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How to increase basketball shooting range
How to Develop Long Distance Basketball Shooting Range
By Jeff Haefner
Would you like to make MORE shots from farther back? Would you like to become a great 3-point shooter?
We have some very effective shooting tips for you...
When extending your range, you need to know about some surefire RIGHT and WRONG ways to get it done.
You need to be very careful because all too often players will try to extend their range and acquire some subtle, yet dead-serious shooting flaws!!
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The trick is to extend your range while maintaining the EXACT SAME FORM.
There are only TWO ways to increase your range:
INCREASE YOUR PHYSICAL STRENGTH AND POWER.
ADJUST YOUR SHOT MECHANICS FOR ADDITIONAL POWER.
With that said, we'll teach you exactly how to increase your range both ways. It's up to you to decide which method you choose.
Many times, it's best for players to make very small improvements in both areas.
How to increase your physical strength and power for increased range.
The most obvious answer is to start a weight training program. Increasing the strength of your entire body will help. You'll want stronger and more explosive legs, core, wrist, forearms, and triceps.
In addition, by simply practicing more, you will increase the strength of your wrists and forearms. Taking 500 shots a day will increase your strength.
Lastly, you can try using a heavy ball (twice the weight of a regulation ball) and then going back to the regulation size one. Players usually find it easy to shoot from farther out because of the contrast. Wait until at least junior high before working with an oversized or weighted ball.
If you use a weighted ball, be sure to practice away from the basket. Do form shooting with one hand. Put your guide hand in the normal position, but an inch off the ball so you're not touching it. Focus on shooting the ball high and far, but do not sacrifice good form in order to do so.
How to adjust your mechanics for additional power.
This can be tricky because changing your mechanics can throw off your shot. Big changes to your mechanics will require you to retrain your muscle memory and you'll need thousands of repetitions to retrain your muscle memory.
In most situations, it's best to make very minor adjustments to your shot delivery.
ADJUSTMENT TECHNIQUE #1
A good technique for developing range is to intentionally shoot the ball all the way over the backboard. This kind of power is achieved through using optimum leg power and releasing the ball a split second before reaching the top of the jump motion. If done properly, then generating enough force to shoot over the backboard, even from beyond the 3-point line, is not that difficult.
Once players realize how much power is available through this motion, they can learn to control it for shooting at the rim. Since this takes less force than shooting over the backboard, players have more confidence shooting from long ranges.
It's important to shoot a split second BEFORE you release the top of your shot. You'll lose tremendous power if you jump, hang, and shoot on the way down. Plus, you just give your defender more time to block your shot.
ADJUSTMENT TECHNIQUE #2
Another effective technique is to drop your elbow. If you watch Steve Nash you'll notice that he drops his elbow when shooting three pointers. If you're going to adjust mechanics, this is a good option to consider because it doesn't alter your delivery mechanics too dramatically.
ADJUSTMENT TECHNIQUE #3
Yet another technique to consider is to try to decrease the time that it takes to get the ball from your shot chamber to your release point. This will add power to your shot and increase your range.
The safest way to increase shooting range
If you want to take the safest route, here's a surefire way to extend your range without sacrificing your accuracy.
Let's say you are proficient at mid-range but you want to become a great 3-point shooter...
The obvious answer is to practice. The question becomes what to practice. Shooting revolves around rhythm and form, so that is where the answer lies.
It might sound strange, but to become a better 3-point shooter, you have to practice a lot, close to the basket. Take 100's and 1000's of shots 12' from the basket. The purpose for this is to really ingrain your shooting form from an area that you can shoot comfortably and have some success. It doesn't make a difference what drills you do or how you practice it, as long as the primary thrust of the work is your form.
Once you have your form ingrained, gradually move back. If you get to a point where you feel the rhythm change or your form start to change, that is the limit of your range. Stay at that spot until your shot feels like it did at 12 feet. Once it feels comfortable again, shoot several hundred shots until it becomes automatic again.
Once it feels automatic again, start to move back until you reach the limit of your range and shoot continually from that spot. Once you feel comfortable from behind the 3-point line, you can start shooting drills that will make you more proficient.
