How to fix my basketball shot

If you really want to fix your form, it all starts in close and you stay there for a long time. Thousands-of-shots a long time.

As much as you’re going to want to move back, think about the long-term. By rushing this process, you may create issues in other parts of your shot and as a result spend more time trying to fix multiple issues.

If you stay patient, put in a lot of perfect, intentional reps and stay committed, you’ll build the muscle memory in your shot needed to be a consistently good shooter.

I can’t stress this point enough. It’s one thing to get 500 shots up a day, it’s another thing to be completely locked in and shoot 500 intentional shots. While you’re shooting, you should focus only on how your body is shooting the basketball. Process how you're shooting the basketball so that you know how to repeat what you're doing or detect when you've made a mistake. 

By doing this, you’re not just getting shots up, you’re really working on your shot and your mind to develop the right muscle memory. Every rep counts.

If you’re doing all of these things right and you feel like something is still wrong, leave a comment below! 

by Rocky DeAndrade

6 Comments

5 of the Biggest Basketball Shooting Mistakes (And How to Fix Them)

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By Joe Haefner

For most of these fixes, you are going to need to start away from the hoop and take hundreds and thousands of shots. You can find a wall and do this by yourself or find a line and shoot it back and forth to a partner. Once you begin to feel comfortable with your adjustment, take hundreds of shots really close to the basket and gradually move out.

1. Thumb on Shooting Hand

   Players often have the ball sit on the tip of their thumb on their shooting hand. This position is awkward and forces the body to strain to hold the proper shooting form. In order to be a good shooter, you have to be comfortable.

   It you don't strain, your elbow sticks too far out.

   How do you fix it?

   You need to have the ball rest on the side of the thumb rather than on the tip of the thumb on every shot. It may feel awkward at first, but it will help tremendously and more of your shots will travel to the dead-center of the rim. If you can not determine when you are doing this, you may need to have someone critique your shot or video tape it.

2. Thumb on Guide Hand

   Some players flick the ball with their thumb on the guide hand when shooting the basketball. This will cause serious problems for the shooter and the ball will often spray left and right. It's tough enough to judge the distance, yet add another factor of left and right into the equation.

   Most players develop this problem when they are too weak to get the ball to the rim, and the habit carries through their teenage and adult years.

   How do you fix it?

   You can squeeze your thumb against the index finger on your guide hand. This will not let you shoot the ball with the thumb. If the problem still continues, take your guide hand off of the ball by about a half-inch and shoot with one hand. Make sure your guide hand stays still.

   You can also use a shooting strap to keep your guide hand and thumb still. This is a very effective way to break this habit and keep your guide hand from moving. We have found the j-strap is very effective and recommend it to solve this problem.

3. Unnecessary Jerky Movements

   These jerky movements can cause you to become an inconsistent shooter:

   • Twisting the body.
   • Fading backwards, and to the left or right.
   
   How do you fix it?

   You need to evaluate when this jerky movement is happening and what type of jerky movement is occurring. This may mean you need to video tape your shot if you have nobody to help.

   Two major reasons players twist their body when they shoot is:

   1. Their feet are not aligned correctly.
   2. They bring their guide hand down too early.
   
   Make sure your feet line up correctly before every shot. This means you may need to pivot more as you receive the pass or as you step into your shot off the dribble. If you use a hop, make sure that you are turning enough while in the air to align your feet properly as you land. If your feet are not set correctly, this will force your body to twist while shooting to try to compensate for it.

   If you bring your guide hand down too early, it brings extra movement into your shot that causes you to twist your body. If you don't believe me, sit in your chair and shoot with one hand and bring your guide hand down to your waist at the same time. What naturally happens? Your torso will twist.

   That's why it is important to keep your guide hand extended in the correct position.

   Pro players use this method to stop their upper-body from twisting when they take shots when they are off-balance or their feet are not aligned appropriately. It helps keep their upper body from twisting during the shot. I do NOT advise for players under the age of 18 to practice this shot, because it can mess up your mechanics.

   A good way to stop leaning is to step towards the basket on the catch. This brings your momentum towards the basket rather than fading or leaning.

