A great shooting drill for young players is spot shooting.  This helps players develop muscle memory from different areas of the court and as a coach it helps you learn where players are comfortable shooting from and where they have the highest percentages.

To begin the drill identify 5-10 spots on the floor and have them marked if you want to.  Take groups of 3-4 players and have them start at spot 1.  Player 1 shoots the ball and rebounds his own shot and passes to the next person in line.  Player 1 gets in the back of the same line and the drill continues for 1 minute.  Once a minute passes players change to spot 2 and continue the drill.  Coaches should keep track of percentages to judge improvement over time so keep a clipboard handy and a notebook if necessary.  This drill will run straight for 10 minutes and it isn’t a bad idea to run them through it more than once if they really struggle.

If you have younger players that you are coaching then have them shoot closer distances.  If you want to make it a contest then split the teams up and have them start at different spots and make it a contest.  I’m all for competitive games.

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One of my favorite times to shoot the ball is off a cut.  It is easy for me to set my rhythm and my feet and mentally prepare for a pass and shot.  Players that go into cuts with indecision will either not get the shot off when it is available or they simply will miss the shot because of lack of mental preparation.

To practice this form two lines of players on each side of the floor free throw line extended at 45 degree angles.  One line passes the ball and the other line shoots the ball.  The players in the shooting line will run hard down to the low block and then V cut hard toward the foul line.  On the way to the foul line the passer throws a solid chest pass to the shooter who goes right into the shot.  Players rotate lines and then switch sides.  The drill shouldn’t go slowly though and players should be moving quite a bit.  The player shooting the ball should concentrate on getting his feet set as well as getting the shot off quickly.  If your players are missing these shots over and over then have them start closer than the foul line or have them simply go slower until they understand the drill.

This drill can be used on all areas of the court and make sure players are going in and out of their cuts at a good speed.

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One of the most difficult plays for most young kids to make is the pull up jumper.  It becomes a problem because kids struggle to be able to stop and go straight up with a shot which is crucial to the pull up jumper. 

Here’s a drill that you can use to help players get better in this area:

Form lines of players at midcourt each will a ball.  Players dribble at a controlled speed to about 10-15 feet away where they take a jump stop and go straight up with a shot.  Players rebound their own shot and throw the ball to the line they came from.  Make sure that players are dribbling with each hand so they can learn to shoot off a pull up dribble with either hand when necessary. 

Make it competetive by seeing which team can make 10 baskets the quickest.  Focus on the footwork of the play by not allowing travels.  This is difficult for most young players to get so go slowly enough that they understand the purpose of the drill and that they are coordinated enough to accomplish it. 

focus:  on the jump stop, going straight up on the shot, being able to use both hands.

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This is a two man shooting drill where one person shoots and the other defends. 

Identify 5 spots on the court all 15 feet away from the basket.  Player A is on defense while PLayer B is on offense and standing on the 1st spot on the court.  Player A holds the ball in his hand and passes the ball to PLayer B while running towards him.  Player B takes the shot and goes after his own rebound.  PLayer A goes to offense and waits as Player B rebounds the ball and throws it to PLayer A.  As the pass is made Player B sprints at the offensive player to contest the shot and the drill continues to each spot with each player rotating spots around the court.

The drill should continue until each player has shot from each spot.

To improve the drill add 1 dribble moves, then 2 dribble moves or shot fakes.  The point is to practice with defenders coming out on you to contest your shot.

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To really focus and concentrate on your form while shooting I recommend doing  a basic form shooting drill.  Coaches can use this but I use this every time I go to shoot baskets just to get my shot comfortable and to get warmed up.  It teaches me to focus on fundamentals and making sure I’m doing the little things.

Start by identifying 5 spots on the floor all within 3-5 feet of the basket.  Don’t leave a spot until you’ve made 5 shots from each spot while maintaining correct shooting form.  Ensure that a couple of the spots are shots that need to be made using the backboard.  Get your own rebounds and then start over taking a step back from each one.

When i watched Larry Bird do this drill he didn’t make it out to 15 feet for a half an hour and worked up a great sweat in the process.  He was so focused on making the short shots and making sure that his shot was correct that by the time he got out to 20-25 feet the form was already in place and it was easy for him.

We are not all Larry Bird but we can take we he did and learn from it.

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Each coach should form two lines with players lined up at each elbow.  Players shoot jump shots or set shots or whatever is comparable to their age.  The player at the front of the line shoots the ball and rebounds his shot and passes to the next player in his line.  The player does not change lines but gets at the back of the line.  Players shoot the ball from both sides simultaneously until the first team gets to 10.  Change sides and go again.  Losers condition.

It’s a simple but great drill to work on short to midrange jump shots.  It is great for warmups and some light competition.  To make the drill more fun up the totals to 20 or 30 makes.

Something to focus on during this drill is the pass from the rebounder.  Make sure the passer knows how to get the ball to the shooter.  The shooter should also be ready to receive the ball by already having the knees bent and in shooting position.  Sometimes the team that wins is simply the team that gets the most shots up.

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Every player that is developing a solid all around game needs to learn to create his own shot at some point and one of those ways is learning to shoot off a dribble. 