Players struggle from behind the arc because they have to change their shot to get the ball to the basket. This not only makes the shooter inconsistent from the 3-point line, but it affects his shot from everywhere else. Remember, to be a good shooter, you have to take the same shot every time, no matter where you shoot the ball.
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How to Increase Shooting Range and Score like Damian Lillard – Old Man Game Tips
Do you want to be able to make logo shots and scream “DAME TIME!”? If so, here’s how to increase shooting range in basketball so that you can score like Damian Lillard.
Damian Lillard is one of the greatest shooters to ever play in the NBA.
He often takes tough shots from distance and frequently sinks them (career average of 37.3 percent 3P% in first 9 seasons).
AdvertisementsThis is why his fans (and opponents alike) call him “Dame Time” –when it’s time for him to step up and make big shots, he accepts the challenge and succeeds.
The NBA world has witnessed this multiple times. One time was during the 2021 NBA All-Star Game:
Throughout this game, I swear it felt like Lillard purposefully shot from as far away as he can. It was like he came into it with the challenge of making a basket at every logo.
But the amazing about it was that he made half of the 16 3-pointers he took. And one of them was the game-winning half-court shot.
However, what was more astonishing, to me anyway, was how seamless the shots were.
He wasn’t forcing any of his shots. It came naturally to him like he was supposed to shoot the ball from way past the perimeter.
It was as if it was a language that he was very, very fluent in.
How Damian Lillard Practices Scoring
So, how did Lillard become an articulate shooter? Well, it’s because he practiced.
“Well, that’s obvious! But what did he do to work on his shooting?” you’re probably wondering.
Lillard just practiced shooting a lot. He put in his 10,000 hours of practice and mastered the art of perimeter shooting. Before every game, he practices shooting from the areas he often shoots from.
And before every team practice, he does the same thing with drills like the Con Man Drill. He just practices shooting every opportunity he gets and this is why he’s a great shooter.
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How to Shoot Long-Range Shots like Damian Lillard
AdvertisementsNow, I will admit that I don’t know the specific shooting drills he does, especially the ones he used to do prior to becoming a star basketball player.
But there is this one basketball drill that will improve your shooting.
And if you do it consistently enough with the same effort that Dame puts into practicing shooting, your range will increase and your shooting percentage will too.
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The shooting drill is from former college player and basketball YouTuber Austin Mills.
Key Notes:
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Be mindful of your shooting form. Try to keep the same form for every shot, regardless of distance. If you’re not a proficient shooter, just shoot from inside the perimeter until you figure out what your shooting form is and are comfortable with it
If shooting from half-court is too far or is too hard, you can make the 3-point line the final shot, especially if you’re new to this drill or new to basketball
Your shooting form is the most important thing, so if you notice it getting wonky, take a step or two in and try to perfect your form from in-close before moving outwards
After you do the drill without jumping the first time, do it with jumpers immediately afterwards
Be consistent with this exercise. If you want to get better, you have to do it a couple of times a week, every week
How to Get Stronger for Shooting
Additionally, if you find that you are too weak to shoot from far away, try doing strengthening exercises. This will also condition you to play pick-up basketball games.
The main things you want to strengthen are your legs, core, wrist, forearms, and triceps.
So, I recommend you begin with bodyweight squats, push-ups, and pull-ups (or resistance band rows). These exercises will target all the “shooting” muscles.
To start, I suggest doing 3 circuits of 10 push-ups, 10 squats, and 2-5 pull-ups (or 5-10 inverted rows). After each round, rest for a minute or a minute-and-a-half.
Do this workout twice a week after you do your shooting practice.
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However, if doing strengthening exercises isn’t your thing, there is another activity you can do.
You can strengthen your “shooting” muscles by just shooting as often as possible.
Instead of doing the drill a couple of times a week, do it 4 or 5 times. It may take longer to get stronger, but while you’re doing it, you’re also improving your shooting form.
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Also, you can also use a heavy basketball to expedite your progress.
Final Thoughts
Dame Lillard is an incredible shooter.
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He’s probably a top 5 all-time perimeter shooter in NBA history.
But the only reason he can make long-range bombs from the logos is that he practices. He puts in the time and effort to work on his shot.
