You read that title and currently feel one of two things. You’re mad because “Yes, I CAN shoot!!!”.

Or, you know I’m right and want to fix it.

For the people in the first boat… No, you CAN’T shoot. At least not as well as you should be able to.

And the second boat? Congrats on your honesty.

Now, I have to be honest myself. There isn’t just one reason that you can’t shoot properly. But the many reasons are all wrapped around one singular, all encompassing reason. Which is…

Form shooting.

WAIT!!!! Don’t leave this page! I know, I know, you hear this all the time. And you DO form shooting! I get it.

But, HOW do you do it?

Do you do it the RIGHT way?

Do you do it LONG enough?

Do you do it DAILY?

Do you do it with FOCUS?

Do you do it with GOALS?

My guess is that you can’t answer all these questions with a rousing YES. Which is why you are leaving points on the table every game. Think about that for a minute. There are shots that should be going in every single game you play. Not only does that equate to more points next to your name in the box score but, more importantly, it adds more points next to your teams name.

Before we knock out these specifics, watch, and study, this quick video. It will help you to visualize the rest of what is about to be discussed….

Welcome back. That’s a pretty comprehensive video that you should bookmark and go back to often to make sure you are practicing your form shooting the correct way. Here are a few more important points, so reemphasized and some additions.

 

– This routine should be done DAILY (if you want the maximum results). The best thing about form shooting is that it doesn’t take a lot of time and it doesn’t have to be incorporated into a full workout. Let’s say you have a day where you aren’t getting in a full basketball workout. Maybe it’s a day off after a string of hard workouts and you are in recovery mode. You can, and should, still get out and continue to master your form shooting. Don’t even need to break a sweat on these days. It’s the repetition and the muscle memory that will vault you to the next level. You think it’s mundane and boring and for young kids only? THAT’S WHY YOU AREN’T A GREAT SHOOTER! Greatness is achieved in small daily habits. Do you think anyone who has become great at anything just became that way through shortcuts and laziness? Stop.

-One thing you have to realize about muscle memory. Think about those two words. Muscle. Memory. Literally means that your muscles remember. IF you teach them. When you perform form shooting daily, the way I have described in the video, your muscles literally learn what to do. Here’s what happens. You initially have to think, and tell, your muscles and body what to do. But after hours and hours of repetition and consistency, your muscles no longer need your brain to tell them what to do. They’ve learned. Your brain now frees up to focus on other things. Like that defender racing at you full speed. So now, from here until eternity, you will know how to shoot. Your body won’t forget. You can graduate HS and college, get a job, get married, have kids and not play a single moment of hoops for years. When you go out on the court to shoot around, your muscles will remember and immediately go back to that smooth, silky form that you worked on for years and years. It’s just like when you hear a song from your childhood. You haven’t heard that song in FOREVER, but you still know the words (tell me what you want, what you really really want)!!!! It’s in your brain forever. Master form shooting, and getting buckets will be in your muscles forever.

Here’s that video again if you haven’t watched it yet…

-There is a common misconception that is the fatal flaw to many young, aspiring shooters. The thought is that great shooters are made from outside. Highly false and quite destructive. In fact, the exact opposite it true. Great shooters are made from the inside, close to the basket. Ask any great shooter, they will tell you the same. Everyone sees Steph Curry bombing from 25 feet and they think that’s how he became great, practicing 25 footers. No sir! Steph became a great shooter at distance because of countless hours up close.

-This also applies to the first time you step into the gym each time. Whether a workout or practice, you should ALWAYS begin with some form shooting, training your body and your mind. A HUGE MISTAKE THAT ALMOST EVERY YOUNG PLAYER MAKES IS THAT THEY STEP INTO THE GYM AND START RAINING (AND MISSING) 3’S!! All this does is undo the work you’ve put in. Even worse, if you haven’t done the work, it builds bad habits while your body is cold. Don’t do it!!!

Now, whether you can shoot a little, or shoot a lot, you have the building blocks to get to the next level.

Form shooting – every day

Form shooting – before a workout or practice

Form shooting – Make 3 in a row, then 5, then 10 (as you get better), before you take the next step back

Form shooting – Properly, deliberately, with the same 3 steps each and every time. The only thing that changes is how much you use your legs as you step out

Don’t wait. The off season is here. Don’t wait. Time is the most precious commodity that we have. Don’t wait until the summer or the fall. Start today. Don’t wait. Come next season, your coach will wonder who this new guy is. Don’t wait. Don’t wait.

Don’t wait!!!!

bt