To do this drill use one half court and form a line on each side about 30 feet away from the basket.  Set up a cone or a chair on the court near the 3 point line.  The players must dribble toward the obstacle and make a dribble move to get past the obstacle.  The dribble move can be a simple crossover, behind the back, stutter step or any other sort of dribble move.  Once the dribble move is done take another dribble and then go into the shot.  The ball is rebounded by the shooter and passed to the next person in line.  The team that gets to 10 made shots wins or whatever number you want to use.  Players then need to change sides and start over. 

To do the drill yourself really try to work on all the different dribble moves and being able to shoot off of each hand effectively.

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The bank shot is one where the shooter uses the backboard to make a shot.  The best bank shots are made from an angle and are something that need to be practiced to get correct muscle memory and to be a better shooter overall.

To practice the bank shot take your team and line up players on each side of the hoop and start at the blocks.  Split the teams up evenly.  Each side has a player shoot and get their own rebound.  If the player misses then they rebound and pass the ball to the next player in line.  The team that makes 10 bank shots first wins.  With each win back the players up a step and start over at 0.  The losing team should do some sort of punishment for the loss such as a brief running drill.  I don’t believe in doing defensive drills as punishment.

Don’t go past 17 feet when practicing this drill as bank shots from further out are only more difficult.  Make sure each player is focusing on the upper corner of the square  and that players rotate from side to side so that they aren’t only working one side of the floor.

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Sorry it’s been a little bit since I’ve written but I’ve been extremely busy with things. I’ll make it up over the next couple of days I promise.

Today I want to discuss the proper shooting mechanics and the 3 things that I focus on with each shot or when I’m evaluating shooters.

1. Footwork is undervalued when it comes to shooting. One of the most important things a shooter can do is make sure that his feet are aiming at the basket. The feet square up your entire body and play a role in everything else. I make sure that my front foot or ’shooting foot’ as i call it is pointed directly at the front rim. Thinking about my feet also takes pressure off of everything else for me because that’s what I focus on first thing.

2. Elbow being straight: If your elbow is straight the ball will travel straight. To test this out, just take a ball and with one hand shoot some shots. Make sure your elbow is straight and aiming at the target. If your ’shooting’ foot is pointed at the target and your elbow is straight then the ball will travel straight. Only one thing can mess up the path of the ball.

3. THUMB Shooting: It’s the 3rd thing and the most common mistake that beginning shooters can make. Understand that the shot is something that can be done right if it is consistent and some of the best shooters in the game are thumb shooters. Ray Allen is a thumb shooter and he’s amazing but he’s also extremely consistent in his release while others aren’t. Thumb shooting occurs when the off hand thumb comes into play to help propel the ball towards the basket. Why i don’t teach it is because of the fact that the thumb can mess with the flight pattern of the ball because it can push the ball on your shooting hand off by an inch or less and that’s all it takes to create an inconsistent shot. Most thumb shooters are very very streaky because they can dial in the release for a stretch and be very good and then minutes later you’ll see them get very very bad.

When practicing or starting out make sure that you point that foot at the basket, keep your elbow straight and don’t allow your thumb to push the ball at all. Only use your off hand as a guide.

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As young players grow up the need to develop a jump shot is apparent and necessary.  People naturally grown stronger and become better athletes thus making it harder and harder to get off a shot.  Something we are commonly asked is “What can I do to get my shot off quicker?”

Here’s a couple ways that players can get shots off quicker and none of them involve their actual release, they involve the feet and legs.

1:  Players need to be aware that a shot is available.  If you are a 3 point shooter and you sense that you are going to shoot the shot mentally then the next thing to do is get your body ready to shoot the shot.  When i was in 9th grade I could score points easily but I didn’t know a lot of the little things necessary to get my shot off against bigger, faster players.  It was when I started playing varsity ball that summer that i realized I would have to adapt.  Our team point guard dribbled into the key and set me up for a jump shot at 21 feet and it was a shot I had made a million times before.  I caught the ball and got set to shoot it but by the time I finally got ready I had a defender on me and I didn’t get the shot off.  During a time out the coach pulled me aside and showed me something I could do to get ready to shoot the ball quicker.  He showed me a simple hop.

Understand that there are 2 trains of thought and I’ll get to the 2nd one in a minute but by hopping while the pass was in the air I was ready to shoot the ball as soon as I landed.  I had lined up my front foot already by pointing it at the basket and had already squared my shoulders.  The next time the situation came up I was ready and hit the shot.  It took practice to get more comfortable with it but it made a world of difference for me.

#2:  1-2 step.  The 2nd train of thought is to avoid the hop and go straight to a 1-2 step.  This is done by aligning your body while the pass is in the air so that 1 foot lands before the other with the other coming down right after to propel you into the shot.  Your back foot comes down first and your shooting foot (same as shooting hand) comes down and allows you to correctly step into your shot.  That is called a 1-2 step when it comes to shooting the ball.  Some coaches love this because it allows the shooter to step into his shot or be able to quickly drive past a defender who is closing on the shooter quicker than expected. 

I do both and I teach both.  If I am shooting a shorter shot then I will take the hop but if i am shooting farther out I’ll use the 1-2 step because it allows me to use my legs more.  Others will feel the opposite and that is why this should be practiced until confidence is developed.

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