BASKETBALL MENTALITY

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 23:09:22 GMT

Email: Hello there,
My main problem when I play basketball is my mental game. When I play against my friends and people I know I can beat, my game excels. But when it comes to certain people that I don't care for or people I've never met but want to look good, I get nervous and my game changes from aggressive to feeble and careful. I don't take chances or drive because I'm afraid to look stupid or get hurt. Do you have any tips to get rid of these mentality problems? I want to stay aggressive and confident regardless of who I am playing. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Reply: Hello -
Your problem is very common for all ages, however it is easily corrected. Basketball players tend to think too much and the better you become the more time you have to think. That's not good. So what you must learn is how not to think and that's actually fairly easy.
How? Develop your court vision.
I'm gonna ask you to go to and study the court vision page on this website and I want you to download the Free Book, "Basketball - It's All About The Shot." In the book and on the website you will find extensive information on developing your court vision or peripheral vision.
You're probably wondering how that will stop you from thinking. Once court vision becomes habit it won't make any difference if your opponent is Lebron James or your little sister. You won't be thinking about who you're opponent is, in fact you won't be thinking at all.

That will take care of your problem, guaranteed, and along the way you'll become a much better shooter than you are right now.
Thanks for the question. Keep me apprised of your progress.

All The Best,
Coach Jones

P.S. I always recommend learning Karate and Yoga to all basketball players.

BOXING OUT

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:50:23 GMT

Email:
I was boxing out a guy who put himself directly under the hoop, but I was facing him instead of having my back to him. I had an arm on his back trying to 'box out' by keeping him under the basket. He jumped backwards into me to try to get out from under the basket, and I held my position by pushing back with my arm in order to keep him from displacing me. The ref called me for pushing. Am I guilty of a foul, or am I entitled to push back with the necessary force to stay where I am?

Reply: Hi - Thanks for the question.
Boxing out is science, art, voodoo and magic all rolled into one. Unfortunately ref's normally see retaliation to a foul instead of the initial foul. They have lots to watch and it's hard to blame them for missing things that happen on the court.
You'll find that if your arm is even partially extended while 'defending' your position most refs see that as pushing. You need to hold your position with your arms against your body.
Where you made your mistake was allowing the guy to stop under the basket. In other words as he was positioning himself he was moving, he had momentum. You could have used his momentum to just keep pushing him out of bounds or further away from the basket.
While rebounding at your level your most important job is to keep your man from obtaining a rebound, you might not get it either, but the further you can take your man from the basket the further from the play he gets.

Balance will assist your 'boxing out' efforts. To improve your balance, and misdirection (both of which are extremely important in basketball), try Karate. Karate will help you become a rebounding monster. If you want a college scholarship, and your big enough, rebounding alone will get you into a school, assuming your grades are OK. Average double figures in rebounding and you can pick your college.

All The Best,
Coach Jones

CLARIFICATION ON YOUR BOOK

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:44:27 GMT

Email: Good Evening:
I am a brand new coach to basketball, a sport that I played briefly 30 years ago and have not followed since. I was thrown into coaching 4 years ago when my son was in grade 4 and our school junior team needed a coach. No teachers were willing to step forward. Since then I have spent 100”s of hours researching and learning the game of basketball. Although I have learned tons... I know there is tons left to learn. The boys that I started with are now in their last year of grade school and have asked me to continue doing shooting practices a couple of mornings a week to prepare for high school ball. Our season is now over. In my research I stumbled across your book and think your ideas are very intriguing and in sightfull… however, I have tried to implement them on myself first and I need some clarification if you would. Something is just not working.

Step 1 stand approximately 12 inches off center, (half the width of the back board) shooting with your right hand from the left side of the net, low under the net… I get that. However how is your body positioned? 45 degrees to the basket or parallel to the basket. Most of your pictures seem to indicate parallel... however when I do this… there is no way the ball will go in the net. I need to put my elbow so far into the center of my chest to get around the rim… I am thinking this is not right. What am I doing wrong? Do I angle my body? Could you please clarify this for me. If I am going to spend the next 20 weeks getting up early and going to the gym with the boys, I would like to be teaching them the right things.

Reply: The angle of the body is unimportant as are most shooting mechanics. While standing at the left side of the basket if you could have a string hanging from that box painted on the backboard you would want that string attached to the outside [or left side] of the 2" boarder. You want the outside of your right foot to nudge up against the imaginary line created on the court by that string.

Now, coach to coach, the object of this foot positioning on the court is to force players to keep their elbow in, however the only important mechanics is getting the elbow under the shooting hand and getting the shooting hand properly under the ball. Squaring one's shoulders to the basket makes it almost impossible for most humans to get their elbow under the ball, which is the reason it appears my shoulders are near parallel to the base line, this allows my body to be in a position to comfortably get my elbow under my shooting hand and why I also state some players will release the ball from over their head, some in front of them and some off to the side. So, move or angle your body far enough away from the basket to get your elbow under your shooting hand but close enough to the basket to force your elbow from drifting away from being under the shooting hand. The main thing here is sighting your target, the corner of the box, before shooting and keeping your eye on the target until the ball drops through the hoop. Also I would have all the boys read the book. I am constantly surprised by the flexibility of minds that age.

