That’s why I want to take some time today and talk a little bit more about free throw shooting… and to discuss what it means to become a 90% or better free throw shooter.

As you may or may not know, I have a special affinity for free throw shooting.

Over the years I have been a coach for both amateur and professional basketball teams, and during my time as a coach, I had the great privilege of helping a man by the name of Tom Amberry set the Guinness World Record for the most free throw shots ever to be made in a row. Using my techniques, Tom was able to make an incredible 2,750 free throws in a row.

Getting to the point where you can make 2,750 free throw shots in a row isn’t something everyone can do, however. But becoming a 90% free throw shooter is a whole lot easier… and it is something that even YOU can do with the right information.

But before we get into all that: What exactly does it mean to shoot 90% at the free throw line?

Well, imagine this: A single state in the USA can have as many as 500 high school basketball teams. If you were to shoot a minimum of 25 free throws in a varsity game and you made 90% of your shots, you would rank in the top 1% of basketball players in the entire state.

Or lets use college basketball as an example this time. Let’s say you are an NCAA Division 1 basketball player. At the moment there are more than 300 teams nationwide. If you could shoot over 50 free throws and make 90% of those shots, you would rank as one of the best 10 free throw shooters in the entire country.

Now what about the NBA? There are less than 500 players in the NBA. If you were to shoot 100 free throws and make 90% of those shots, you would be one of only four players to do that in the entire NBA. In other words… you would be one of the best free throw shooters in the entire world!

As you can see, being able to step up to the free throw line and make 9 out of 10 shots makes you a very special basketball player – a player that any coach would want to have on the floor at the end of a big basketball game.

Another one of my free throw friends is named Mike Scudder. Mike is one of the world’s leading free throw clinicians and he’s one of the best free throw shooters I know.

I recently met up with Mike and shot a video of him talking to a local high school basketball team about what it takes to become a 90% free throw shooter.

But what was so amazing about Mike’s presentation wasn’t just the information he game about how to become a better free throw shooter – it was the fact that Mike gave his presentation while shooting 200 free throw shots and missing only 3. That’s more than a 95% success rate!

Get the full video here: http://basketballdoctor.net/program-catalog/free-throw-shooting/free-throws-win-games-and-more/

During his presentation, Mike consistently sinks free throw after free throw while at the same time talks about what he calls the “TAP” method of free throw shooting.

The T, A, and P in the TAP method stand for:

T – Technique
A – Attitude
P – Practice

These are three things I’ve shared with you in previous articles and emails, but Mike takes this approach to a whole new level when he shares with you what it takes to become a 90% or better free throw shooter.

If you are interested in seeing Mikes full presentation on the TAP technique, the benefits of becoming a 90% or better free throw shooter, and discovering what it takes to become one of the best free throw shooters in the world, just click here.

As Mike likes to say: “Free throws do win games”… and I couldn’t agree more!

FACT: More close games are won or lost at the foul line than with any other skill area in the game of basketball.

If you can turn yourself into a great free throw shooter, you can turn yourself into a great basketball player!

Lucky for you, the foul shot is the one shot in the game of basketball that you have time to think about when you are shooting it.

And the benefits of becoming a great free throw shooter are significant. If you can turn yourself into a great free throw shooter, you have will have the ability to increase your scoring average by 2-3 points per game. And if your entire team is able to successfully shoot 70% or more free throw shots, you’ll likely win 3 to 5 more games per season!

But that’s not all!

If you are a basketball player and your want to spend as much time on the court as possible, becoming an excellent 3-point shooter is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your coach keeps you on the court.

Excellent free throw shooters are rare… and valuable!

The questions now is: How do you become a better free throw shooter?

Well, the first step is obvious… and that’s to practice your free throw shots as much as humanly possible.

In a previous email I sent you a few weeks ago, I mentioned that great basketball players are often times defined simply by the amount of practice they perform each day.

