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Coaches Corner

In this section all things form video lessons, to coaching articles will be posted by our team of coaches to help players who want to improve their game. If you have a basketball question to be answered or would like us to cover a certain topic e-mail us or comment on our facebook page.

Shooting the Basketball

  • First up we have the thing that every player wants to be good at and chances are its the first thing you do when you pick up a basketball in your spare time. To become a consistent shooter takes lots of practice and repetition. In this article we go through the fundamentals of shooting the basketball then look at some shooting drills for shooting in game situations before finally looking at some examples of good shooters to learn from.

 

Fundamentals of the shot:

  1. The shot is built from the ground up. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart, facing the basket (SQUARE UP) and with the foot on the same side as your dominant/ shooting hand about 1/4 step infront of the other foot.

  2. Flex the knees  ensuring that your weight is spread evenly between both feet.

  3. Ball in your shooting pocket (Triple Threat position)

  4. Focus on a point on the basket either the front of the ring, the centre of the basket or the back of the ring. Find which one works for you and stick to it.

  5. NON- SHOOTING HAND GRIP: the non shooting hand is used to support the ball from one side. It is placed on the side of the basketball and removed  as the shooting motion is completed.

  6. SHOOTING HAND GRIP: The index finger on the shooting hand should point towards the target and all fingers spread out evenly accross the basketball.The basketball should only be supported by the fingers and the pads of the shooting hand,( The Palm of the shooting hand should not be in contact with the basketball.

  7. Bring the basketball up to eye level and push through with the shooting hand to shoot the basketball. Keep the shooting arm in a straight line when shooting the basketball and follow-through on the release.

  8. The shooting arm  elbow should be kept in and rub of your side as you bring the basketball up from triple threat position and shooting the basketball.

As the basketball is released on the shot it should spin backwards while it is flying toward the basket.

Shooting Tutorial videos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Some Shooting Drills:

  •  Pressure free throws - set a target to make say 20 and shoot until you make 20 free throws.Add up all of your misses and do 3-5 push-ups for every miss. repeat this drill 2 or 3 times in a row to mimic shooting free throws in a game while tired.

  • form shooting stand 1-2 feet under the basket and shoot the basketball with one arm only and no jump. every time you make 5 shots in a row without hitting the ring take a step back. when you miss start again

  • pick 11 spots (5 spots outside the three point, 2 at the top of the key, 2 on the low blocks, 2 spots at midrange on the wings) an d make 5- 10 shots  from each. Practice this drill from standing first and then shooting off the dribble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Examples of good shooters : Ray Allen, Stephen Curry and Ireland's own Paul Cummins

 

 

Becoming a better basketball player

Here are just some general tips on how to consistently improve your game and become a better player.

  1.  Set goals and targets to achieve and stick to them. What do you want to achieve ....today,.....this week,........this year?

All Goals should be S.M.A.R.T meaning
Specific - go into detail what exactly do you want to achieve?
Measurable - how will you know if you have succeeded or failed in reaching your goal?

Achievable / Realistic - don't set goals that are way out of reach or that are too easy.

Time-targeted - set a deadline to achieve the goal by.

2.  Monitor your goals and record your progress.

3. Eat healthy and stay in good physical shape your .(your trainings/ workouts should be tough so that the games seem easy in comparison)

4. Turn up early for training and leave late. do extra practice

5. Set aside a specific time during the day that is just for basketball practice and stick to it.

6. Remember that basketball is a game of many parts, PRACTICE ALL OF THEM. Don't just shoot the ball for an hour and not work on defence.

7.Assess your game often and identify what you are strong at and weak at. Give extra time to areas that you are weaker in.

8. Watch game footage and professional players in action. pick parts of their game that you would like to be able to do and add them to your game.

9. Have fun- basketball is a game to be enjoyed, trainings shouldn't seem like work they should be fun, just remember to stay focused on your goals.

10. Do not be afraid to fail. Failure is a part of life, it is what you learn from failing and how you recover that is most important.

 

 

REMEMBER - GOOD PRACTICE = GOOD PERFORMANCE IN THE GAMES.

 

 

 

Defence

Part of the game that players seem to least like working on. There is no real recognition for playing good defence in games and the only reward for good defence is getting the ball back to run another offence. For players practicing defence seems like work  but it is one of the most important parts of the game of basketball and more times than not it shapes the outcome of basketball games more than scoring a lot of points does.Here is the good news on defence, defence relies only on attitude not aptitude. Here are some tips on playing good defence and some individual drills to work on.

  • Be smart- what is the player you are guarding strongest at? Is he/she quicker than you? ( if so step off a little so they dont beat you on the dribble) Are they a consistent shooter or do they like to drive to the basket all the time? What are there in game habits?
    You should learn something new about the way the person you are guarding likes to play every time you have to play defence on them in a game.

  • Stay lower than the person you are guarding, especially if they have the basketball, be ready to react to their direcion changes and stops.

  • Arms out wide make yourself appear bigger than you actually are make the offense think that they have less options than they may have.Move your hands constantly to create a diversion for the offensive player

  • As you run to close out or meet an offensive player who has the basketball, use short choppy steps so that you are ready to react to their next move quicker.

 

Defensive drills:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Examples of good defensive players: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Shane Battier.

Note that in the following clips the defenders arms and legs are constantly moving and adjusting slightly even when the offensive player is stationary. The key to good defence is to be 100% mentally and physically alert at all times.

 

 

 

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