If this does not answer your question, I apologize. If that is the case email me a phone number and we'll talk. The boys are lucky to have you!

Re:Email: Are you suggesting a more open stance which allows the elbow to more easily get under the ball? I have come across a transcript “one of the 8 lies” which talks about the need to open up your stance for the mechanics to work. Squaring up will only lead to a longer frustrating road. I agree getting the boys to read your article would be very advantageous but we are talking about 12-14 year old boys… read... perhaps a page. I am going to implement your ideas as much as I can. Again, these boys only have so much concentration. Things need to be fast paced and interesting. Practice, why would I want to do that. At best if I could get them to do 50 form shots from 3 locations that would be a miracle.

Thanks again.

Reply: Hi Again - I understand what you mean by open up the stance and I agree. However I must reiterate - most shooting mechanics are unimportant. What is important is finding the target. For all shots that do not incorporate the backboard the 2nd most important aspect of shooting is imagining that large hook while spying the target. For the boys, using their imagination IS fun. Try working on their mechanics after teaching them how to use their eyes and imagination.

When we get things for free they are usually worth nothing - so just like you did, have the kids read the the book - that's their payment to you for coaching them. If you incorporate viewing video of their shooting practices you will get surprisingly rapid results if they all constructively critique one another. Try following "Coaches Step By Step Free Throw Training" before getting into the mechanics. Contrary to popular belief - mechanics are over rated once a shooter knows when, where, why and how to locate the target and imagine that MAGNIFIED HOOK while shooting.

All The Best,
Coach Jones

COACH, WHY CAN'T THIS ATHLETE VISUALIZE?

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:30:48 GMT

Email: Hi Coach:
Do your athletes have trouble visualizing their performance? I just received a question from a sports parent about her daughter's challenges with mental imagery.

Here's the question... "I have a 13-year-old competitive cheerleader who competes at a very high level requiring advanced tumbling and stunting abilities. I have recently tried to teach her about visualization and mental imagery, but she cannot seem to visualize anything. Is this normal?"

My answer to this dilemma is that this parent might not be aware that every athlete has their own personal preference for mental imagery .
Most athletes use some type of mental images naturally. However, not all athletes visualize! Many athletes are kinesthetic and prefer to feel the movement; they can't see images. I remember when I worked with PGA Tour player ___ ___ many years ago before he won... He was relieved when I told him that he did not have to "see" his shots and he may prefer to feel the swing or ball flight instead. He simply could not "see" his shots.

Thanks, Dr. ___ ____

Reply: Hi Doc - All athletes visualize, some of them just find it difficult to understand how the visualization process works within them because of conscious expectations they have of how visualization is supposed to 'look.' Ask your golfer to describe his least favorite hole on the tour. He will give you a description of unbelievable accuracy. Ask him to give you directions to his local Starbucks and ask for easy to identify land marks, again he will give you a description with unbelievable accuracy.

He must 'see' his memories in order to do both of these, but tell him he just used his visualization process and he'll tell you that's untrue, he just 'knows' these things. For people who use other senses as their main modality I just use the word imagine. "Imagine how that back swing feels," that way he will not 'fight' using both senses and will just use his natural ability to visualize without having to describe it.

All The Best Doc,
Coach Jones

HOW CAN I PLAY LIKE MYSELF AGAIN?

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:28:18 GMT

Email: Hi Coach,
At middle school, I played the center position. I'm 5'10, or somewhere near that. I used to be able to block most of the shots that players bring into the paint area, and even players who are taller than me. I also used to be able to gobble up rebounds at will. Not saying I am as good as Dwight Howard, but I played exactly like him. Helping out on the weak-side, swatting shots, and rebounding at will.

But now that I am in high school, all that's seemed to change. I'm rarely able to block shots that I used to be so comfortable swatting away. Now, when I try to block a shot I get desperate and it makes my timing horrible. In terms of rebounding, I seem to not hustle for rebounds and don't try as hard as I used to. Worse yet, even if I try to focus on grabbing a few rebounds I can't get to them because for some reason I can't read the rebound like I used to. They always seem to bounce away from me.
It is just weird that I take such a step backward. I understand that High-School basketball can be more competitive. But what makes me lose confidence now is that I only dominated because of my height. Now that people have the height to match me, I'm not a good player at all.

So my question is: If possible, how can I play like I used to? Or is there anything I can do to improve my game so I can adjust to high school basketball?