For example: A GOOD free throw shooter might shoot and make 50 free throw shots per day, while a GREAT free throw shooter will shoot and make 150 free throw shots per day.

The easiest way to get good at shooting free throws is with practice!

But practice alone isn’t the only thing you need to do in order to become a great free throw shooter. The next and most important step to becoming a great free throw shooter is practicing in THE RIGHT WAY.

Practice in the RIGHT way… and you’ll continue to increase your free throw percentages. But practice in the WRONG way and you’ll develop sloppy free throw skills that will actually damage your chances of ever becoming a great free throw shooter.

So, how exactly should you be practicing your free throw shots?

Well, I like to break down the free throw shot into 5 major sections. These sections are:

1. The Pre-Shot Routine
2. Physical Mechanics
3. Mental Mechanics
4. Rhythm & Timing
5. And Practice Routines

Now, I can’t go into the details right now for each of these 5 steps. That’s why I created this video…

http://basketballdoctor.net/program-catalog/free-throw-shooting/foul-shooting-fundamentals/

… to walk you through each and every one of the five steps listed above and teach you how to become a better free throw shooter.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a great free throw shooter, then that video is highly recommended.

The question now is, are you willing to do what it takes to become a better free throw shooter?

I’ve already given you several reasons why practicing your free throws is so important. Now it’s up to you to decide if you really want to become a great free throw shooter… and whether or not you are willing to put in the work required in order to make that happen.

Photo by familymwr

Almost any player can make a layup. And free-throws are easy enough to learn. But mastering the three-point shot takes some serious skill. Not everyone is a great three-point shooter. But a great three-point shooter is a valuable asset to any team… and is therefore a serious threat to your opponents.

If you want to become a better 3-point shooter, the first thing you’ve got to do is obtain your Three-Point License.

What is the Three-Point License?

Here at the Basketball Doctor we have developed The Three-Point License as a way of determining which players are good enough to shoot three-point shots in a game situation.

In much the same way that you are not allowed to drive a car without first getting your driver’s license… your Three-Point License is a skills test that you and every player on your team needs to pass in order to have permission to shoot three-point shots in competitive game play.

If you pass the test and get your License, you are good enough to shoot three-point shots. But without your License, you are not yet ready for three-point shooting in a game situation and you need to pass the ball off to a player who HAS obtained his Three-Point License.

It may sound kind of strange that you would have to get a License in order to shoot three-point shots for your team. But getting your Three-Point License is important… and here’s why we suggest all players perform this test before entering competitive game play.

1) Those players who pass the Three-Point License test are ingrained with a positive mental mindset. After passing the test, they know that they are good enough to shoot three-point shots with a certain level of accuracy and they know that they have permission to do so during competitive basketball games.

2) Secondly, those players who can pass the Three-Point License test should be placed in certain rolls on your team. Those that pass the test are identified as players who should be shooting the ball… and those who don’t pass the test are those who need to reverse the ball and pass it before a shot is made.

It makes sense… right?

By passing the test, you are basically saying to yourself and your teammates that you have the skills necessary to make three-point shots during a game.

And if you fail the test, it means that you are not yet ready to shoot three-point shots during a competitive game… and that you should pass the ball off to a better three-point shooter on your team.

All you’re basically doing here is identifying the best three-point shooters on your team… and letting them do what they do best – MAKE THREE-POINT SHOTS!

So, how exactly do you get your Three-Point License?

To get your Three-Point License, you simply need to make 35 baskets out of 50 total three-point shots.

To do this, perform 5 sets of 10 shots each. If you can make 35 of those 50 shots, you get your License! It’s that easy.

Well, not quite.

The three-point shots you need to make in order to get your License aren’t just regular standing still jump shots from the three-point line. It’s a little bit more challenging than that.

The first set of 10 three-point shots, for example, is done on Spot Ups. Moving around the three-point line in a clockwise fashion, the player receives the ball on ball-reversal passes. After receiving the ball, you should be concentrating on not only making your three-point shot, but also on performing the shot with proper form and technique.

