For Improved Shooting - Laser-Like Focus and High Awareness on Alignment!

I just gave a private lesson to a couple brothers, ages 9 and 15, who live with their younger sister and parents in Moscow most of the year (the father works in the oil business there). During the lesson I drilled 7-8 medium-long shots and asked them to notice how focused I was.

I could see that my near perfect performance (deadly accurate, great control of distance) for those several shots came from the principles I teach (open stance, power from the legs, shooting on the way up, alignment as long as possible, a Set Point in line with the eye, the Release as an upward pushing action, etc.). But what sets me apart from them at this point in their development is my intense focus on the line of the shot (the connection of body, hand, ball, and target) for those 2-3 seconds of a shot. You might call it a "Laser-like" focus.

I get the ball aligned with my eye and the basket and keep it there unwaveringly throughout the motion of setting, release and follow through. They were struggling to do that, perhaps starting aligned and then finishing off line, or bringing the ball up off-line and then having spotty results with direction.

It's normal for focus and awareness and concentration and confidence to rise and fall as you're learning a new stroke. Just keep working on it. Note what's happening, which of those is developing and which needs more work and attention. Keep returning to the simple things that work so well, and pretty soon your focus and alignment and all that stuff will get easier and more consistent. As they become easier for you, your shooting performance will start to soar. In the moments when they come together -- briefly at first, more and more with time -- you'll see the results that tell you you're on a great path of shooting.

CHECK OUT YOUR OWN SHOOTING

Notice how aligned you are with the ball, your shooting eye and the basket as you shoot. Note your level of concentration (focus) on the basket as you shoot, and your awareness of your body motion and direction and height. You can read my articles and newsletters, etc., and get my Swish videos if you want to learn my method of shooting, but just being more focused and connected (and aligned) to the target will improve your shooting, no matter how you shoot.

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance (a rebirth, a revival) in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the “essence” of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that it’s very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Tom’s website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/471943

"Slo-Mo" It for Greater Learning

When learning any new skill, it's very valuable to slow it down to learn more deeply. When you go to learn any new motion, especially a complicated motion like a golf swing, it's helpful to slow it down and also keep it small and in close. I am not versed in learning theory of how, technically, the body, brain and nervous system receive and process stimuli. I just know that if I slow it down, I learn it quicker. It just works that way.

Young kids are often just learning to grow into their bodies, especially those with big growth spurts, and this is a great way to help them feel more stuff and learn to do the seemingly complicated motions in a basketball shot. With practice and patience and a lot of forgiveness for the inevitable errors, learning will take place.

GOLFERS ARE NOTORIOUS...

Way too often, golfers swing too fast and hard when they're learning the swing. (When they have it down, too.) Especially we guys, who want power so badly! When they slow it down, learning goes up. A great instruction for a full swing in golf is, "Take the club back only as far and as fast as you can feel it." When you do that, learning is greatly enhanced.

The basketball stroke I coach is no where near the complexity of a golf swing, but we can use the same tactic. Slo-Mo it and keep it in close and give the body more time to feel and learn it. Remember to "play" with the motions, too. Exaggerate and do extremes. Use the opposite hand. Awareness is the main thing we need, and the slower and smaller something is, the easier it is to be aware. Once you "know" the stroke to a greater and greater degree, then you can speed it up (slowly) and move back in distance (gradually) and you'll be able to keep the new stroke going.

Our bodies are amazing learning machines. Find ways to enhance your sense of direction and distance and the motions needed to create a basketball shot, and your shooting will start to soar.

Tom Nordland is a shooting expert and coach from California via Minnesota. His videos, coaching and writings are inspiring a Renaissance (a rebirth, a revival) in shooting around the world as players and coaches are taught the things that really matter in shooting. A great shooter as a youth, Tom was given a gift of seeing shooting like few have ever seen it. He sees the “essence” of great shooting and how to get there. The good news is that it’s very simple. The few great shooters of today and yesterday mastered simple things, not complicated motions. Improved shooting is now possible for everybody in the game, and mastery is available to those who sincerely dedicate themselves to it. Visit Tom’s website (http://www.swish22.com/) to read of his background and his articles and newsletters, and to view the remarkable endorsements and amazing testimonials for this approach to shooting.