Thanks

Reply: Hi - You ask if you can ever play like you used to? The problem is you are playing like you used to and everyone else is playing at a higher level.
The situation you're facing right now is really no different than the situation you faced when first beginning to learn basketball. You probably went right to the center position; you didn't need to dribble well, you really didn't need to be an extraordinary passer or be really quick on your feet. All you needed to do was be tall and get in the way of the ball.
Someone taught you to be a center, now you need to learn to be a basketball player too. A good thing is you will always be able to transfer your center skills to any position, the tough thing is you need to learn how to play basketball and not be the center.
You need to learn to dribble and pass and run and understand the game from a forward's perspective and a shooting guard's perspective. I don't know anything about your potential height however, if you don't plan on making it to the 6'9"s or higher I'd convert myself to a shooting guard. You'll be playing right smack dab in the middle of the game again but from the outside looking in instead of the inside of the game looking out.
As a shooting guard you need to be a rebounder, but not the best rebounder on the team. As a shooting guard you need to be a passer, but not the best passer on the team. As a shooting guard you need to be a dribbler, but not the best dribbler on the team.
At shooting guard you need to be the best shooter on the team. You've contacted the best shooting coach you're ever gonna find, I can help you with your shooting but YOU must put in lots of practice time on your other skills to get them where they need to be.
This training will also make you a great small forward, because of how you'll adapt your center skills to shooting guard skills. Your major is shooting guard, your minor is small forward. If you major in shooting guard and you grow to 6'9" you'll be a better small forward for the shooting guard training and experience.

For every position you should learn to juggle really well and learn to skip rope really well. You'll also need to develop your court vision or peripheral vision.
Playing on a high school basketball team takes lots of dedication to the game, to skills, and to physical conditioning. Train harder than everyone else and you'll secure some position on your team.

All The Best,
Coach Jones

JUST FINISHED YOUR BOOK

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:54:42 GMT

Email: I just finished reading your book and found it exactly what I needed to read. I have begun the first part of the system, just practicing off the top corner of the glass and can already feel my confidence as a shooter growing. I wanted to know if you coach privately, and if so how that process would work, would you come to me, or would I come to you? What would the instruction cost? I want you to know I have the drive to become the greatest basketball player I can be, but I need help getting there.

I thank you for your time and look forward to your reply.

Reply: I must commend you on your reading material!
Yes I coach privately but I would prefer you do as much for yourself as possible by following the process as the book lays it out before we discuss any one on one coaching scenarios.
The book covers an immense amount of training, but you can get through the basics rather quickly; for example, you can work on your juggling, skip rope, go through the shooting program step-by-step, work on your passing, your dribbling, practice your Karate, and your peripheral vision all in the same day. It's up to you to organize your time, and while you have the time off from school this summer you can get started tomorrow doing all this.
Does this seem like a lot to do in one day? Sure it does. Does it leave you much time to do anything else? Not much. Just start off spending only a few minutes on each of the physically difficult aspects of your training and little by little add minutes (you don't want to injure yourself) and remember to dynamic stretch before beginning and static stretch before stopping.

How old are you? What state do you live in? Are you on a basketball team? How tall do you expect to get? Will you have a training partner? Is your family supportive of your choice to play basketball? The answer to these questions are important. They will allow me to help you get better while you are there and I am here. By the end of this summer you can be a different athlete than you are right now, guaranteed. Let's start like this, you go through this summer with email guidance and we'll see about private coaching - deal?

Re:Email: Hi Coach, I will most defiantly do what I can on my own. I'm currently 16 years old. I'm going into my junior year in High School and want nothing more than to start varsity next season. Two years ago as a freshman I tried out for the team and didn't make it. This last year, I was excited to try out for the team but last minute, literally the day of tryouts, I backed out and decided not to tryout for the school team. I didn't think I was good enough, I felt I shot mediocre, and honestly I did. I have always had a knack for getting to the basket, not only on fast breaks but in a half court offense. Thats something I always exploited to my advantage, getting people off balance and then attacking full force. I'm really a very good dribbler. I love to cross over, rock forward for a fraction of a second before exploding to the basket. That split second of hesitation from my defender gives me is something I truly enjoy. Anyway, after I cut myself from the basketball team, because thats what I did by not even trying out, I joined a community league with several friends. I thrived there, I played Point-Forward and loved it. The Mismatch I created because of just and inch or two I had over most people was something that helped my entire team as I found my self under constant double teams. But I also hurt my team, I shot terribly. It got to the point that my coach actually told me that I needed to forget shooting and just attack the basket. That was a bit of a slap on the face to me, but I know it's what I needed. I have spent hours a week since then shooting, I've improved so much since then that I don't even recognize my shot. Unfortunately it's nowhere near a finished product, no where near shooting sixty percent, but I know for a fact that I am going to get there.

To answer the rest of your questions: Im currently six one but i expect to be six four.I don't currently have training partner, but I have a friend that would be more than willing. To answer how my family feels about me playing basketball is honestly something I struggle to figure out. I look at basketball as a way to better my life; get a scholarship; go to college; playing in the NBA is my ultimate goal. Thats a goal I'm afraid to share with my parents (well afraid to share with anyone really) because basketball to them seems to be nothing more than a distraction from where they think I need to be. Then they say they support me. Then they don't want me to put more time into basketball than I do trying to find a summer job for example. But then they tell me I need to practice to get better. Frankly, it's all very confusing.

Anyway, I decided to contact you, because I want to become the greatest basketball player I can be. I wanted to know if you were coaching privately because I want to do the program right, with you there to coach me to success. I want to come back to school in august as a completely different player and show my coach before tryouts in October that i am ready to start varsity for him. While I am waiting for private coaching, I will do everything I can to be ready.

Thank you for taking time to email me back, I genuinely appreciate it

Reply: OK, now we're getting somewhere.
Let's begin by getting you good enough to start for your school's varsity team.

