Improve Your Basketball Free Throw Shooting & Feel Like A B-Ball King Thursday, March 01, 2007
Our experience is that most players go through periods where their shooting confidence is shot. Ever have that happen? You'd do anything to just "feel better" about yourself, right?
Then get ready to feel better as you read this current article.
Before we get into today's lesson on how to improve your free throw shooting, we thought we'd mention that Tom Nordland goes into a lot of detail on your "Shooting Motion" in his "Swish" video.
Tom’s "keep it simple" method does wonders for your foul shots (as well as any other shot you’re looking to improve on). Get "Swish" and check out why Tom puts such importance on properly using your legs in your "Shooting Motion".
Why do we say you can get your confidence back and feel better about your over-all game just by working on your foul shots? 2 reasons:
1) Free throw shooting takes concentration. It's just you & the ball at the line. It can have a calming effect as you focus on breathing, relaxing and proper technique. Kind of a way to forget your recent slump as you get back to basics.
2) Basketball free throw shooting is just damn important. People focus on making that last foul shot at the end of the game, but every one of them is important, whether it's the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th quarter, don't you think?
How many times have you lost by a couple points? If you could have made a few more foul shots throughout the game, it wouldn't have been a loss, but a win. Plus, if you made your early free throws, you probably would have had a nice lead at the end and it wouldn't have been so close.
So, you take the time to improve your free throw shooting skills, deliver during the game for your team; and in crunch time at the end, you become the hero that wins the contest.
That's a confidence booster. You feel better and now you're back on track.
Great, now let's get into the nitty gritty. We're going to give you 2 tips as to what causes problems at the line and give you a free throw shooting drill.
1) One reason many players miss foul shots is because they slow down their shot. They get conservative and slow down the whole motion of the arms and legs. You can't do this. Shoot at your normal speed.
2) Many times, free throw shooting suffers because you're tired. So you don't get the proper lift with your legs and you try to "push" the ball up into the hoop.
Too many coaches don't prepare their players for "game-like" conditions when it comes to basketball free throw shooting. Players stand at the line all rested in practice and shoot 15-25 shots. When the heck does that ever happen in a real game?
Here's how to prepare properly for free throw success:
Take 2 foul shots (just like a game!), then sprint down the court and back again. Now shoot 2 more and repeat the sprint. Get used to taking your free throws before you have a chance to catch your breath.
Wow, this is much harder, isn't it? But drill on this and see the difference it makes when it all counts. It'll help revolutionize your free throw shooting skills and you're going to feel much better about yourself when you're the one putting in the winning points.
posted by Brandon Schenz @ 7:37 AM,