   You may also have analyzed when the player starts to jerk their body or lean in a certain direction. The player may only do a jerky movement when dribbling to the left and pulling up for a jumper. If this happens, they need to take hundreds and thousands of repetitions doing that same type of shot with great shooting form.

4. No Arc - Flat Shot - Flinging the wrist.

   If you are missing a lot of shots because you have a flat shot or you don't seem to get many shooter's bounces, it could be because you are flinging your wrist or have a flat shot.

   You can check to see if you have this problem by bringing the ball to your set point and then bringing it straight down. If your shooting-hand lands on top of your head (or the back of your head) instead of grazing your forehead, then you've got a bad set point.

   How do you fix it?

   Move the ball forward so that when you bring it straight down, the back of your shooting hand grazes your forehead. Practice shooting to yourself from this position until it becomes your new set point.

   You should reinforce your new set point by daily form shooting close to the basket. In fact, you should rebuild your shot slowly by stepping back one step at a time as you establish consistency from a given range, using the new set point.

5. Shooting after the Top of your Jump.

   Players who shoot past the top of their jump will often develop a hitch and jerky shot. The same with players who try to jump as high as they can on every shot.

   A player should focus on shooting before the top of their jump for a few different reasons: 

   • Quicker release. If you shoot before the top of your release, it gives the defender less time to recover to defend the shot.
   • Make more shots. The shot is fluid which results in a smoother and softer shot because you don't stop the shot motion at any point in your shot.
   • Longer range. If you shoot at or after the top of your shot, it takes a lot more upper body strength to get the ball to the rim. If you shoot as you are going up, the momentum from your legs help carry the ball a lot farther. Try shooting away from the hoop when doing this.

   How do you fix it?

   This one is pretty simple. You need thousands of repetitions shooting the basketball before the top of your jump. 

   In order to fix any of these problems, you are going to have be persistent and focused. "Sometimes, you have to take two steps backwards, to take three steps forwards." What that means is that your shot will most likely become worse before it gets better. Always keep the long-term in perspective. Who cares if you don't shoot the ball well during summer league, if you'll be able to shoot lights out once basketball season rolls around! 

   
   To learn more about improving your shot, we recommend...

   Basketball Shooting Guide
   One Motion Shooting Video
   Attack & Counter Shooting Workouts App

   
   

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9 tips from Jay Wolf

Hello, dear visitors of the website basketball-training. org.ua ! In this article, we will talk about one of the most important basketball elements - the throw. And not just about throwing, but about how to achieve a significant increase in the accuracy of your throws, while not radically changing their structure, that is, without retraining.

Of course, the correct throw, or, more precisely, the “classic throw from the forehead” is cool, correct and beautiful. However, it seems to me that what matters is not how you throw, but how effective these throws are. If your shot is difficult to cover and it regularly hits the basket, there is no need to change anything drastically: look at the throwing technique Larry Bird , Michael Jordan , "Magic" Johnson and Ray Allen . They all shot differently, which did not stop them from scoring well; so - draw your own conclusions.

The tips you read below are recommendations from Jay Wolf - Shot Improvement Specialist, Summer Camp Organizer, Owner of StarShooter , you can read more about him on his website - starshooter. net . Well, now, in fact, advice, divided into 2 parts: how to improve throws from close range; how to improve mid-range and long-range shots (3-point shots).

Improving close and under hoop shots

• All short range shots both to the right and to the left of the basket must be taken with a bounce off the backboard and a point of aim.

In principle, nothing new, this is where all throw training begins in every sports school: they learn to throw from the backboard, while the ball must touch the upper corner of the “square” drawn above the ring. The ball should softly touch this corner (remember about reverse spin of the ball on throw) and bounce into the basket. In order to focus the thrower's attention on the aiming point, you can stick a dollar sign or a picture of the sight there. Remember: the shield is your best ally, be sure to learn how to bounce off it.

• Practice clean throws from under the hoop and clean throws off the backboard from the second tendrils.

So, let's figure it out. A clean throw is a shot where the ball is dropped into the basket without touching the ring itself. To achieve such a throw, you need to throw very softly, with reverse rotation, finishing with a brush. Such throws require the maximum concentration of attention from the basketball player and a change in the trajectory. So, we make 5 throws from under the ring in a row, 3 of which must be clean. If it's very easy, then add the number of throws up to 10, trying to get everything clean. Throws can be made with a rebound from the backboard, but the ball must not touch the ring hoop itself. Challenge yourself - and pass this test with honor!