The second set of 10 shots is shot Off Of Footwork, as though you were coming off screens. Once again, you’ll move around the three-point line in a clock-wise fashion while shooting 10 consecutive shots and concentrating the entire time on footwork, fundamentals and form.

This continues for three more sets, each set with ten shots each… and after the 50th shot is made, the test is over. If you’ve made 35 or more of the 50 shots attempted, you’ve passed the test and obtained your Three-Point License!

But if you performed the test and shot less than 35 of the 50 shots attempted, you’ve still got some work to do before obtaining your License and declaring yourself a competent three-point shooter.

Inside our Three-Point License video we walk you through the entire process of testing both yourself and the players on your team for superior three-point shooting. You will learn how to perform the Three-Point License test for yourself… and you’ve be given the skills necessary to improve your three-point shooting and pass the test for yourself.

To learn more, check out the Three-Point License video DVD inside the Basketball Doctor catalog… and start practicing your three-point shots so you can get your License as soon as possible!

No one wants to be a poor shooter… or to have poor shooting form.

That’s why it is so  important that you have correct shooting mechanics when shooting a basketball towards the hoop. Because correcting common shooting mistakes and improving the way you shoot the ball WILL MAKE YOU INTO A BETTER BASKETBALL SHOOTER.

The difficult part about correcting bad shooting form is two-fold.

The first difficult part of fixing bad shooting form is identifying the problem in the first place. Many players don’t even realize that they are shooting the ball incorrectly because they were taught incorrectly or because they’ve had that bad technique for so long that they no longer realize their form is all messed up.

The second difficult part about correcting your shooting form and becoming a better basketball shooter is forcing yourself to fix those shooting mechanics that you are performing incorrectly. For many players with bad shooting mechanics, it can be extremely difficult for them to change their manner of shooting simply because he or she has been shooting incorrectly for so terribly long.

But there is good news! If you have bad shooting form, you can change the way you shoot by simply practicing a number of short drills and exercises (using proper technique) until you begin to shoot the ball in a manner that not only LOOKS GOOD, but also makes you into a dramatically better shooter!

In other words: In order to replace old (bad) shooting habits… you need to replace them with new (good) shooting habits.

Here at the Basketball Doctor we’ve created an entire video devoted entirely to the subject of correcting common shooting mistakes. In the video DVD, we take you by the hand and introduce you to a number of common shooting mistakes… and then we show you how to correct those poor shooting mechanics with GOOD ONES!

The Correcting Common Shooting Mistakes video is one of our most popular videos and it’s no surprise why.

Poor shooting mechanics is a problem that almost every player struggles with over time. Even if you have good shooting form now, there’s a high likelihood that over time your shooting form will change and evolve into something less than ideal.

It happens… and I understand that. That’s why I put this DVD together in the first place… and that’s why the content in that DVD has gone on to become one of the most popular training programs in our entire Basketball Doctor video catalog.

Remember: Shooting is a habit. To correct a problem you must replace a bad habit with a good habit.

No player wants to shoot poorly or have poor shooting form.

The sooner you can identify your poor shooting techniques, the sooner you will become an outstanding basketball shooter!

Image by ricardodiaz11

I’m a big believer in constantly developing the skills needed for basketball success. I also strongly believe that in order to become a better basketball player, you need to practice longer, harder, and smarter than any of your opponents.

That’s why this video about an amazing 11-year-old boy with a tremendous amount of self-discipline is something I just had to share with you. Check it out… and understand that it is players like this that you are one day going to be running up against.

Are you ready to REALLY become a better basketball player? Do you have the determination needed to practice longer, harder, and smarter than the players you are bound to compete against? This video really makes one think.

Of course, you’ve got to have a little natural talent. You probably can’t be three feet tall. And you’ve certainly got to have some determination. But if you’re already out there on the basketball court, playing your hardest and competing at some level, then this one tip is going to vastly improve your game.

