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| TEACHING Proper Shooting Mechanics Triple Threat/Shooters Pocket BY Coach Scott Fields |
Triple Threat - Shooters Pocket
by Coach Scott Fields.
Inserted is a photo of Kyle Korver, a former Utah Jazz player who is currently playing for the Atlanta Hawks. Kyle is a great shooter with great form who statistically is near the top of the league in 3 pt percentage.
Allow me to begin by saying this should be a book and or an instructional video (be watching for our release) not a blog, but I will make it detailed enough to make it quality content to read for Players and Coaches.
The details are what are important when teaching proper shooting mechanics.
I teach proper shooting mechanics in progression. First learn how to hold the ball before you learn to shoot the ball.
Just as in life, you must crawl before you walk, walk before you run, to many people just want to run, or grab a ball and shoot. IT SIMPLY DOESNT WORK THAT WAY.
I don't see enough coaches teaching proper mechanics.
SLOW DOWN AND TEACH, DONT TAKE FOR GRANTED THE PLAYER KNOWS WHAT YOU KNOW. Great Players want to be taught and Coached.
You must catch the ball and hold the ball before you can shoot the ball, practice catching the ball and going into a triple threat position first, do this multiple times to get that down correct, then practice going from a triple threat position to a shooters pocket.
Again repeat this process several times, Create GOOD HABITS.
Triple threat to shooters pocket, take out all of the extra motion and fine tune it.
What is triple threat?
A position when you can effectively and aggressively dribble the ball, pass the ball and shoot the ball. The TRIPLE threat needs to be with balance, and in attack position.
Start drill without ball then add ball when it is correct
Get into a Triple Threat stance and aggressively dribble out of it, Triple Threat and aggressive pass out of it. Triple Threat and get to shooters pocket out of it.
get into shooters pocket without ball, then add ball when it is corrected.
The Shooters pocket is where you are before the shot
This is what a proper shooting pocket should look like. (Visual)
The shooting arm is in a U shape , not a V shape, if a V Shape this will cause a flat shot, or a shot put shot.
if in a U shape and the wrist is cocked with wrinkles in the wrist.(check point)
The back of the arm of the shooting hand or tricep will stay parallel to the floor, the ball doesn't go to the chest, the arm stays parallel to the floor , arm never goes to V shape.
I start with how you hold the ball, On the pads of your hand,(check point)not resting flat in the palm of your hands, I use your fingers on your shooting hand as a guide, and a check point for the shooter, like a sight on a gun. The thumb and index fingers are vital. (These are check points and teaching points for the shooters.)
The thumb should come up in front of your nose and the index finger in front of your eye on the shooting hand side. Rt hand shooter, index finger in front of right eye, if Lf hand shooter, index finger comes up in front of left eye. The hand should be relaxed but spread. There should be a peep hole (gap) if you have a proper gap or peep hole, you will be able to slide a pencil between the thumb and index finger under the the ball.(check point) I say there should be wrinkles on the back of the wrist so the the wrist is cocked back and the wrist in not flat to shot put the ball towards the rim.
I say the index finger of the middle finger on your shooting hand should be the last to touch the ball when the shot is released for the proper back spin or backward rotation on the ball.
If there is not a proper backspin or rotation on the ball on the release, we need to make an immediate correction. (We will discuss this in detail further in the read.
Follow though is very important a good follow through can correct poor shooting mechanics. The extension of the arm should be up and not out, the elbow of the shooting arm would finish extended and above the eye(check point)
The balance hand leaves the ball as soon as the ball is elevated above the forehead.
The middle finger on the snap of the wrist should finish inside the rim,(check point) like a child reaching in a cookie jar., if your middle finger floats to the left or the right, your shot will drift left or right, this is a freeze it and check point for the shooter and coach, where is the middle finger pointed on release? pending on the distance of the shot? The further back the shot, the less room for margin of error.
The father back the shot, the less room form margin of error on left to right. The short and long on the shot depends on the knee bend and legs. Coaches notice how many shots in the fourth quarter are short? Because players legs are tired and there is less elevation from the legs, this is why conditioning is very important.
I say the elbow should be above the eyes on the release, ( check point) this for proper trajectory, the ball is not a dart , it can't be flat. The higher the arch the more surface area you are giving yourself to put the ball through the hoop., the flatter the shot, the smaller the surface area is to catch the ball on the rim, the backspin on the ball allows for the ball to catch the back of the rim and in.
Your feet and shoulder must stay square to your target.
