You can practice shooting eight hours a day, but if your technique is wrong, then all you become is very good at shooting the wrong way. Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise. – Michael Jordan
Basketball is a challenging sport that requires precision. Learning to shoot the right way and understanding the mechanics of shooting is essential for players looking to develop. Learning to shoot requires dedicated time, and commitment to making incremental changes. It is a difficult skill to master mid-season, during practice sessions or amidst other drills. Repetitive practice will not achieve results if the foundation isn’t right – and further repetition with improper form only solidifies bad teaching.
A player’s ability to achieve consistently in shooting sets them apart from the competition. Biomechanics, balance, hand placement and follow through must all come together effectively, at pace and under pressure, in order for a player to thrive. It’s definitely no easy feat!
At IBSA, we are in the business of development. Your misses and makes on game day only tell part of the story. We know that the proper shot takes time, so we developed our Shooting Clinics & Shooting Academy to allow players the space and energy to exclusively specialize in this skill.
Improper shooting mechanics can hinder performance. It’s crucial to break bad habits early to avoid limiting growth. Quality shot development requires:
- Video Analysis from multiple angles to identify strengths and areas for improvement.
Learning how to analyze your own shot will help players develop their ability to self-correct. Being able to understand the mistake is important because mid-season, a coach may not have the time to dedicate to working with individual players on this skill.
“Feeling” your shot by doing workout after workout is not the way. Each shooting workout needs to have purpose – everything should be recorded, tracked and analyzed. From footwork, to hand position and more, watching video playback of your shooting technique at multiple speeds allows you to SEE yourself from an outside perspective.
- Personalized feedback on foot placement, arm alignment, and shot trajectory.
Each player is unique, and from the beginning of their basketball journey, they have developed a style that feels good to them, and probably produces reasonable results. Breaking these established habits can be critical if they are not correct – learning the mechanics isn’t enough, because each player is bringing their own personal body alignment and form and adjustments can feel difficult to master at first.
- Insights into what the pro’s are doing
Watching the best in the world can give us key insight into developing habits that are world class. While not everything the NBA players are doing needs to (or should be) emulated, many times we can learn subtle efficiencies in our own technique by observing and emulating the top shooters.