Are you ready for it?

Great! Then here it is…

PRACTICE MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE… AND PRACTICE HARDER THAN THOSE YOU ARE COMPETING AGAINST.

That’s it. I told you it was simple.

In fact, this is probably something you already knew you should be doing. But the truth is, most basketball players don’t practice nearly as much as they should, nor do most basketball players push themselves as hard as they can during their regular practice sessions.

One of the secrets to becoming a great basketball player is practicing harder and longer than everyone else.

As I like to say, “No one ever got cut for practicing too much.”

In fact, this is a concept that can be applied to any sport – not just basketball.

Look at Lance Armstrong for example. Lance Armstrong is the American cyclist who won 7 Tour de France bike races in a row and probably could have gone on to win more if he hadn’t retired and then come back to racing a few years later.

Before Lance, there was no one in the world that even came close to being as good as him. And while many people think Lance used steroids to win the Tour de France races (he didn’t), the truth is, Lance won those races by simply practicing when his competitors were not.

In other words, Lance became the best in the world by simply practicing longer and harder than those he was competing against.

The same strategy for success can be applied to the world of basketball. All you have to do to become a better basketball player is practice longer and work harder than the players you are running up against. It’s that easy!

For example, a good basketball player might practice making 50 free-throw shots per day. But a great basketball player will practice making 100 or more!

Do you see the difference?

Pretty simple, right?

Well, I feel the need to be honest with you, because there is a major catch to all this.

You see, you can’t just practice longer and harder than your competitors in order to become a better basketball player. You’ve also gotta practice in the RIGHT WAY.

For example, if you practice your free-throws for an hour straight and only make 10% of your shots, you aren’t practicing right. In fact, you’re doing it all wrong and you’re training yourself to fail once game day comes around.

In order to be successful on the basketball court, you need to train yourself to be successful during your practice sessions – because successful shots made during practice translate into successful shots during games. Unsuccessful shots in practice mean missed shots during games.

So practicing the RIGHT WAY is incredibly important. And that’s why it’s so important that when you do practice, you practice GOOD techniques – not BAD ones. You need to practice MAKING shots, not MISSING them. You need to train yourself to be successful – not unsuccessful.

Does that makes sense? I hope so!

If I had to sum up this concept for you, I would say that y one big secret for becoming a better basketball player can be broken down into two easy to understand principles:

1) To be more successful, you need to practice more and train harder than the people you are competing against.

2) And when you practice, you need to make sure you are reinforcing good techniques that train you to succeed.

1) Playing Defense With Your Head

The fact that you want to play defense means that you are using your head. You realize it is an important role in winning games. To use your head in playing defense, find the best ways to defend an opposing player or team. Playing offensive basketball is a matter of rhythm-habits, offensive plays, and patterns – a repertoire of individual shots, moves and skills that a player has practiced over and over. Every team develops several plays that work extremely well, and all players have their favorite shots and moves. In fact, most players have only two or three shots or moves with which they are really comfortable. Scout out these shots or moves and you will hold the  key to defending their game. Find out their two or three shots/moves and it will make your job on defense that much easier.

The goal of good defense is to stay between your opponent and the basket. But the goal of GREAT DEFENSE, whether for an individual or a team, is to disrupt and change the offensive rhythm of the opponent and block their favorite offensive moves and plays. You need only assert effort and prohibit your offensive opponent from doing what they normally like to do. Ask questions like these about the opponents you encounter:

• What are their favorite shots? Where are they made from?
• In what area do they like to get the ball?
• Are they right- or left-handed? In which direction do they like to move, and on what side of the court? Do they make use of their weak hand?
• What are their two favorite moves or plays?
• Is a particular opponent a bad dribbler and a good outside shooter?
• Or, is the person a good dribbler and a bad outside shooter?
• Do they like to cut to the basket a lot?
• Do they try to go to the offensive boards and rebound?
• Do they do well in the low post?