Thus, if you want to be able to shoot like Dame, you have to consistently practise shooting from distance.
***
P.S. If you’re struggling to improve in basketball, you may be training wrong. This is why you need to check out my Old Man Game Activity Guide. It’s a convenient training system that will help you work on your fundamentals and conditioning. Click here to learn more about it.
Nine naive questions about biathlon
On the eve of the start of the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Sportbox.ru found answers to nine naive questions about one of the most popular winter sports — biathlon.
1) What are the targets made of, what diameter are they, and how many meters are they from the shooting area?
In modern biathlon, two types of targets are used - metal (during competitions) and paper (for zeroing weapons before the start). It is curious that initially the targets were exclusively paper. And at the first official competitions, a silhouette was generally used, in the center of which a circle was drawn with a diameter of 250 mm (when shooting prone) or 350 mm (when shooting standing). If the athlete did not fall into the circle, then he received a minute as a penalty, and two for missing the silhouette. It was very difficult to keep count at that time, and often the final results of the shooting were determined only after the finish.
It is clear that the system was imperfect and regularly led to conflicts of interest. Therefore, the idea with the silhouette did not take root, the organizers of the competition began to experiment. Initially, it was proposed to shoot at rubber cameras stretched behind a metal shield. Soviet science went further: there was an attempt to make glass targets. So, in 1974, the Saratov glass factory launched the production of special glasses. Their peculiarity was that when a bullet hit, they did not crumble into fragments, but flowed down, as if they had been melted. However, this idea was also doomed to failure - the glasses often broke during transportation.
Currently, the target size is 45 mm for prone shooting and 115 mm for standing fire. Shooting is carried out from a distance of 50 m.
2) How is the time determined at the reference marks?
Before the start, special electronic sensors are attached to each biathlete's legs. It is impossible to refuse this procedure. It is thanks to these sensors that in real time it is always possible to track the speed at which each athlete moves along the track. The sensors react every time a biathlete passes one of the control lines.
3) How much does the rifle weigh and what bullets do the athletes use?
In modern biathlon, weapons and ammunition are not considered separately, but as a whole. The result of shooting depends not only on the accuracy of the athlete and the manufacturer of the rifle, but also on the quality of the cartridges. So, in biathlon, rimfire cartridges of 5.6 mm caliber are used. They were invented in 1888 and they received the name "22 Long Rifle", which means "long rifle 22 caliber", although later these cartridges began to be used when firing from a pistol. International athletes usually spend a lot of time pre-firing different brands of cartridges. Today, the best are English Tenex, P-50 for Anschutz rifles, which are manufactured by the German company Dynamite-Nobel, and Russian-made Olympus cartridges. On average, a professional biathlete shoots up to 1200 rounds per month.
The biathletes have a small-caliber rifle, designed specifically for this sport. It weighs no more than 3.5 kg. The clip is designed for five rounds. And the speed of a bullet fired from such a weapon reaches 380 meters per second.
4) What is the punishment for an athlete if he shoots at the wrong target or confuses prone with standing?
The story of the Belarusian athlete Darya Domracheva, who embarrassed herself in the German Oberhof for the second year in a row, is known to all biathlon fans. In the 2009 season/2010 in the mass start, the hope of all Belarus fired three shots at someone else's target, depriving itself of a chance to win. A year ago, while prone, Domracheva suddenly started shooting at targets while standing.
However, such situations in biathlon are not uncommon. At one time, Russian biathletes Anfisa Reztsova and Natalya Guseva also shot other people's targets. The second, to match Domracheva, was embarrassed in this way twice. There is an opinion that such mistakes come from an overflowing desire to win. After all, Domracheva, and Reztsova, and Guseva were wrong when they came to the shooting range first.
According to the rules of the International Biathlon Union, as a punishment for shooting at someone else's target, an athlete is recorded a miss, as if he shot correctly and simply did not hit. So, Domracheva in Oberhof-2010 caught on and after three shots at someone else's target, she hit two of her own. But the punishment for shooting from the wrong position (“standing” instead of “prone” or vice versa) is much tougher - disqualification.
5) What happens if an athlete starts shooting from something other than his mat?
