Shooting FAQs - $100 bribes, Power, Lines, Walls, Weighted Balls

 Before we get into today’s mailbag and helpful shooting videos…  I did want to let you know that Breakthrough Basketball hosts over 120 shooting camps across the country.   If you’d like some guidance on how to knock down more shots, develop great shooting technique, extend your shooting range, and how to create better workout drills so you actually shoot better during games…  Check out the [Breakthrough Shooting Camps here](  Today’s Mailbag and Helpful Videos  In [last week’s email]( we explained how incorporating a squat with a chest pass with a medicine ball improved my son Gunner’s ability to shoot on a 10-foot hoop and improved his shooting range.  We got a ton of great feedback and questions that you can see below…  We discuss… - Giving players $100 each - Wall shooting to motivate better form - Line shooting with partners - Weighted basketballs for dribbling and passing - 3 factors to look for to improve technique and shooting range There were even some concerns about creating a poor shooting arc. So I shared another exercise that I think will work even better! It was actually the same video that Brian McCormick (who I got the medicine ball idea from) originally shared.  Take a look at some of the important questions and comments we got below and exactly how I would advise you to coach in each of these scenarios:  Reader Comments: Haven't used this technique yet, but I think it's a great idea - and will use it with our 7th/8th girls this afternoon! Thanks for sharing it.  - Mike  Gotta love a shooter named Gunner.... - Carl  Reader Question: I like the concept. However, with many repetitions with the medicine ball throwing, would that translate to them pushing the ball out instead of up when they shoot? The biggest problem I have with my youth teams is that they are shooting out, not up. Most of my players have the strength, but they are pushing the ball at the rim as opposed to going up and fully extending their arm with their elbow above their eyes. Any suggestions on how to deal with that? Thanks! - Nate  My (Joe) Response: Great question, Nate. I see the arc problem with most of the kids I coach as well. It can even be a problem with older players.   First off, just for clarity, my objective was to develop strength, power, and coordination between the upper and lower body. That way, shooting becomes easier.  I also believe the exercise is great for overall athletic development.   I knew ahead of time it wasn’t going to replicate the shot. In fact, I told him to push with two hands like a chest pass.  Also, you will notice that if you want to cover distance, the throw does need some arc as well. And I was telling him to throw “Up and Out.”  With that being said, you can adapt the drill to ensure they’re throwing the ball up rather than out.   I posted a [video here where a person is throwing the ball up against a wall]( You could use the same exercise and see how high your players could hit the wall.   They could also throw the ball over an obstacle. Maybe you could tie a string between some trees. Maybe you could stack some obstacles.   Looking in my backyard right now, I also see a swingset. That’s another idea to throw it over. Don’t tell my wife I said that. 🙂  As for getting them to shoot the ball up, you can have them use a regular shooting drill. However, you place another player a few feet in front of them with their hands up.  You can tell players to do something a million times, but adapting the environment so they actually have to do it, can be the quickest and most effective way to engrain the habit.  Also, make sure their starting point isn’t too high, this can cause them to sling or fling the ball rather than shoot it up. Here is [an article that talks about something called The Tuck]( that helps with this situation.  Reader Question: I’ve been using the weighted basketballs in our ball handling drills to get better and catching and dribbling.  Didn’t think about how this could help shooting. Do you recommend pairing up for chest passes or against a wall? - Charles  My (Joe) Response: If you have them pair up, be very careful and warn them about this situation...   If they try to catch the ball near the ground, the downward momentum can carry their hands to the ground and smash their fingers. Unfortunately, Gunner’s younger brother Sutton figured that out the hard way. However, it didn’t happen again after that.  Or like the [video I referenced above]( you can use this drill and toss it against a wall. However, make sure the wall is concrete or bricks. Otherwise, the medicine ball could put a hole in the wall.   I’d also be careful on wood floors on traditional basketball courts. It could create some dead spots on the floor.  Anyways, I hope this helps and thank you for the comments and questions!  Reader Comment: Cool idea. I used a similar strategy to extend my jumpshot range from 12 to 20 feet.   Standing 10 feet from a wall, I focused only getting the ball up as high as I could off the wall.  