These questions and others like it can help you scout your opponent and play better defense. Defense is hard work, but it also makes for good basketball. Use your head and play intelligent defense.

2) Playing Defense With Your Heart

You do not need to be a great athlete or have stunning natural ability to be a great defensive player. You only need to have heart. Having the heard to play defense means two things. First, you have the desire to play defense. You want to play it well, and you take pride in it. Second, you are willing to work hard, to exert all your effort in order to defeat your opponent first mentally and then physically. An old adage states, “Where the mind goes, the body will follow.” Good defenders can disrupt, frustrate, and upset opponents’ rhythm and get them out of their comfort zone and routine; they capture the minds of their opponents. Opponents will break down and quit mentally, and then their bodies, shown through their actions and frustrations will follow. Their eyes will show their frustration; their actions will show that they have quit working for the ball on the court. They will also play less aggressively on defense, which will make it easier for you to score.

Anybody can play defense. You do not need to be a great jumper or have speed, sptrength, quickness, or long arms. You only need the courage to try, to work hard, and to play hard. For most players, this means stepping out of their own comfort zone and stepping into that of their opponents, literally. Here are two ways to become a better defensive player:

1) Practice the fundamentals: Develop great fundamental footwork for defense, and practice defensive footwork for a few minutes each day. It’s amazing that most players never practice defensive fundamentals on their own during the off-season, yet they play half the game at the end of the court. Simply practice the defensive lateral slide movement. Drill each day for one to two minutes.

2) Improve your conditioning and athleticism: Improve your overall conditioning and athletic skills. By developing greater endurance, strength, speed and agility, you will naturally become a better defender and overall player. To become a better player, you have to become a better athlete.

How will you know when you have become a great defensive player? That’s simple! When it’s time for a game or scrimmage, the opponents you cover usually says, “Ah, don’t cover me. Go cover someone else.” When that happens, you’ll know you have arrived. Anything out of the ordinary makes a coach take notice. Playing aggressive, hard-nosed defense is out of the ordinary, especially during team practice and during the off-season. Coaches will notice; in fact, they will notice in a hurry. Players who work hard on defense every day, whether in the schoolyard, at practice, or in a game, will gain attention and respect of their coach and peers, guaranteed.

Many players with little talent can make a team and develop into good players only because they had the desire and courage to play aggressive, intense defense. They simply outworked and out-hustled the other players. They played great defense, and their actions stated, “If I am not going to score a lot, then neither are you!” So, accept the challenge: play with heart.

3) Play Defense With Your Feet

Playing defense with your feet means that you do not reach in to steal the ball. Reaching in is lazy and costly, and it often results in a foul or an easily scored basket for the opposing team. Reaching in also moves the body forward and off balance. If you lean forward to reach in, you cannot be balanced enough to move laterally or backward at the same time. It takes intelligence and discipline to hold back from reaching in. Also, recognize that 90 percent of all steals take place when the ball is stolen in a passing lane, not off the dribble – so your goal is to contain your opponent. Make them take tough shots.

Playing defense with your feet also means using the correct fundamentals and footwork. just as a dancer must use the right steps to perform a specific dance, so too must defensive players use the proper footwork in order to play sound defense with their feet.

To learn more, be sure to sign up for the free Basketball Doctor email newsletter.

1) The first is the front of the rim. Most coaches suggest that players shoot the ball just over the front of the rim.

2) Second, players are taught to aim at the area just over the front of the rim or in the middle of the rim area.

3) Third, players are taught to aim at the back of the rim.

Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself which target area you are most comfortable with. The first two are good, but the third target, the back of the rim, is best. Why? It’s simple geometry.

If you shoot your shot correctly, you will be putting “follow-through” on your shot, which creates a backspin on the ball. Backspin softens the shot and makes the ball spin backwards when it comes in contact with the rim. If you hit the front of the rim with backspin, nine out of ten times the ball will spin backward away from the rim.

