The particulars of Shooting
foot, knee,elbow, hand and eyes
The debate rages on do you look at the rim or do you look at the ball when you shoot? Does it really matter if your elbow is not aligned? When is it too late to fix a players shot?
Wading through the commentary on shooting mechanics is nauseating at best. If left to your own research you would come up more confused than when you started. Some many controlled scientific studies that fall short of in game shooting analytics and the practice regimes that make them successful
“I saw a Steph Curry workout the other day on instagram and I am just going to repeat that workout” - please don’t!
We have collected several studies and watched several hours (we won’t say the number) of self prescribed shooting coaches - and - I have to say that the majority of the shooting coaches are impressive. I am still struck by the fact that they are fixing minutia in the shooting approach. Overall this is what we learned and what we prescribe to our shooters.
Footwork is still critical to effective shooting. There are a few variations on the traditional methods. Complexity comes from where the defence is positioned and this is where elite shooters can make the most progress in their already excellent shooting proficiency. For the younger athletes, learning how to place the left foot, turn into the right foot and square the shoulders should still be taught and worked on routinely.
Traditional concepts of elbow aligned to knee aligned to hoop are still very much in play. See above foot work on how to get all these body parts in play.
High release and follow through should be encouraged at a young age. We think this is an important aspect that is missing in the majority of younger associations’ teachings. There is a tendency to teach ‘reach for the basket’ without the focus on where the ball is released.
The most controversial aspect of teaching shooting is when is it too late to change an athletes shot. There is no rule of thumb but certainly any changes to shot mechanics should be in the offseason so that the athlete has a chance to adapt and hopefully get in some game condition shots backed by 100’s of game speed practice shots.