Next, I blended these factors into the drill 1. Release had to be “comfortable” and come off my shooting fingers 2. Next, generate backspin, flex the wrist and “hold” after release - the components of good shot mechanics. 3. My “target” was a general area on the wall - a square about 3 x 3 feet 20 to 25 feet up on the wall. I didn’t really need to think about “aiming” - just creating power.  I could practice 100 “shots” in 15 minutes! - no need to chase the ball after each shot!  Once I had those mechanics ingrained, I went to shoot some 3’s on real basket. What a difference! I go “back to the wall” anytime I feel I need to rejuvenate my shot mechanics on shots at the edge of my range.  The drill could be done without using a wall. Just release straight up so the ball lands 4 or 5 feet ahead.  Best regards,  John  My (Joe) Response:  John, thanks for sharing!   Shooting against a wall is one of the best practices for developing shooting technique. We've done that with youth players for years. When they are at a basket, they often resort to poor shooting technique because they're worried about making the basket. When you take them to the wall, they stop worrying about that and just focus on refining the technique.  And that's a great point about not having to chase the basketball after every rep, it's a lot more efficient too.  Reader Comment:  I have my girls shoot line shots (right foot on a line on the court, left slightly behind right, ball starting in shooting pocket, focus on landing the ball on the line in front of them and having straight backspin) and see how high they can make the ball go. I offer $100 if they can hit the ceiling. Then I demonstrate how I shoot it to get the maximum height. Then I watch and make suggestions on how they can get more power into the shot. We do about 20 shots, then start shooting at a basket. My $100 is still in my wallet but the 12U girls are shooting longer shots with correct form. Steve  My (Joe) Response:  Ha! That's great, Steve. I hope you have high ceilings.  And thank you for helping with camps, there is no shortage for good coaches.  Reader Comment:  I bought a 4 lb Rogue ball for my son 3-4 years ago for this same purpose. I thought I invented it. Lol  He’s in 7th grade now but he was probably in 3rd or 4th when I bought it. He’s got hyper mobile joints and he’s very thin with not a lot of natural muscle to say the least (imagine a kid version of Chet Holmgren without the height). We’d play catch with it but that became boring for him, he’d also do form shooting with it while laying on the floor. I had to get creative to get him to use it at times like playing knee football and when someone scored, the other person had to “shoot” with it 10x.  We’d even make the floor shooting a pre-game ritual for awhile. It definitely helped his range and he noticed the improvement. When we went 1v1 in the backyard he wouldn’t want me to use it before playing because he believed in it so much.  Unfortunately he stopped doing it after 2-3 years because he was missing long and blamed that. That trend has stopped so I’m hoping he will embrace this ritual again. It should help with his chest passes as well as he struggles to get much on them as he is still a few pounds shy of 100.  Lastly, Camp Updates:  Our Breakthrough Basketball Camps have been extremely popular for Spring and Summer 2023 so far!  It’s been amazing to see how excited people are about these bonuses and the camps.  So if you’re interested in signing a player (or multiple players) up for a camp, there’s still a little bit of time to claim that special 20% discount AND these 3 bonus offers at the link below:  [Register for a Breakthrough Basketball camp before February 27th & claim you 20% discount PLUS FREE bonus workouts](  Thanks for reading!  As always, please feel free to reply with any questions or specific content that you’d like to see more of. We have a lot of great plans for 2023, and I want to make sure you’re receiving everything you need as a coach to be successful!  All the best,  Joe Haefner Breakthrough Basketball             This email was sent to {EMAIL} because you indicated that you'd like to receive emails and updates from Breakthrough Basketball on 2016-12-16 05:42:39. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please [Change Your Email Preferences]( or [Unsubscribe All]( Copyright © Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. All rights reserved. Breakthrough Basketball, LLC. | 5001 1st Ave. SE, Ste 105 #254 | Cedar Rapids | IA | 52402 [email.gif]  .  It’s our mission to build a strong community centered around basketball, personal development and most importantly - fun! We love to create extraordinary and useful products and share them with you! We love to help people learn how to enjoy the game of basketball at the next level by simply creating the right products that they use in their practices and games. 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