However, if you aim at the back of the rim and shoot with backspin, nine out of ten times the ball will contact the back of the rim, spin backwards, and roll into the basket.

Experiment for yourself and see which target area works best! There’s a 9 out of 10 chance that aiming for the back of the rim is going to be your best bet at improving your shooting statistics.

It’s a well known fact that practicing at FULL SPEED is what it takes to become a better basketball player.

Think about it!

Why practice at half speed, when on game day, you have no choice but to go all-out and perform to the best of your abilities?

Those players who practice at full game speed are going to be the players who perform the best once they step out onto the basketball court on game day. And trust me, you want to be one of those players who has been practicing at full game speed!

The speed at which you practice your basketball skills and drills is directly proportional to how you perform on the basketball court once game day arrives.

Practice at half-speed and your perform at half the level as your competitors.

Practice at three-quarters speed and you’ll perform at three-quarters of the level as the players you are up against.

When it comes to practicing and becoming an overall better basketball player, the speed at which you practice makes a significant impact on your overall “GAME SKILLS”.

So remember: When practicing your basketball drills at home alone or with your team… all of your basketball drills should be performed at full “GAME SPEED” in order to achieve total basketball success.

The most familiar level of college basketball is NCAA Division I, which is on television and radio regularly and is featured in newspapers and magaine headlines. However, many other levels of competition in college involve plaers of different avilities and interests. Here is a breakdown of various levels of college basketball competition:

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
Website: www.ncaa.org

Currently more than 1,041 colleges and universities participate in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III. These programs range from full scholarships for some athletes to Divison III non-scholarship programs.

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
Website: www.naia.org

Currently more than 300 colleges and universities participate in the NAIA. It has both Division I and II levels of competition. Many participating colleges do offer athletic scholarships, but availability varies among the institutions. Population size of the school usually determines which division a school participates in. The NAIA is a different governing body from the NCAA for college athletics and has a similar but different academic requirements.

California Community College Commission On Athletics
Website: www.coasports.org

Currently more than 100 junior colleges in the state of California participate in this organization.

Northwest Athletic Association Of Community Colleges (NWAACC)

Currently more than thirty junior colleges in the states of Oregon and Washington participate in the NWAACC athletic championships. All of these schools are junior colleges.

National Christian College Athletic Assoiation (NCCAA)
Website: www.thenccaa.org

Currently more than 120 colleges and universities are involved in the NCAA. Typically these schools belong to the NCAA, NAIA, or NJCAA fields of competition as well.

playing college basketball can be a realistic goal for most players who are willing to do the work. Keep in mind – around two thousand colleges in the United States have basketball programs.

Here are three things to consider in your pursuit of a college basketball career:

Practice Is Repetition.

Every year in high school, more than 600,000 players participate in varsity basketball. In college, more than 20,000 players are involved in college basketball each season. Therefore, if you want to play college basketball, during your high school years you will have to complete 580,000 more repetitions of skill work than your competition. It is that simple!

And by the way, of the more than 20,000 college players each year, fewer than 1,000 will go on to play at some level of professional basketabll college. You guessed it – the work cycle starts again when you get to college. You will have to practice 76,000 repetitions more than everyone else. That is 19,000 repetitions each year throughout your college career more than your competiton. This is just to have a good chance of playing pro basketball in the United States or overseas. So, go to work!

Go Where You Are Wanted, Not Where You Want To Go

Are you getting recruited by a junior college, but you have dreams of playing at NCAA Division I? Go to the junior college. It’s better to be a big fish in a little pond than a little fish in a big pond. Go where you can get playing time, not get cut from a team. That would be an expensive education. Here is a hint: if a college does not recruit you, they do not want you. Be smart. That’s what school is for.

Attend A College Development Camp

These can be hard to find. The premier college development camp run with college coaches as instructors is the Converse College Camp. It is open to players ages sixteen and over and is run once a year.