How to shoot basketball left handed

How to Shoot a Basketball with Your Left Hand

How to Shoot a Basketball with Your Left Hand

We’ve previously discussed how to practice your layup with your left hand and figured that learning how to shoot a basketball with your left hand would also be worth discussing. 

Learning how to shoot with both your right and left hands will not only make you a more dominant shooter but will also help to give you the confidence needed to score over tight defenses and from difficult spots on the court.

Practicing the left-handed shot will not only give you more confidence when it comes to scoring but will also help you to be a more dominant player. 

However, when it comes to scoring, it is just as important to be able to do so with your dominant hand as it is to be able to do so with your non-dominant hand.

Typically, the dominant hand in basketball is the right-hand.  This is because a majority of players are right-handed.  In fact, worldwide, nearly 90% of people are right-handed.  

As-such, most players are able to efficiently and easily score with their right hand.  However, doing so with the left-hand can prove to be more difficult and challenging. 

That is why we are going to discuss and provide you with a step-by-step on how to shoot a basketball with your left hand that will make you a more efficient player and give you the confidence to shoot with either hand.

One of the most effective ways to learning and improving how to shoot with your left hand is to practice your dribble with your left hand.  Practicing your left-handed dribble will not only help you to learn how to dribble with your non-dominant hand but will also help to strengthen the core muscles in that hand.

Dribbling practices are meant to be easy and efficient.  Don’t overthink them.

One great dribbling exercise is to simply dribble the basketball up-and-down the length of the court utilizing only your left hand.  This can, and should, include variations of the dribble, including keeping the dribble close to your body and performing an in-and-out dribble with the ball.

Another great way to learn how to shoot with your left hand is to work on shots that are closer to the basket.  This will not only help to train your non-dominant hand but will also give you the confidence needed to finish strong at the rim with either hand.

To do this exercise, begin on the left-hand arc of the rim, towards the three-point line.  Dribbling in with your left hand, release a floater from that hand either off the backboard or straight into the hoop. 

Whether you make or miss the shot, grab the rebound and dribble approximately 3-6 feet from the rim and release a hook-shot with your left hand.  Again, regardless of whether you made the shot or not, grab the rebound and dribble back out to your starting spot.  Repeat this exercise for ten-minutes.

While it is admirable that you are looking to work on your left-handed shot, we wouldn’t recommend taking a free-throw shot with your non-dominant hand.   As the free-throw is a free shot, you should do so with your dominant hand, increasing the likelihood and probability of a made shot.

However, when practicing your left-hand shot, doing so from the free-throw line is a great exercise.  Stand at the free-throw line and bring the ball to your chest.  Lifting the ball in the air, cup the ball beneath your left-hand, utilizing your right-hand to stabilize the ball.

Utilizing the muscles in your left hand, give the ball a push as you flick your wrist as the shot comes off.  Ensure that you maintain follow-through with your left hand.

You may note that doing so is particularly difficult.  However, with each subsequent shot attempt, you will find it easier and easier to perform.

As you progress through practicing how to shoot with your left hand, you will get to the point of needing to shoot a jump shot with your left hand.

To do so, you will simply follow the routine we mentioned above for practicing how to shoot a free-throw with your left hand.   Standing within 10-15 feet from the rim, hold the ball to your chest. 

As you elevate and have your feet leave the ground, bring the ball up, cupping the ball with your left-hand.  Utilizing your right-hand to hold and stabilize the ball, release the ball at the apex of your jump, with the power and force of the ball coming from your left hand.

A major issue that so many players encounter when it comes to learning how to shoot with their left hands is the mere fact that their left hand is simply less dominant and less worked-out on then their right hand. 

In order to rectify this, you will need to spend time solely focused on developing your non-dominant hand.

One way to do this is to practice dribbling skills with a tennis ball on a basketball court.  Utilizing a tennis ball, you will learn how to more properly dribble and will develop the muscles in your left hand. 

There are two great ways to develop the muscles in your non-dominant hand with a tennis ball.

The first is to simply dribble up-and-down the court with your left hand with a tennis ball.  You can dribble normally or choose to dribble closer to the floor. 

Either way, both methods should help you to exercise your left-hand muscles.

The second, and more difficult method, is to hold a tennis ball in your right-hand as you dribble with your left. 

This will help you develop better hand-eye coordination and stability.  To make it even more difficult, you may opt to throw the tennis ball in your right hand in the air as you continue to dribble with your left.

how to shoot left handed basketball

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Basketball coaching hacks: how to score goals for beginners

Even if you are a novice basketball player, we will not give you a training plan, but we will tell you why the ball flies anywhere but into the ring and into your hands. It's all about technique: even with regular training and perseverance, novice adults and children often make simple mistakes. It's a shame, let's fix it. Below are 11 life hacks on how to hone your technique to increase the likelihood of a goal for your team.

Basketball Shot Rules for Beginners

1. Hands up

In pursuit of the attacker, raise your hands, even if you are standing with your back to the pass, and even more so if the ring is in front of you. Your raised hands will increase the chance of intercepting the ball from the opponent by 2 times. Don't overlook this little thing!

2. Make shield rolls

Even Tim Duncan did not neglect them! A square is drawn on the basketball backboard. If you are standing opposite the ring, then aim at the middle of the upper part of the square, if you are standing on the side, then at the corner. If you hit this square, then the ball is at 90% of cases will fall into the ring. The law of physics and no cheating!

