shooting techniques

Question
Michael,

My 12 year old, 5'10", has made the middle school basketball team. His shooting technique needs some work, but he is not the biggest fan of the work ethic for improvements. Is there a drill that you can suggest that will help him improve and may be fun enough to get him more interested. He likes to play, but gets mad because he does not get much playing time. Of course the coach chooses to play the more developed players with limited time for the younger, less developed players.
I look forward to your response.

Thanks

Alpha  

Answer
Hello Alpha,

Twelve years old and 5'10" tall. It sounds like you might have yourself a basketball player. I have a great drill that will help him improve his shooting and range. It is a fun drill because he can lay on his bed or the floor in front of the TV while doing the drill. Have him lay on his bed or floor with a basketball. Have your son get into proper shooting form. Ball in his shooting hand, ball resting on the pads of his fingers not in the palm of his hand. Make sure his hand is across the seems of the basketball lightly supporting (balancing) the ball with his off hand. You do not want to squeeze the basketball but only support it so it does not move on him. While laying down have him bring the ball in front of his face as if he were going to shoot it. His elbow on the shooting arm should be tucked in under the ball and not out to his side. Have him simulate shooting the ball with backwards rotation getting as close to the ceiling as possible. I hope you do not have 12' ceilings. Make sure he follows through and over exaggerates the follow through. The ball should come back to his hand in front of his face. If it goes to the side, front, or back of him then he is not releasing the ball correctly. If he does this 100 times a night, he will get the feeling of shooting the ball properly. This is a good beginning but he needs to shoot the ball at a basket to become a better shooter. Legs are very important in shooting so when actually shooting at a basket make sure he is powering his shot with his legs(make sure he bends his legs when shooting) and not all arms. Carry the technique over from the drill but use his legs to get the ball to the basket. When he shoots make sure he is going straight up down and not jumping forward or sideways. He should finish his shot from where he started it. I hope this helps and if you need any more information please write back. Good luck!