Official rules state that it is forbidden not only to shoot from someone else's mat, but also to stumble and leave your own if the rifle is not worn on the shoulders. Surprisingly, compliance with this rule is monitored quite strictly, and the organizers sometimes mercilessly punish even eminent athletes. So, the Norwegian Halvard Hanevold once accidentally dropped a cartridge and, trying to pick it up, got off the mat, for which he was immediately disqualified.
A much more curious case occurred with the American Jay Hakkinen. In one of the races, he made five misses and was so upset that when he got up from the mat, he forgot his sticks. Returning for inventory, Hakkinen dropped his gloves. I had to come back for them. The referee already wanted to disqualify the distracted athlete, but Hakkinen removed a heavy burden from the referee's soul, throwing off his skis in a fit of rage and finishing the race.
6) What should I do if my rifle breaks during a race?
This happened to the Russian team at the 2008 World Championships in Östersund, when Albina Akhatova, who was running the second stage in the relay, jammed her rifle in the first prone. While the weapons were being changed, the Russian team lost a lot of time and, as a result, fell short of the podium. Nevertheless, such cases are from the category of force majeure, because before the start, the rifle is checked not only by the athlete himself, but also by a special team. Particular attention is paid to the pull force of the trigger, which should not exceed 500 grams.
According to the regulations, in addition to the main one, each athlete has two more spare rifles. In the event of a weapon breakdown at a distance, it can only be changed at the shooting range, and only one of the representatives of his team can hand it over to the athlete. Those who break this rule will be disqualified.
Interestingly, if a biathlete loses a clip or sight during a race, this is not fatal. The main thing is to bring the barrel and launcher to the finish line, otherwise the result will be cancelled. So, the Belarusian Ekaterina Ivanova's rifle once just fell apart, and she had to grab the parts in an armful and drag them to the finish line.
7) What is the punishment for an athlete if he forgot or did not want to drive a penalty loop at all?
Such a curiosity happened to the Russian biathlete Nikolai Kruglov. While shooting from a standing position, he made two misses, but was so carried away by the pursuit of the Frenchman Vincent Defran that he forgot to pass the second penalty loop and, thanks to this, he got ahead of the Frenchman at the finish line, becoming third in the pursuit. For this, two penalty minutes were added to Kruglov's time, due to which he lost his place on the podium.
8) What is the punishment to threaten the athlete if he "cut" the distance?
An unpleasant story at the 2009 World Championships still does not allow Russian biathlon fans to sleep peacefully. Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen cut the distance by ten meters in the pursuit race, for which a special commission deprived him of gold and awarded the victory to Maxim Chudov. However, the Norwegian team filed an appeal, and, to the surprise of many, the already long list of Bjoerndalen's awards was replenished with another gold medal. The decision really turned out to be blatantly unfair - according to the regulations, any violation during the passage of the track, which allows you to gain time, should be disqualified. At the same time, for many Russian fans, not the members of the commission, but Bjoerndalen, who did not share the award with Chudov, contrary to the fair play principle, became persona non grata.
9) What is the penalty for a slow-moving biathlete who refuses to let a faster-footed athlete who is not his direct competitor pass?
In motorsport, this is called overtaking laps, but in biathlon, such situations often arise in time trial races. According to the new traffic rules, a driver must give way to a pedestrian, but in practice this does not always happen. In such cases, negligent motorists should be fined. The same is true in biathlon. Failure to let a faster colleague pass is punishable by a penalty minute. So it is difficult to understand whether most biathletes are really so well-mannered that they always give way, or they are simply afraid of severe punishment.
Tatyana Pomelnikova, Sportbox.ru
Related
Maxim Chudov Nikolai Kruglov Bjoerndalen Ole Einar Daria Domracheva Biathlon
Previously in Biathlon: Svendsen fears Ustyugov
Tank firing range.
Sighting maximum range of the tank
To date, the tank acts as the main firepower of modern armies. And the one who can create favorable conditions in a duel to hit an enemy tank always wins. In this case, the firing range is of decisive importance, because it allows you to fire at the enemy from cover or an inaccessible zone.
Forces that reduce range
At present, design engineers are developing more and more new models to increase the range of modern tanks. But no matter how hard they try, it will not work to completely eliminate the factors that reduce the range of the projectile.
