October is a "Shooting" month for BCWBS athletes.
Here are some suggestions on how you can become a better shooter:
HAVE A ROUTINE:
Having a routine includes how you warm up prior to practices and games. You should have a foul shooting routine. You should develop an individual shooting routine to focus on those game shots that reflect your ability, your role within the team, and those shots that you most likely will shoot in a game situation.
PRACTICE SHOOTING IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS:
Mirror shooting; wall shooting; practicing close to the basket; watching your shot on video. Practice shooting in a variety of contexts or environments, including when you are tired, when you are under pressure, from different locations on the floor, receiving a pass from a team mate, using the shooting machine, and both individual and team shooting drills focusing on game shots from game spots at game speed.
FOCUS ON YOUR MENTAL SHOOTING SKILLS:
Visualize success, use key words to improve proper repetition, understand how pressure situations affect your performance. Practice your mental re-focusing when things don’t go as planned. Re-create game situations as often as you possibly can.
PROPER PRACTICE OF YOUR SHOOTING SKILLS:
Shooting is an individual skill that must be practiced for many hours before success will be automatic. Re-create shooting situations as often as possible, ie: high speed lay-ups, game shots after moving into position, game shots under pressure, shooting within your range, and measuring your success in practices, whether they be individual or team. Assess your shooting ability in game situations and understand the level of the competition.
BE COMMITTED:
Practice properly and often. Surround yourself with other good shooters. Understand what makes you a good shooter and what you have to do to become a better shooter. Celebrate your successes as you improve. Record and measure your outcomes in an objective manner so that you can measure your success as you improve.
Stay tuned for the monthly theme. The theme for Novemeber will be "Chair Skills".
by Joe Higgins, Provincial Coach