Your parents will support you when you've proven you don't need their support, kind of like a bank approves loans for people who really don't need them. Why? Your parents never want to tell you, "I told you so" in a negative connotation. What they really want is to know they raised a young man that is capable of making decisions and going all out to support his own decisions. They want you to go for it ALL THE WAY and not just make a half hearted effort. That my friend is all up to you.
You cannot get a scholarship in today's world at a good school without the grades for the college to support their decision to make a very expensive bet on you. Put the odds not only in your favor but in their favor too. The college always wants to know, "What can you do for me?"

No matter how good you get over the summer you will be competing with guys that know the coach's plays and team philosophy. You can learn them but it will be difficult for you to fit into the team at the beginning of the season no matter how good your individual skills get. Remember, as we learned in the NBA Finals, basketball is a TEAM sport! So let's get you good enough to make the team, and as the season goes on and you are coachable, which means you listen and learn how to fit in, you can be starting by the end of the season (which in a way can be even more gratifying).
Forward is a position you can play, but you will be small for a forward in high school and college ball. Other than center and power forward which positions are the weak links on your high school team? Now think, it might not be the starters but the guys that come in off the bench. As an example, the bench shooting guard is on the bench because in practice he's a good player but in games he chokes when he has to shoot. I'd call that a weak link, wouldn't you? What if the small forward coming off the bench is not good at blocking out and really is a non event on the boards, would you call that a weak link? The point here is, what does the coach need you to be?
Can you be the 6th man that can do an adequate job at point guard or rebound better than the bench shooting guard or shoot better than the bench small forward? What if you could fill all those positions better than the guys coming off the bench now? Many times teams get better when the 6th man enters the game, when his attitude is right and his effort is stellar and under control and he knows what he needs to do because he's been watching how the game is progressing and what is really needed when he enters the game. It takes time to understand your coach's needs and make yourself that person but you become more indispensable than the starters! Not only that, you'll be sitting next to the coach or an assistant as they get you ready to enter the game by pointing out weaknesses in your opponents and what YOU can do to exploit those weaknesses when you enter the game. Now you really begin to understand the game of basketball from a coaching perspective.

When Pat Riley was drafted into the NBA his coach told Pat that Pat would always sit the bench, but that he could remain on the team if he made the starters work their fannys off in practice. Pat's games were practices. He played as hard in practice as his teammates played in games. He was indispensable to his team even though he never got to play one minute of game time. And what else happened? His coaches kept telling him what was needed from him in practice and why it was needed. Pat Riley became one of the greatest coaches the game has ever seen. Basketball IQ can never be underestimated. The 6th man usually has the highest basketball IQ on the team.

You've read this in my book several times, "when conditioning is no longer an issue, basketball is a mental game." You need to be in such good shape that by the time your coach has tryouts you'll never need to rest during games or practices. You have breaks at the quarters, halfs and timeouts, that's enough. How do you get in that kind of shape? Swim a mile a day 4 - 5 times/week. Train with one of the guys on the cross country team 2 - 3 times/week. Jump rope with a boxers determination. Take Karate and Yoga. Eat really healthy, drink stuff that's good for you (no tap water). Get plenty of sleep. In other words train harder than anyone else. You're 16, you still need to have fun, but training can also be fun if your attitude is right, and how much fun do you think it is to average a triple double for the season while making the Dean's List? I'll tell you from experience, high school is fun, but it pales in comparison to being an adult prepared to meet life head on. Training teaches a person to meet life head on! How do you think Dennis Rodman got into the NBA?

OK. You gots some skills. Add the other side to your cross over move and add one more one-on-one move, learn to do that same move on both sides (mirror image) during the summer. Make your new move look like your gonna do your old move so that your defender will not be able to tell which one you're going to do. Next summer add another, mirror image on both sides, that looks like you're gonna do your old moves. That will give you six ankle breaking moves that will always keep your opponents guessing.
Be certain you have one post-up move on either side of the basket. Develop a different move for each side. Then learn how to do each move from the other side. That will give you 4 post-up moves. Next summer add 2 (4) more. Be able to shoot lay-ups and baby hook lay-ups with either hand on both sides of the basket. Learn to tip the ball with either hand on both sides of the basket. All that will take care of you scoring around the basket. Also practice the full speed driving layup so you can shoot it off either foot and with either hand so you don't have to worry about getting your steps right, you can just run down as fast as you can and put the ball off the backboard, or dunk it. You should definitely be able to dunk by the time summer is over (hint; most of the strength for dunking comes from your core, as opposed to your legs).

Study and implement the shooting mechanics, lay ups, set shots you'll find in the book. I want you to take one month before you get any further away than 6 feet from the basket. From 6 feet in any direction I want you to know where your target is on the backboard. From 6 feet in any direction I want you to be able to hit the hook on the far side of the rim too. NEVER TAKE A SHOT AT A HOOK UNLESS YOU'RE IMAGINING THE MAGNIFIED HOOK TOO.
Work on peripheral vision every waking minute of your life and practice juggling for 15 minutes every morning before breakfast. When you retrieve a sock you dropped while juggling, squat to pick it up. For awhile you'll be getting in lots of squats. Spend time working on blocking out under the basket also.