In theory, if the projectile were not affected by external forces during the flight, then it would fly in a straight line. But under the influence of gravity, it is attracted to the ground, loses its initial speed and flight range, and changes its trajectory to a parabola.
In addition, any flying body is affected by the force of air resistance, which not only reduces the flight speed, but also tends to overturn the projectile, give it a vertical rotational motion. By reducing the influence of these factors, it is possible to achieve that the maximum range of the tank will become longer.
The main ways to increase the firing range
To reduce the effect of gravity, you can resort to only one way - to reduce the weight of a tank projectile. Measures to reduce weight are extremely rare, because the penetrating ability of the head also depends on it.
Reduced air resistance The projectile is given a special streamlined shape that improves its aerodynamic properties. The head is sharpened, and the waist part is beveled at a certain angle. To eliminate the tipping of the flying ammunition, it is given its own rotational motion.
To make the projectile rotate on its own axis, special spiral channels are cut into the barrel before being mounted on the tank. At the same time, the firing range increases, but another problem appears - derivation, or the deviation of the projectile to the right or left of the line of fire.
The direction of displacement in the vertical axis depends on the direction of twisting of the channels inside the barrel. If they go up to the right, then the flying projectile will deviate to the right side, and when aiming, the gunner needs to take lead to the left.
Flight speed and trajectory
There is another factor that affects the flight range - the initial speed of the projectile. Accordingly, the lower the initial acceleration, the closer the enemy tank should be. The firing range also depends on the throwing angles, which, in turn, are again determined by the initial speed. The more meters per second the core overcomes during the flight, the smaller the angle must be set to hit the target.
All of the above factors - derivation, angle of throw, initial flight force - set the trajectory of the projectile. The main task facing engineers at this stage in the development of tank technology is to give the projectile a more direct glide path - a vertical flight line. Now it is a parabola.
Effective firing range
They name one main indicator of the effectiveness of guns that are mounted on anti-tank guns and on a tank - the firing range of a direct shot, that is, the distance that the projectile will fly, deviating from the vertical trajectory by a distance not exceeding the height of the target being hit. If we talk directly about tanks, then the height of the glide path should be no more than 2 meters.
In order to improve the defense of positions, to make it more stable, it is necessary first of all to increase the range of a direct shot. Increasing the distance at which effective fire can be conducted on enemy vehicles, combined with the massive use of tank guns, makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of defense.
Design engineers strive to increase the muzzle velocity of the projectile so that the effective range of the tank becomes higher. The indicator of the effective fire distance is in direct proportion to the initial acceleration of the ammunition - it is ten to twenty percent higher than the initial "swiftness". For example, at a speed of 1000 m / s, the flight range will be 1100-1200 meters.
Projectile dispersal
The projectile force from the muzzle of the tank also affects the flight time - the higher the acceleration value, the less time the core will spend in the air. This is essential when shooting at moving targets, it reduces the number of errors made when the trajectory is incorrectly predicted.
The effectiveness of shooting is also affected by the dispersion of shells - the average area of impact of each shot fired at the target. The deviation of the cannonball hit from the aiming point increases with the distance to the target. This happens under the influence of various factors, including Coriolis acceleration. It is impossible to completely eliminate scattering.
Firing range
At this stage in the development of military equipment, engineers introduce various means that allow you to hit enemy forces at a distance of up to 10 km or more. What is the firing range of the tank, which is in service with each individual army, it is impossible to say exactly - it is different for each model.
To increase the flight range, designers not only use the methods listed above, but also create new means of firing. Now there are two main types of such tools:
ATGM - anti-tank guided missile, part of the armament of most tanks and anti-tank systems, used to have the abbreviation ATGM - anti-tank guided missile.
BOPS is an armor-piercing, feathered sub-caliber projectile that is stabilized in the air not by rotation around its own axis, but by aerodynamic solutions.
So, for example, the firing range of the T-90 tank with ATGM guns is about 5000 meters, and it is possible to fire to kill with BOPS guns at a distance of 0.1 km.
