Dear Coach, Parents, Players
Welcome to the 5th addition of our 2012 19th annual spring league newsletter. We hope last week you received information regarding our summer camps and shooting clinic. Make sure to view our website for summer camps, clinics, fall league and all future events. Our #1 priority for JAM continues helping coaches and parents build confidence in today’s youth. Summer will go fast, so make sure plans are made to improve your game.
- Mark Sharpley
Over the course of the next few months will your child or players shooting percentage increase? The following include a few tips we can assist you. If your child is serious about getting better, attending the Dave Hopla shooting clinic next weekend is a must! Information is in our end of season program and our web site.
Practice often. Shoot around in your backyard, at your school, at practice, after practice. But remember to practice the proper form & footwork. Shoot the basketball hundreds and thousands of times. That's the only way to improve as a shooter. Practice rotating the ball when you do a free throw.
Don't practice shooting the ball with bad form. If you are using bad form, you might as well not even practice.
Practice "game" type shots. Don't bother shooting the ball from 35 feet out. That's not the type of shot you're going to be taking in a game. Concentrate on Practicing shooting from the spots on the floor that you are likely to shoot from in a game. If you're a post player, you'll probably shoot from the low post, middle of the key, or maybe the free throw line. If you're a guard or perimeter player, practice shooting from the wing, or top of the key, like you would in a game.
Practice shot fakes and ball fakes to get the defense off-balance. Getting space to shoot the ball is extremely important; otherwise you can't get the shot off. So work on using shots off the dribble and shot fakes to get the space to shoot the ball.
Confidence. Being a good shooter requires tons of confidence. A good part of that comes from practice, lots of it, like we just mentioned. The better you become, the more confident you become. There's no point in shooting the ball if you don't think it's going to go in. When you shoot the ball, feel confident and sure of yourself.
It is easier to break the shot down in to steps when you learn to shoot. But when you get the steps down, use the same steps in your shot but just make it look like one fluid motion.
One easy way to get good form is to remember Balance, make sure you have a good base. Eyes; look at the target your shooting at and focus on it. Elbow; make sure it’s tucked in no chicken wing as many coaches or instructors call it. Follow through; After you release your wrist should be snapped downward.
Finally, Work on a jump shot (meaning, actually jumping off the ground). Many people shoot jump shots that are almost set shots. You won't be able to shoot a set shot against a good defender. Use good form: keep your elbow in, shoot up-and-out and get good arch on the shot, use good follow through (a flick of the wrist) so the ball has good back-spin on it. Attack the defense: as an offensive player, you have the upper hand. The defense has to react to the moves you make. So force the defense to react to your dribble moves, shot fakes, and aggressiveness.
Good luck this summer and look for our June newsletter next month!
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