Let's see what happens. Good Luck. Stay focused,
Coach Jones

JUST FINISHED YOUR SHOOTING BOOK

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:28:43 GMT

Email: Hey coach, just finished reading your shooting book for the second time. Your principles have really made my shooting improve. My shot has a pretty fluid form. I was wondering if I could shoot you a video and you give me some feedback, and I have questions. I would like to develop my range, it extends to about 22-23 feet at the moment. Do you have any tips/tricks? Also maybe a sample (shooting, ball handling, defense etc.) workout so I can become a complete basketball player. My athleticism and ball handling are my two major weaknesses and I would really like to spend this summer working on those so any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm a 6'0 140lb point guard. Thanks a million, your response would be greatly appreciated.

Reply: As you must know, I'm not a big fan of three point shots. You do not need any more range right now. Instead take the time to develop more two point shots; scoops, hooks, lay ups, floaters, pull up jumpers, full speed lay ups, etc. I'd prefer you 'shoot' me a break down of what YOU SEE when YOU watch your video! I'm more interested in what's your target when you shoot. I'm more interested in how large the magnified hook is in your mind when you shoot. I'm more interested on how you're developing your court vision.

There's extensive shooting drills in the book and on the website. Go to the library and borrow a dribbling book and a defensive drills book. Do what they say. When you're finished with those two books, borrow two more and do what they say or borrow videos covering dribbling and defensive drills and do what they say.For your coordination, ball handling, and athleticism learn to juggle and take Karate.
I believe point guard should be your secondary position choice and shooting guard should be the position you concentrate on. But learn to play all positions and you will become a better guard, point or shooting.

Incorporate a lot of sprints into your training. Remember, you go through the agony of training so you can have fun in your games. Report to your first practice in shape, ready to run all day long. Cross-train with your cross country and swimming teams over the summer to build stamina, and jump rope, jump a lot of rope, with the dedication of a boxer. Continue ALL the shooting drills in the book and on the site. Put 18 - 30 hours a week (minimum), over the summer, into training. Report to try outs looking like you have a different body.

When you have questions get back in touch.

Re:Email: Hey Coach Jones, this is my in depth analysis of my shot when I watch the video of my shooting. As I receive the ball I get my knees bent and I dip the ball in one fluid motion going through the center of my body I get very little lift off the floor (something I want to work on) and as the ball reaches just above my forehead and my elbow reaches chin level I begin the forward motion of my shot (push shot) as the ball releases from my middle and index finger I finish with my elbow above my eyes and two fingers down follow through.
As for my eyes, when I shot before I looked at the front rim/space in the middle of the basket, then as I read your book I began to look at the hook but sometimes I have difficulty locating the hook and focusing and my shot is sometimes way off. I was always considered a good shooter but couple days after reading the book I applied your method and my shooting was mostly nothing but net. I have a good shot but recently I'm finding it hard to make shots at a consistent rate as well as locating and focusing on the hook. I feel with this technique I can be a lights out shooter but I need to correct some thing help me please!!!

Reply: Good analysis - here we go.
Stop shooting jump shots for 3 weeks!!! No matter what I've said in the book, stop thinking about your shot for the next 6 weeks.

Here's what I want you TO DO! Study chapter four, especially page 24. Get a magnifying glass (if you think this is too silly then I'm unable to help). Follow the directions. Study the magnified hook. After studying the MAGNIFIED HOOK so well that you can draw it perfectly if asked to do so (study it for at least 30 seconds or so) - look away, look off into the distance and recall that perfect MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. It's right there. It looks just like the one you just studied. Look off into the distance in another direction and again recall that perfect MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. Again, it's right there!!! If you are unable to recall it in your mind, study THAT MAGNIFIED HOOK again for one minute through the magnifying glass; look at the grain, the color , the scratch marks, the net - really study it! Now, look away, look off into the distance and recall that perfect MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. It's right there. It looks just like the one you just studied. Look off into the distance in another direction and again recall that perfect MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. Again, it's right there!!!

When you can recall that MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind get down off the ladder (move the ladder out of the way) get about 2 feet away from the basket, look up and locate the hook on the far side of the rim. Look at it. While your looking at it with your eyes, recall the MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. Now you should be seeing two hooks at the same time; one hook on the far side of the rim and one MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. When you can do that simple task, put a basketball in your hands, repeat the simple task, 2 feet from the basket, when you can see both hooks, find the hook on the far side of the rim first then recall the MAGNIFIED HOOK then shoot the ball at the hook on the far side of the rim. If you loose the vision in your mind STOP THE SHOT, only shoot when both hooks are visible. Move around the basket for 15 or 20 minutes maintaining your 2 foot distance. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!
Now get 3 feet from the basket and do the same thing for another 15 or 20 minutes. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!

Now Stop Shooting for the day.

Spend the rest of your day doing something other than shooting, but while you're doing what ever that is continue recalling that MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. Recall that MAGNIFIED HOOK thousands of times through out the rest of your day.