Armament of the T-90 tank
The main gun of the T-90 tank is a 125 mm smoothbore cannon, which is coaxial with the machine gun mount and mounted on trunnions, which provide greater flexibility when aiming at the target. The stabilization system is represented by the Jasmine design. The new gun has high firing accuracy, fast reloading - about 6.5 seconds due to the automatic loader.
One of the exceptional features of the weapon is the ability to fire guided missiles. Firing range of the T-9 tank0 ATGM guns is 5 km. This is ensured by modern designs of both guidance systems and the missile itself.
The missile control complex is represented by a laser guidance channel with a ballistic computer, an automated control unit and the shots themselves, which are produced by guided missiles for a tank gun. The presented engineering solutions make it possible to hit both stationary targets and those moving at a speed of more than 70 km/h with an accuracy of more than 60%.
Armament of the T-80 tank
The T-80 tank became famous for being the world's first combat vehicle with a gas turbine engine. It allowed to reduce the time of preparing the machine for further operation. Due to the fact that now the engine did not need to warm up, the car could:
Immediately start moving at positive temperatures.
Proceed to redeployment 2-3 minutes after starting the power plant at an ambient temperature of -18 degrees Celsius.
Start driving in 20-30 minutes in more severe climatic conditions.
Currently an obsolete model, but still in service in some countries. It was developed in 1976. The main gun is represented by a 125 mm 2A46-1 cannon.
The firing range of the T-80 tank from the main gun is about 3700 meters. At the beginning of its production, it was not equipped with guided missiles. Subsequent modifications of the equipment acquired ATGM installations, and the missile flight range was about 5 kilometers.
Armament of the T-64 tank
The main battle tank T-64 was produced in the 70-80s of the last century. Despite its advanced age, this technique boasts solid characteristics. The main firepower of the vehicle is represented by a smoothbore 125 mm cannon, which can fire 4 types of projectiles - sub-caliber, cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation and guided missiles.
Reflected the performance characteristics of the T-64 tank, the firing range of its weapons.
Put your guide hand in the normal position, but an inch off the ball so you're not touching it. Focus on shooting the ball high and far, but do not sacrifice good form in order to do so.
Stay at that spot until your shot feels like it did at 12 feet. Once it feels comfortable again, shoot several hundred shots until it becomes automatic again.
5'
If you want to get better, you have to do it a couple of times a week, every week
Click here to learn more about it.
It is thanks to these sensors that in real time it is always possible to track the speed at which each athlete moves along the track. The sensors react every time a biathlete passes one of the control lines. 
On average, a professional biathlete shoots up to 1200 rounds per month. 
The second, to match Domracheva, was embarrassed in this way twice. There is an opinion that such mistakes come from an overflowing desire to win. After all, Domracheva, and Reztsova, and Guseva were wrong when they came to the shooting range first. 
So, the Norwegian Halvard Hanevold once accidentally dropped a cartridge and, trying to pick it up, got off the mat, for which he was immediately disqualified. 
Nevertheless, such cases are from the category of force majeure, because before the start, the rifle is checked not only by the athlete himself, but also by a special team. Particular attention is paid to the pull force of the trigger, which should not exceed 500 grams. 
While shooting from a standing position, he made two misses, but was so carried away by the pursuit of the Frenchman Vincent Defran that he forgot to pass the second penalty loop and, thanks to this, he got ahead of the Frenchman at the finish line, becoming third in the pursuit. For this, two penalty minutes were added to Kruglov's time, due to which he lost his place on the podium. 
At the same time, for many Russian fans, not the members of the commission, but Bjoerndalen, who did not share the award with Chudov, contrary to the fair play principle, became persona non grata. 
Sighting maximum range of the tank 
By reducing the influence of these factors, it is possible to achieve that the maximum range of the tank will become longer. 
If they go up to the right, then the flying projectile will deviate to the right side, and when aiming, the gunner needs to take lead to the left. 
If we talk directly about tanks, then the height of the glide path should be no more than 2 meters. 
This is essential when shooting at moving targets, it reduces the number of errors made when the trajectory is incorrectly predicted. 
Now there are two main types of such tools: 
Firing range of the T-9 tank0 ATGM guns is 5 km. This is ensured by modern designs of both guidance systems and the missile itself. 