Anatomically, the body will go where the feet go, the muscles in your core will pull the body to follow your feet. If your feet stay pointed to the target, (the rim) the shoulders have a better chance to stay square to the target(the rim), there is a slight bend at the waist, if bent to far forward, again you loose balance.
I say the balance hand, the hand that balances the ball on the shooting hand is just as important and needs to be placed on the ball properly.
The balance hand thumb should form a T with the shooting hand thumb.(check point)
The thumbs should never be pointed at each other, they should always form a T.
This can cause thumbing the ball and you will start to see a side spin on ball when released.
The index finger on the balance hand should point to the sky and the thumb of the balance hand should be pointed between your eyes. When in the shooters pocket. In shooters pocket, the elbow is above the toe (check point)
The balance hand should be on the side of the ball, not on the back of the ball, not on the top of the ball or in front of the ball.
The balance hand arm should come out to a 45 degree angle.
And the shooting hand arm elbow should be above the toe of the shooting hand foot.
Foot work and position is also vital, feet should be shoulder width apart for balance and use of the legs, if feet are to spread, and knees come in when you bend your knees to shoot, you are putting to much pressure on the meniscus and knees and you are using only two of the four muscles in the quad, which means you will not get as much elevation on the jump shot. This also causes knee issues during your career.
The feet also need to be shoulder width apart for balance.
You should jump straight up and down, so that your feet land in the foot prints that were left. (Check point)Don't jump forward, don't jump backwards, don't jump side to side.
Straight up, straight down, this is to take out the room for margin of air.
By keeping the shooting hand arm in alignment keeping the elbow above the toe, you will correct the chicken wing issue many players have and lot of left and rights on your shot as long as your follow through is correct and Middle finger reaches in the rim.
You must keep your head straight, don't turn head left or right as this again changes your perspective of your target,
Example
Extend your arm, point your right index finger on a fixed target.
Close your left eye
Now don't move your finger, but now close your right eye and look at the index finger with your left eye and see how much that target has moved.
The further the distant of the target the more the index finger moves off of the target.
This is that margin of error, with left or rights on the target.
It is like kissing your significant other, the kiss should land on the lips, but if you are always kissing your partner on the cheek you are missing your target.
The target on the rim is directly in front of you on the front of the rim,
You must have a target to shoot at,
When big game hunting, you don't shoot at the entire animal, you pick out a spot and aim for your target.
You aim for the vitals, the heart and lungs, it is the same with shooting a basketball, you don't look at the entire backboard and rim, you look directly at the rim, and specifically the front of the rim. From what ever angle you are shooting at.
The index finger on the snap of the wrist will also points at the target on the rim or target.
If you are shooting a angle bank shot from a 45 degree angle, the target is now the top corner of the square on the side you are shooting from.
Example, if you are shooting from the right wing, your target is now not the front of the rim, your target to eye is the top right corner of the square, and your index finger now points at the top right hand corner of the square, this is where your extension on your follow through is very important , if your elbow is below your eye, the shot will glance off of the rim and go to the week aside,(Brick)if your elbow is above the eye and the release is soft and you hit your target, you will get a soft glance off of the backboard for a bank swish
This is the same but reversed on the left side,
The left side , your target is now the top corner of the square on the left side.
If you teach these mechanics and you have repetition, proper form on every repetition you will start to create muscle memory in your shot and your percentages of makes will increase significantly.
Focus on proper form and mechanics, don't focus on the number of makes in the start, this new form will feel awkward to the athlete as there is a change, change is always uncomfortable, stick with the process.
Think of Tiger Woods in Golf, when there was a change in his swing, there was a change in his result in the beginning of the process, it is the same as a shooter.
Remember, when the athlete starts to fatigue the first thing to go will be their concentration, stop them correct them, get them back on task with proper mechanics, you must work smart.
You can't allow poor mechanics on repetition. This will not create proper muscle memory. SLOW DOWN, GET the MECHANICS correct.
Don't skip steps, don't try to quicken the process.
Your Performance will reflect your habits, Practice Proper Habits daily.
I once read with 1500 proper reps daily. It will take 21 days to change a habit. It will take 3 months to perfect the Habit with 1500 correct proper reps /day.
I have hit you with a plethora of information here. Think of the guides, think of the check points. THINK OF THE DETAILS.
This takes Time, Focus, Patience and hours of Repetition.
Video record your mechanics, look for adjustments that need to be made
COACH THE DETAILS FOR RESULTS. PLAYERS PRACTICE THE PROPER MECHANICS DAILY FOR RESULTS.
These techniques are proven. I have taught them around the country with great results.
I provide a visual for players I will share with you later.
I also provide a challenge yourself, game within the game to increase your percentage I will share with you later as well.
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