The next day reread and do chapter three. Then get about 2 feet from a basket, look up and locate the hook on the far side of the rim. Look at it. While your looking at it with your eyes, recall the MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind. Now you should be seeing two hooks at the same time; one hook on the far side of the rim and one MAGNIFIED HOOK in your mind.When you can do that simple task, put a basketball in your hands, repeat the simple task, 2 feet from the basket, when you can see both hooks, find the hook on the far side of the rim first then recall the MAGNIFIED HOOK then shoot the ball at the hook on the far side of the rim. If you loose the vision in your mind STOP THE SHOT, only shoot when both hooks are visible.
Move around the basket for 15 or 20 minutes maintaining your 2 foot distance. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!
Now get 3 feet from the basket and do the same thing for another 15 or 20 minutes. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!Now get 4 feet from the basket and do the same thing for another 15 or 20 minutes. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!
Now get 5 feet from the basket and do the same thing for another 15 or 20 minutes. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!
Now get 6 feet from the basket and do the same thing for another 15 or 20 minutes. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!
That's it for distance. Stay within 6 feet of the basket for this next week, move around from 2 feet to 6 feet ; for seven days, NO FURTHER OUT THAN 6 FEET!!! YOU WANT HELP??? DO WHAT I'M SAYING - IF YOU 'RE GONNA CHEAT, I'M UNABLE TO HELP.

You're going to accomplish the following by doing the above: After seven days of easily finding the hook on the far side of the rim you will eliminate your difficulty in "locating and focusing on the hook." You will have created the habit of instantly recalling the MAGNIFIED HOOK whenever you locate the hook on the far side of the rim. Locating and focusing on the hook on the far side of the rim will have become a habit too. After seven days of easily finding the hook on the far side of the rim, recalling the MAGNIFIED HOOK will have become a habit!

IT TAKES SEVEN DAYS TO CREATE THIS HABIT. DO IT!

The next seven days add 1 foot each day and move from 2 feet out to your new distance, but stop at 10 feet. Stay within 10 feet for the remainder of the week. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!
The next week take yourself out to the free throw line adding 1 foot per day. Stay within the free throw distance for another week. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!

NOW - go back to 2 feet away from the basket and shoot your jump shot. Repeat what you've been doing for for the past three weeks, shooting about 70% jump shots and about 30% set set shots.
The next week keep adding 1 foot per day but never get further out than 1 foot from the three point line. I don't want you shooting a single three point shot all summer. If you get the chance to shoot a three pointer in a pick-up game - pass on the shot. NO THREE POINTERS THIS SUMMER!

Remember to warm-up like it says in chapter three everyday and always begin at 2 feet and work your way out to your new distances 1 foot at a time. ONLY SHOOT WHEN YOU SEE BOTH HOOKS. NO MAGNIFIED HOOK - NO SHOT!!!

Any questions???
Coach Jones

LOVE THE BASKETBALLSHOOTINGCOACH.COM

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 20:24:09 GMT

Email: I would like to know what Shooting Positions #1, #2, #3 really are. I can't get the meaning of it.

Reply: On pages 12 and 13 'shooting position #1' is described in print and there's a yellow 'X' on the floor marking the spot. Let's assume you're right handed. There's a box on the backboard. Draw an imaginary line from the outside of the left side of that box all the way down to the court. Now, place the outside of your right shoe on that mark as you're standing on the left side of the basket (see my foot position on page 14, you'll notice the 'X' is towards the front of the rim as opposed to towards the backboard). You'll probably find it difficult to hit the upper outside corner of the box from 'shooting position #1.' That's the point! Adjust your feet so your elbow is underneath your shooting hand. Sometimes adjusting your left foot backward of forward makes all the difference. Some athletes have had to move that 'X' a few inches in one direction or another in order to get the basketball past the rim, that's OK, but only 2 or 3 inches at the most!!! The only things important here are getting your elbow under your shooting hand and focusing your eyes on your target. On page 19 you will see 'shooting positions #1, #2 and #3' marked with yellow X's on both sides of the basket. Your shooting form, from 'shooting positions #2 and #3,' are precisely the same as they are from 'shooting position #1.'

Re:Email: So all of them are bank shots?

Reply: Correct.
All have the same target too!!!

MUSCLE FATIGUE

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:55:50 GMT

Email: Dear Coach,
I've been working on raising my vertical jump bar, I was successful in quite a short time, from 27 inches to 35 in about 3-4 weeks. After the obvious gain, I might have gotten too motivated, I switched to working out nearly EVERY day while playing basketball on Wednesdays and Saturdays (full court, and I'm known for never slowing down). Lately I've been feeling alot of pain on my shins, supposedly lactic acid, I get really fatigued playing, and I can barely jump up 30 inches. I tried to rest for a few days with massaging my legs with warm water, as well as deep heat cream. I used to run track so I'm very fast, now I feel very slow, and I can't jump, lowering my capabilities. What am I supposed to do?

Info: I'm 5'8, 80-81 kgs, in very good shape, strength and endurance based.
Practices made: Wall sits, step ups, running, calf raises. About 300-400 calf raises a day, 7 minutes of wall sits, and about 300 step ups a day. What am I supposed to do, and how short can I get my muscles back? I've lost NO shape, only effectiveness and I'm tired.

