3 Keys to Making MORE Shots - Doug Schakel Basketball 

Ruston Mphinya Thanks, Ruston. There will be more videos this summer.

+Latasha Cunningham The most important thing your son can do in the off-season is spend time, every day, on ball skills (shooting, dribbling, ball handling drills). In just two weeks time, I can make a player into a pretty good defensive player. But ball skills take time; lots of time. We have a saying...."Skills aren't built in a day, but they are built daily." Take a look at our video "A Player Improvement Plan: Off-Season" and use that as the starting point for your son's skill improvement. You Tube, in general, has lots and lots of basketball skill videos to get ideas on skill improvement. In conclusion, there is always a place on a team for a player who can shoot well and handle well, so put your focus there. Good luck! --Coach Schakel

Try to find some time to sharpen your shooting and ball handling skills. Above all else, have fun with it!

Email me at "dougschakel@aol.com" for FT Ladder info. and go to "Doug Schakel You Tube Basketball" for all 28 of our videos.

+Ron Beaudoin I like the eyes to be on the target and then follow the ball as it comes back into my field of vision on its descent.

+Christian Burrell Looks like you read the same article I did from Dr. John Fontanella (see attached): " In theory it makes sense to shoot with an exaggerated high arc, thereby increasing the size of your target. However, higher arc requires more force at the time of release to propel the basketball higher, which makes it more difficult to control the shot. In addition, the shot will no longer be a ‘soft shot’ because gravity increases the speed of the ball as it falls. For each 0.1 second the basketball falls through the air, it increases in speed. The faster the ball is moving, the greater the collision with the rim." While it is correct that the ball falls faster and thus hits the rim harder, it remains that you will still have more available apace to fit the ball into the basket with reasonable arch than you would with a flatter shot. And, certainly more force is required for the higher arcing shot. However, it sounds like Dr. Fontanella is incorrectly recruiting that force from the arm-hand unit which, of course, would affect accuracy. The correct additional force must come from the legsand trunk of the shooter. One of our players, four years ago, had the highest arcing shot I have ever seen; very exaggerated.....but shot 46% from the three point line for 2 years.

What would be the best way to maximize the use of the lower body to supply that force?

+bills48321 Yes, backspin is important. Just as side spin on a baseball causes the ball to curve right or left, the aerodynamics of true backspin helps hold the ball on a straight line to the basket. Additionally, backspin allows the ball to land a little softer on the rim; it "checks up", so to speak. The approximate "proper" backspin is between 1 1/2 to 2 revolutions from the free throw line. To check that backspin, put a piece of white athletic tape parallel to and an inch above one of the black channels on the ball. Place the shooting fingers in the channel and shoot the ball from the FT line. Have someone count the number of revolutions the ball makes until it hits the rim or enters the basket. If it is significantly more than the 2 revolutions, you are driving your shooting fingers under the ball too much and it will result in a loss of power. If it has one or fewer revolutions, you may be shooting a near "knuckleball" which will be very inaccurate. To counter this, have the feeling of driving your shooting fingers through the center of the ball with the ball rolling UP and off your shooting fingers.

Thanks!

+Doug Schakel what is your height I am. Going to 8 grade and I am 5 feet 11

I am 5'7" tall. --Coach Schakel

William- The elbow above the eye can be a guideline for good arch. The best way to know if you are getting reasonable arch on your shot is by paying attention to the ball-rim interaction. You know your arch is right when you have one of the following ball-rim interactions: (1) you swish the ball, (2) you have a "deflected make" which means you catch the rim and the ball is deflected down into the basket instead of bouncing sharply away, (3) you have a "rim dancer" which means the ball bounces 2 or more times and settles into the basket, and (4) you have a "crawler" which is a shot that hits softly on the front of the rim and crawls over the rim and into the basket. All of these made shots are the result of reasonable arch. Thanks for commenting. Best- Doug Schakel

Doug Schakel thanks for the reply coach

+Christian Burrell I like the one motion shot. It allows you to release the ball sooner than a two-part shot. It helps increase your shooting range because the power levers (legs and trunk) are participating fully in the shooting motion. And that allows your "fine tuners" (wrist, hand, and fingers) to do their job which is to provide touch.

Doug Schakel​ What would be your thoughts on how to shoot in one motion? Also what do you think of this? www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/shooting-secret-stephen-curry.html

+Christian Burrell I really like this article. I am a great believer in starting the shot from the waist area beyond 10-12 feet from the basket. It really improves rhythm and, in my opinion, is a must for 3 point shooters because it allows you to tap into all your power sources. If I asked you to jump over an imaginary basketball resting on the floor, you wouldn't jump over the imaginary ball with your hands and arms in front of your chest. But you would: drop your hands to waist level and allow your elbows to go backward. You would also allow your trunk/chest to tilt toward the floor while bending your knees. Now you are ready to maximize your jumping ability. And that happens as "complimentary body levers" straighten in unison. For example, as the upper and lower legs and trunk (all 3 are levers) begin to straighten, the upper and lower arms (also levers) begin to straighten too. Then as you begin to push on the floor with the bottom of your feet, you also begin to push the ball with the palm of your hand. Next, as you push on the floor with your toes, you push the basketball with your fingers. Finally, as your feet begin to leave the floor, the ball begins to leave your hand/fingers. And this is, in my opinion, the timing of a one-piece or one-motion shot . While there are examples of players using the two-part shot successfully, I think this is not the norm. I think the top two-part shooters (they pause before they shoot) are really somewhat "freaks of nature." The average basketball players cannot duplicate this feat and need the one-piece shot. But, unfortunately, because the best two-part shooters might be NBA-caliber players, young players think they need to "copy" that style of shooting. And the results are usually disastrous. The longer I coach (entering 50th season), the more convinced I am that we cannot take a "one-size fits all" approach to our coaching. I think there are certain "basics" that we can adhere to, but, more and more, as I work in skill development, I see the need to sometimes adjust my teaching to meet an individual player's unique circumstances. Sorry, Christian, a pretty wordy response...but I hope it is helpful. --Coach Schakel

Doug Schakel So as the legs straighten what would you be doing with your arms? In your opinion and how would you describe Steph Curry's super fluid shooting motion?

+Christian Burrell As you, initially, begin to rise up, you will lift the ball into a position where the upper arm of the shooting arm is parallel to the floor, the forearm is vertical to the floor and the shooting hand is laid back and basically parallel to the floor. We call this the "C" position....those three arm-hand unit parts form a block letter "C"....have to use your imagination a little to see that. For some, this is where they pause on a two-part shot. But in a one-motion shot, the "C" position is only a "pass through" position....absolutely no pause...one fluid motion to the finish. In my opinion, Curry's fluid motion comes from not pausing once he begins his shooting motion. From the "C" position, the upper-lower arm unit begins to straighten until it is fully extended (palm, basically, facing the floor and fingers pointing down) and, from a side view, would look like the upper-lower arm unit points to one o'clock (60 degree launch angle). At exactly the same time that the upper-lower arm unit completes this straightening process, the upper-lower leg unit completes its straightening process too. By timing the full extension of the arms and legs to happen at the same time, you create a very smooth, fluid motion and maximize your power. And you have a ball that is released ever so slighlty before the top of your jump. I would refer to this as an "early release." A lot of people call it a "quick release." But you are not releasing it quicker, you are releasing it sooner....there is a difference. In closing, I will say this....how could anyone go wrong copying Steph Curry's shot?! Hope this helps, Christian. Best wishes. --Coach Schakel