Improvements to medium and long range shots

• Again perform clean throws : 5 shots in a row from one spot.

By the way, for me, clean throws are a big problem: the peculiarity of my throw is that I sort of load the far bow, “striking” which, the ball falls down. But here's the problem - if the ring is a little higher than usual, then almost all the balls go into the near bow, and while I get used to it, I smear a lot.

This job allows develop stable throw accuracy . Five throws in a row help improve accuracy, because the shape of the throw, the effort applied, the trajectory - all this must be the same and repeat all the time. Clean shots make the trajectory “lift up”, which is also good: they are more difficult to cover and, as a rule, when the ball touches the ring, the ball will fall into the basket. And one more thing: a high trajectory gives rise to a short rebound, for which it will be easier for partners to compete.

• Make multiple free throws in a row before leaving the court (practice).

Such a move will allow you to repeat all the elements of the throw again and develop self-confidence. After the shot, you pick up the ball yourself, return to the free-throw line - and shoot again. It is important to repeat all the routine that occurs before the free throws in the game. In order to recreate the game situation even more realistically, simply add jerks to the exercise: throw the ball, perform a jerk after the ball (to the middle of the hall, etc.), return to the line again - throw it. Players can be stimulated by some kind of competitive effect: who spends more time on 5 (7, 10) executed free throws in a row - runs, pushes up, carries a partner to the locker room, etc.

• Shoot 200 free throws daily for 5 days, or 500 on the first day and 200 on the next 4 days. Goal: 25/25 rolls, of which 15 will be clean.

Here you need to understand that you will need at least 1 partner who will “bring the cores”. In America, of course, this is not a problem, there are personnel who receive money for this kind of service. But with us it will be more difficult, we will have to look for like-minded people. According to Jay Wolf, such a series of shots will help to hone the form of the shot, the moment of release of the ball and the trajectory; and also - they will increase the accuracy of 3-point shots. Again, according to Wolf, 100 throws will take 15 minutes.

I once tried to throw such a series of free kicks. My execution technique is as follows: I squat a little, then straighten my legs and straighten my body at the same time I straighten my arms. As soon as the body is fully unbent (I also stand on my toes), the ball is released. It turns out - as if one movement. So, the calves quickly began to hurt from such lifts, the hands got tired, and the hand refused to twist the ball. But some results did appear, so the exercise is useful, even very useful.

• Find out where you most frequently shoot from in games – and practice your “signature points” by shooting at least 5 clean shots in a row from those points.

I already wrote about this in an article about how to develop a shot ( Shot training in basketball ), it turned out not quite the way I imagined it in my head, but still it is very informative and useful.

• Practice throwing on a correctly marked area , in a correctly labeled shield. The court must have a correctly drawn 3-point line.

And again I will complain a little: why in our country do people who have no idea how it should be do everything? Why are basketball markings applied by people who have never played basketball and do not know what the front line is? As a result, it passes under the front bow of the ring. And the “three-ruble note” - why is it 6 meters on the right, and more than 7 meters on the left? Why?

So - try to choose good sites with correct markings. And another note: at first it is very difficult to throw with a rebound from the backboard, if the backboard is streetball, i.e. much less than standard.

• Hold hands after throwing , as if guiding the ball into the basket until it reaches there.

Here it should be noted that in his video about the throw, the legendary Pete Maravich (lessons from which will soon appear on the site) recommends not to hold a fixed hand, but rather to wave 2-3 times after the ball , repeating the final stage brush work.

• And once again about the type of throw: a good throw is the one that in 60% of cases is not covered by the opponent and reaches the basket.

The point is that by doing this kind of throwing training you can develop confidence and improve your throwing stability. And the belief that now you can score is a very cool thing.

Another little piece of advice from me: visualization is a thing that really works (I'll write about it someday in the context of developing shooting skills, dribbling, muscle development, etc.). So, if, when releasing the ball towards the ring, you mentally imagine how it will sink into the ring, pleasantly rustling with the net, the percentage of sales may increase. The main thing is to believe!

