To the World of Basketball:
Please, let’s examine the generally accepted instructions for shooting a basketball. There are at least six common instructions used by most trainers, and I’ll cover them in two articles.
Three of the rules are that (1) you must “SHIELD” to shoot, (2) you must have your “ELBOW DIRECTLY UNDER THE BALL” and (3) “FLIP YOUR WRIST” is how you throw the ball.
MAY I SUGGEST THAT NONE OF THOSE THINGS ARE TRUE?
I have been researching and studying shooting for over 18 years and I keep running into these old shooting “myths”. It has been taught to children for decades and is still thrown away at every level of the game. Have you ever thought that maybe they are part of the reason for the drop in shots?
THE BEST SHOOTERS DON’T SHOOT THAT WAY!
I am here to suggest that an open stance is more effective and powerful than confrontation. That the elbow does not belong “directly” under the ball, and that a Throw Driven by the fully extended arm with the wrist and hand completely relaxed will lead to an overshot (NOT by twisting the wrist). And, SURPRISE, this way of shooting is the “secret” of how almost all great shooters have always done it!
(1) SQUARE WORKS GREAT…FOR TWO-HANDED SHOOTING!
I don’t know where this all started, but for me, the square stance is very effective… for shooting with two hands, which no one does anymore! I could shoot set shots that way when I was playing, and I even used the underhand two-handed free throw technique for a while in high school. I was good at the former, but the latter was uncomfortable, if not ineffective. Some people just can’t understand that way of shooting free throws, and no one likes it except the amazing Rick Barry. Two-handed shooting is obsolete!
AN OPEN POSTURE IS MORE NATURAL, MORE POWERFUL…
An open stance and “stepping in” to shoot is a more natural way to shoot. There is no reason to square your shoulders and keep them that way while shooting single handed. Any child, if asked to shoot a ball with one hand, would rotate the body as he shoots so that the strong arm extends toward the target. And an open posture is more stable. As a trainer once said when I mentioned the value of an open stance, “It’s like a boxer standing up to throw jabs!” Yes, a southpaw boxer would strike a wide stance, with the right foot, right shoulder, and right arm extended toward the opponent. Standing up straight would give you a weak posture. There is power and stability with an open posture. Push against a wall from a square stance, and then open your stance and push again. Do you feel how much more power there is in the latter? To learn how to shoot quickly, the simple step 1-2 can be done in a flash. Which is more important, shooting quickly (and missing a lot of shots) or shooting in a way that helps ensure success?
(2) ELBOW UNDER THE BALL? WHY WOULD YOU WANT THAT?
If you line up your hand with the shooting eye and the basket, and have your hand facing the basket directly on the line of the shot, your elbow will be a little off (5-10″, depending on your arm length), not directly under the ball. You can’t have both an elbow directly under the ball and your hand exactly in line with the target. Try it! See if you can do both. If you can’t, which do you think is better? you will agree with me that “It’s the hand that matters, forget about the elbow!”
(3) MOVING THE WRIST ACTIVATES SMALL RAPIDLY CONGRESSION MUSCLES
Twisting your wrist is one way to add power to a basketball shot, but I think you’ll find that you’re putting power and control into small muscles that are less reliable under pressure. A flick of the wrist is also a horizontal action, which flattens the shot and makes it “hotter” (less of the effect of gravity to slow it down).
A PUSHING ACTION IS EASIER, MORE PREDICTABLE
Alternatively, a pushing action to full arm extension, directed upwards with the wrist and hand relaxed, can be modeled into a “constant motion”, eliminating all sorts of variables. Thus, the shooter has a greater sense of what is coming out of the fingertips. The movement can then rely on the larger and more reliable muscles of the legs and lower/mid body for variable power.
So here are 3 myths about the pose, the elbow, and the release. In the next article we will examine three more and introduce the simple “Swish Method” approach to shooting.
Visit: http://www.swish22.com
Copyright © 2007 Tom Nordland All Rights Reserved