3.

Practice driving the ball with your hand, not your eyes, develop tactile control. Your eyes should be on the hoop while dribbling and be aware of the position of your body in relation to the hoop. Then you will be able to take the correct posture, and the throw will be effective.

4. Dribble with the balls of your fingers only

The palm should not touch the ball, only the pads of the fingers. Dribbling should become familiar to you, like an extension of your hand. Then you can change its trajectory at any time and you will have more chances to score goals. Practice with the ball constantly.

5. Throw with one hand

If you throw the ball with two hands, you reduce the chance of hitting the basket. All the efforts of the throw are in one hand (in the right for right-handers, in the left for left-handers). The other hand only holds the ball, the leading one holds it with the fingers, not the palm.

6.

Jumping is the main mistake of rookie defenders. To intercept the ball and block the shot, simply stick out your hands. When you are in a jump, the attacker will easily bypass you.

7. Don't look back

When you dribble, don't look back, but dribble and aim for the ring, focus on shooting (or passing to another player on your team).

8. Bring the throw to automatism

Incorporate the most basic basketball techniques into your training plan and bring the shot to automatism. Throw first from a distance of half a meter from the ring, gradually increasing it. Learn to throw the ball so that it hits the hoop without touching the edge.

Throw the ball with all fives and jump

Throwing Rules:

• Head in the center of the body - if tilted, accuracy is lost.
• Look at the ring: mentally build a trajectory. If you are far away, the ball flies in a curved curve with a maximum height of 2 meters above the hoop.
• A strong hand is in front and throws, a weak hand is on the side and directs, only holding the ball. The elbow of the throwing hand must be in line with the ring.
• The ball must rest on the fingers without touching the palm. The fingers are as far apart as possible and grab the ball.
• Throwing arm bent 90 degrees, forearm perpendicular to the floor. If you bend less, then you get not a throw, but a throwing of the ball horizontally.

The main thing in the throw is the position of the body and its balance. Place your feet apart and parallel to each other: it is important to orient them in the middle of the basket. Then the direction of the body during the jump will coincide with the direction of the throw, and the ball will fly straight into the ring. When the feet are uneven, the ball flies in the wrong direction or does not reach (although the throw was normal).

Take a deep breath and release as you exhale.

How to hold the ball and shoot in basketball

How to throw correctly: straighten your arm, point your wrist up, and with your hand set the ball to rotate in the opposite direction from the flight. The ball should seem to "roll" off your fingers.

9. Copy masters and play as a team

Watch professional basketball games and try to copy the movements of your favorite players in training. And be sure to conduct game sparring - this will allow you to develop more techniques.

10. Do not throw in a straight line

The higher the arc of the ball, the greater the chance of a goal and the less chance of blocking by the opponent.

11. Do not throw the ball from a full height stand

This is the biggest newbie mistake!

Before the throw, bend your knees slightly and at the moment of the throw, straighten your body, making a jump. You need to straighten up and push off the ground at the same time. When squatting, keep the elbow of the throwing arm close to the body and towards the ring.

The jump will give momentum to the ball and will allow you not to make sudden movements with the brush.

***

And to be a long-term player, do not forget about your health: take care of your joints and muscles, use tapes, do a warm-up. And be sure to strengthen your arms, legs and shoulder girdle, develop coordination. Regular exercises on uneven bars and horizontal bars will help you with this.

How to throw the ball in basketball

Now we will analyze how to throw the ball in basketball is correct and how to do it with one hand.

You often see how basketball players throw the ball with one hand in a jump in competitions. This is a very difficult way. If you learn how to throw the ball like that, the defender is unlikely to be able to interfere with you.

It is not easy to learn how to throw a basketball with one hand while jumping. First of all, you need to be able to jump. While catching the ball, take a long step with your left foot. Bring your right foot to your left foot. Squat down a bit and get ready to jump. Throw both hands with the ball up and quickly jump. Move the ball to your right hand. At the highest point of the jump, throw the ball with the movement of the hand and fingers, straightening the arm at the elbow joint. First try to do it without the ball.

It will be difficult at first to throw the ball into the basket. Therefore, choose a target for yourself on the wall and try to hit it or throw the ball in a jump to a friend standing in front of you.

Do you like throwing the ball into the basket with both hands? There is also such a way: it is throwing the ball into the basket with both hands from the head. Here's how it's done. The ball is raised above the head, the arms are slightly bent at the elbows, the legs are at the knees, both are on the same line.

If it suits you, you can put one foot forward half a step. Before throwing the ball in basketball, the legs are bent at the knees, and the arms are at the elbows. When you straighten your legs and stretch your arms up, with smooth movements of the hand and fingers, you throw the ball into the basket.

You passed the defender, but he is chasing you. If you throw the ball into a basketball basket with one hand from the shoulder, the defender can interfere with you. Therefore, when the defender is close to you, throw the ball into the basket with one hand from below, jumping up and stretching your arm forward and upward.

If throwing the ball in basketball with one hand is still difficult for you, throw it with both hands from below. If, bypassing the defender, you ran through the basket, it's okay. Throw the ball into the basket with the hook.

Whichever way you throw the ball into the basket, remember:

1. If you are throwing the ball straight into the basket, look at the front edge of the ring.
2. If you are throwing with a rebound from the shield, look at the point you want to hit.
3. Try to throw the ball in basketball directly into the basket more often.

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