Thank you coach =)

Reply: Hi -
First, thanks for contacting me.
Second, you might have a serious problem, so instead of speculating I suggest you contact a health professional. Begin with your family doctor if you have one.

I sent your message to a physical therapist and here is an edited reply:
Sounds like this athlete may be suffering from "Shin Splints" from overuse. Also known as an 'overuse syndrome.' This can be very difficult to treat in a person who likes to push his body to the limit like your athlete has done. If left untreated this CAN become a chronic problem. He may need to see a professional to guide him through the management of this problem. Some initial self remedy... rest (3 weeks up to 3 months in severe cases), ice and anti-inflammatory. Avoid high impact activity and jogging or running. He can engage in swimming and start gentle stretching.
Shin Splints is a condition but may be a symptom of something else like stress fracture, tendinitis, or a bio-mechanical fault of his feet (flat feet or high arches that may need orthodox to reduce stress and improve the shock absorbing mechanism of his legs, etc).
Well, I hope this helps.

Basketball Shooting Coach: You should not mess around with this. At your age, 3 months seems like an eternity, but if you don't handle this properly it COULD end your athletic career.

Do the right thing, take this as a serious problem,
Coach Jones

Re:Email: Thank you very much coach, you might have saved me from a severe injury right there, was just going to get back to working on it, but will follow through with your advice. Thank you! I already started self remedy with stretches, medicine, and warm water massages. Definitely a coach I'd get back to before anything!
Thank you again for the advice Coach =)

POINT GUARD

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:10:38 GMT

Email: Dear Coach,
What are some of the most difficult aspects of being a point guard?

Reply: Hi -Being a point guard is really no more difficult than any other position in basketball - all positions have their challenges and rewards. I'll say this though, normally 6'11" players have a more difficult time handling the ball than 5' players do, so let's go on knowing that.

I'll tell you what I want a point guard to do and be thinking and then we'll talk about how to prepare for what a coach wants from a point guard.
I want my point guards, there's always at least one back-up player, to be like an assistant coach. That means my point guards know all the plays we run offensively and defensively, what each position's responsibilities are for each play we run on both ends of the court and why we run each play.
I want my point guard creating mismatch situations for his/her teammates and his/her self.
I want my point guard communicating with me while s/he's playing and communicating with his/her teammates.
I want my point guard to understand what offense our opponents are running against us, and why.
I want my point guard to understand what defense our opponents are running against us, and why. If our point guard is not our team captain, I want my point guard to have excellent communication with our team's captain - I believe the team captain is the most valuable asset a coach possess!!!
I want my point guard to be responsible enough to always be setting an excellent example for his/her teammates to follow, on and off the court.
A point guard should have excellent court vision.
A point guard should have a very high basketball IQ that comes from studying the ins and outs of the game of basketball.
A point guard should be an excellent ball handler.
A point guard should be an excellent passer and understand passing lanes and how to create them.
A point guard should have great non-verbal communication skills.
A point guard should know where his/her teammates are most effective, get them open at the position and get them the ball when that opportunity presents itself.
A point guard needs control of his/her emotions.
A point guard needs to develop several speeds.
A point guard needs to understand the game from the perspective of a coach so s/he can see plays, opportunities, and trends as they are developing.

All The Best,
Coach Jones

SPEED, QUICKNESS, AGILITY

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 22:43:07 GMT

Email: Dear coach,
I'm 14 years old, and I play shooting guard. I want to improve my speed and quickness during the summer. I want to become overall faster, but above all to be more explosive and improve my first step. Can you give me some advice and some drills to achieve my goal.

Thanks in advance

Reply: Hi -
You have the right attitude and you're picking the proper time to improve your speed and agility.
For foot speed I suggest loooooooooooong sessions with a jump rope.
To misdirect your opponent I suggest Karate.
For your quick first step I suggest you concentrate on 3 one-on-one moves. Learn to do them in your sleep; learn to do all 3 with both hands, now you have 6. Make the 6 moves look exactly the same as you're going into them so your opponent cannot guess which move you're going to throw because all 6 look the same as you begin your move. Later you can pick up other moves one at a time, and learn to do them with both hands. However, this summer concentrate on the 3 (6) moves, and get deadly with them.
To get quicker with your hands, learn to juggle (believe it or not juggling will also make your feet quicker - it's a mental thing)! Also to improve your entire game develop your court vision or peripheral vision.

All The Best,
Coach Jones

WHAT ARE THE BEST TECHNIQUES TO ELIMINATE COMPLETELY PERFORMANCE ANXIETY?

Sun, 19 Jun 2011 16:25:04 GMT

Answer: I question why would anyone want to do that? Or why would anyone want to completely eliminate all their feelings? Or why would anyone want to completely eliminate all their senses? All these are parts of being human. How we respond to stimulation helps define our individuality, and athletes can use the same situations that create 'performance anxiety' to create continual personal bests.

When we are introduced to unknowns we are introduced to change. Change can be difficult for humans. Athletes are trained to respond to knowns, but experience teaches athletes to respond to unknowns. Athletes, attempting to consciously think through an unknown, experience 'anxiety' because their conscious mind is interrupting their imagination's attempt to cope, respond or react to the present unknown - creating an internal conflict.

