Quick tips: Shooting
by Leo
via flickr/Thomas Hawk
Hoopsworld is currently running a feature on Portland Trail Blazers shooting coach John Townsend. It talks about his busy summer working with a couple of young guys in the League.
It’s a fascinating look at the life of a shooting coach in the NBA – all the time, energy, and travel that goes in to coaching this one, admittedly important, skill.
What stood out to me is his approach to teaching. I know that when I’m having an off-day shooting, I pay attention to all the things I’m doing wrong. I strain and tweak and agonize over little things that I think make a difference. Am I leaning one way or the other? Are my arms not where they usually end up? Am I aiming at the wrong part of the basket? Most of the time, I end up frustrated. I lose confidence in my shot and start passing up open looks. It’s all down hill from there.
John’s approach is to focus on the positive.
“My degree is in elementary education, so there are different – not teaching tools – but even when a guy does something incorrectly, I will tell them good job whether they do it right or wrong. Because if you are constantly on them….”
“The stuff I do with guys and their shooting is, I wouldn’t take your shot and change it. But if you are shooting and there is a stretch where you can’t miss; why is that?” John continued.
“There’s something different that you are doing for your particular shot. You have to pick and choose your spots. If a guy is off, I might leave him alone. But when a guy is on, that’s when I tell him this is what you are doing well. Guys are going to listen to that instead of overhaul things. I’d be a fool to do that. But a change of the feet or positioning of the hands – and if they like it – after that I might just leave them alone. I try to think of two things that they can hone in on that will make them a straighter shooter or better feel.”
I think that his approach is a much healthier way of thinking about shooting. Focusing and learning from the times you have a hot hand instead of the times you’re as cold as ice is much less frustrating. Trying to replicate success just sounds a lot more fun than beating yourself up for failing.
Ultimately, good shooting comes from practice. Hitting a jump shot has so much to do with muscle memory that there is no substitute for just taking a lot of shots. But a simple shift in mindset – focusing on the good instead of beating yourself up about the bad – can take the stress out of all those missed shots, and maybe even make the practice a little fun.
via flickr/Mr. Wright
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