And this is where I end, I wish you successful training and accurate throws! Good luck, and see you soon on the pages of our site.

9 ways to improve shot performance without changing their structure — All about basketball

9 ways to improve shot performance without changing their structure.
Jay Wolf
(Basketball Shot Specialist)

It's honestly not a good idea to change the mechanics of shooting during the season, if only because it entails a decrease in performance. What can be done to prevent this from happening? Here are a few tried and tested recommendations.

Improving short distance and basket shots

1. Require all short distance shots to the right and left of the basket to have a bounce and point of aim.

This forces the striker into position to use the shield when throwing. The upper half of the vertical line to the right and left of the basket is the aiming point for these types of shots. The ball should touch the line softly and bounce straight into the basket. Misses that occur when throwing from these positions are the result of insufficient concentration. To increase attention to the aiming point during training, draw a dollar sign - $, or some other sign, on a piece of adhesive tape, and attach it to the line.

2. Practice CLEAN basket shots and CLEAN bounce shots from the second mustache.

CLEAR throws require the ball to drop into the basket without touching the metal hoop. To achieve this, the ball must touch the backboard very gently. This requires a much greater concentration of attention and calculation of the trajectory. To achieve consistency, make 5 throws from under the hoop (or rebound jump) in a row, 3 of which must be CLEAR. Make it harder if you feel the need to.

NOTE: It is important to match the mission to the abilities of each player. The mission should challenge the player's sense of pride, requiring greater focus, but should not be unattainable.

Perfecting Medium Distance and 3-Point Shots

3. Practice CLEAN throws - make 5 shots in a row from the same spot.

This task develops stable accuracy as it requires great concentration and persistence. Five throws in a row from the same point improve accuracy, since all the components of the throw - form, effort, trajectory - must be the same each time and repeated over and over again, over and over again from the same distance. CLEAN throws automatically force the player to choose a high trajectory. High trajectory shots are harder for a defender to block, and the ball is more likely to go into the basket if it hits the metal hoop. In the game, due to the excess of adrenaline, there is a tendency to apply a little more effort when throwing. If CLEAN throws are habitually improved in practice, in play the ball may lightly touch the back of the hoop BUT the higher trajectory increases the chances of hitting the basket. In addition, on a miss, a higher trajectory generates a shorter bounce, which increases the chances of hitting the ball into the basket.

IMPORTANT: If 5 CLEAR rolls in a row is too difficult, lower this requirement.

Coach's note: Players who repeatedly hit the back of the basket when shooting are overexcited. To correct this error, explain it, and start practicing CLEAN throws right away, encouraging them to be used throughout the season.

4. Make several free throws in a row before leaving the court after practice.

This requires repetition of all throw elements and builds confidence. Each batter must pick up the ball himself after his throw. Emphasize the importance of repeating the same set-up routine before each throw. Taking a deep breath and exhaling before the throw relieves excess tension. Modify this exercise by adding more playful tension due to time constraints. Those who do not fit in the given time must make jerks, etc.

5. Make 200 free throws per day for 5 days, or 500 free throws on one day, and 200 on the next four days. Target: 25/25 of which 15 rolls are CLEAR.

This develops confidence and exceptional consistency in shot form, ball release and trajectory. In addition, it improves the accuracy of 3-point shots. Reward the player for: 25/25, the most hits in a row, and the most CLEAR hits in a row. NOTE: 100 throws require approximately 15 minutes of time.

6. Determine the spots from which you have to shoot regularly in the game, and practice shooting at least 5 consecutive shots from each of these spots.

This develops confidence and coordination when throwing. When a player shoots from one of these positions in a game, they feel comfortable and confident because they have been successful shooting from these positions so often in practice.

7. Perform all throws on a correctly marked area using a correctly marked backboard. The court must have a line for 3-point shots.

Court markings are an important factor in reducing the number of misses as it is easier for the player to judge the distance to the basket. For the same reason, additional confidence develops. A marked backboard gives the player a point of aim for a bounce shot from the backboard or for a shot from under the basket.

8. Keep your hands in the position of tracking the ball until it touches the basket.

Tracking the ball during the shot allows for better control of movement and improves performance.

9. Choice of throw type.

A good throw is one that remains uncovered during training in 60% of cases.

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