What activity do we actually do consciously; walk, talk, read, drive a car, eat? We perform all these activities unconsciously. We are conscious when we learn, like a new recipe; step 1 then step 2, etc. As life incorporates and we repeat these new learnings we become less and less conscious of the step-by-step of the new activity.

Athletes cannot consciously control a situation. Athletes attempting to consciously control a moment are dooming themselves to underperforming. Certainly a golfer consciously selects the club to hit the current shot, but why? Because experience, or repetition, has provided a knowledge base the golfer unconsciously scours when [consciously?] reaching for the club. But if that same golfer attempts to consciously control the way that golf club is swung, that golfer is severely limiting the possibilities of a successful outcome, it doesn't make a whiff of difference how well that outcome was visualized . When a golfer is attempting to consciously control a golf swing, no amount of 'mental preparation' is going to help.

Do you remember learning to drive a car? Talk about 'performance anxiety!' There are manuals 100s of pages long describing only the mechanics of driving. There are other manuals about the rules of the road and even more manuals and books on how to respond to 'known' circumstances. A novice driver is attempting to drive and be conscious of all this information all at the same time. Until we've driven hundreds of hours we experience 'performance anxiety.' Heck, some people never get comfortable behind the wheel. (Wheather we should ever be comfortable behind the wheel is another topic for another day).

What's the major difference maker between the 'performance anxiety' of driving a car and cruising along the highway with the confidence of a professional driver? Unconsciously learning to utilize and trust the information our peripheral vision is providing. Humans are incapable of consciously keeping track of all the information being supplied to us by our peripheral vision. So what do we do? We react to it unconsciously, and we unconsciously learn as we go. You'll notice novice drivers have more 'close calls' than experienced drivers. Experience allows us to unconsciously prepare for what might happen as we imagine different outcomes to all the continually differing scenarios assaulting us as we drive.

Letting go of conscious attempts to control situations and allowing the imagination to 'rule the moment' has been defined as 'being in the zone.' When you're walking down the street, you're 'in the zone.' When you're riding your bicycle, you're 'in the zone.' When you're driving your car, you're 'in the zone.' You are unconsciously performing these skills perfectly but if you attempt doing them consciously you screw up even these very basic activities. These activities you've performed thousands maybe even millions of times. If 'thinking' can screw up these most fundamental tasks is it at all surprising an athlete is capable of inducing 'performance anxiety' by thinking about the complexities of athletic endeavors?

A muscle properly cross trained by various disciplines will respond differently to a specific task than that same muscle would respond if it was trained to work by only one discipline. Athletes are much the same, which is why cross training is so important. Another way to utilize cross training is training peripheral vision. If a professional baseball player decides to change his swing he should expect to get worse before getting better.
Why? Because until the new swing is a habit he is directing conscious thought to the activity. When he stops thinking about his new swing he will begin getting better (assuming the change he is learning is correct). So if we're gonna train an athlete to utilize peripheral vision to 'enter the zone' it is easier for an experienced athlete to learn this process in a cross training discipline.

Let's get back to our golfer. Golfers are athletes too and all athletes need to have superior conditioning. Let's say our golfer runs or jogs to help maintain good physical conditioning. We can take our golfer off the beach, the track, or off the street and run instead on a golf course. Now while our golfer is keeping in shape by running on the golf course this golfer can simultaneously learn to become aware of and utilize peripheral vision. First our golfer is conscious of having not been aware of peripheral vision, then our golfer becomes aware of the fact, "Hey, I'm learning to use my peripheral vision and I can see things that are really surprising, I'm gonna continue practicing and improving this." Then one day our golfer realizes, "Wow, I don't think about it anymore, but my peripheral vision is now as important to me as my central vision."

It's at this point we can begin incorporating peripheral vision into the golf swing to make the golf swing an unconscious activity and have our golfer 'in the zone' while competing on the golf course completely free of 'performance anxiety' induced by the unknown and allowing that anxiousness to be redirected into power and grace. We must give our athlete's conscious mind a job, it needs to be occupied. How? Our athlete need only become aware of his/her trained peripheral vision while competing. The golfer's trainer or coach and the golfer will decide where the central vision is to be focused, but before our golfer begins the swinging motion our golfer must become acutely aware of his/her peripheral vision's entire field. Focused central vision and full field peripheral vision together allow 'performance anxiety,' 'the jitters,' neurotransmitters, brainwaves, expectations and any other conceived nemesis' to be unconsciously re-channeled into a personalized psychological and physiological performance enhancer and motivation.

WHAT SHOULDN'T I DO WHEN SHOOTING A BASKETBALL?

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 01:19:16 GMT

Answer: It depends on whether you're practicing, playing in a game, your age, and various other varibles. Answering this question the way you want me to is like me telling you "Don't think of a pink elephant." What's the first thing you do? That's right, you think of a pink elephant. I don't want you thinking of what you should not be doing.

When a shooter understands the 'Mental Side' of shooting that shooter is not thinking at all. That is the proper way to shoot, being 'in the zone' and not thinking. This is so easy to learn it's silly.
Thanks for the question.