes.  When done well, the ball canít do anything but fly pretty much the same distance every time.  It canít go any further or any less far at that angle.  With practice it will start to be ìautomatic,î which is the goal.

Do this exercise first every time you practice shooting.  Have the intention to ìmasterî the motion.  Once itís starting to be learned, then you can move back and add leg power with the same Release and just vary the angle of the shot to control distance.  If you do all this, you will start to make a lot of swishes, and youíll know itís a powerful (and simple), repeatable way to shoot.

Later you can add movement and shoot off the dribble and off picks and screens, but itís the ìPure Releaseî that allows great shooting to happen.  As you shoot off movement, itís even more important to ìcatchî the energy from the legs and middle body as it stabilizes the shot, much needed when thereís the increased complexity of speed and movement.

*Young kids will need to use a little, constant leg action to give them enough power for a medium high shot