Truths about Shooting by Coach Mac

I came across this article from a coaching friend of mine and I really liked it so I thought I would share.  It was emailed over to me and I thought the contents were outstanding.  His name is Coach Mac and his website is http://www.basketballforcoaches.com/about-page/ 

Here is the article... Enjoy! 

It's important for us to start with these truths to further develop your knowledge of shooting, understand what it takes to develop great shooters, and also to find out where we're currently going wrong.

Truth #1 - Shooting is the most important skill in basketball

We all know it's true, but few coaches are happy to admit it.

We'd rather point to a skill like footwork, or defense, or passing and try to claim they're more important. That's what I did for a long time.

But at the end of the day, if your players can't put the basketball in the ring, every other skill is irrelevant.

I'm not saying to stop working on all other skills, I just don't like that so many coaches overlook the importance of teaching players how to shoot and then saying things like "Oh, they can work on that when they're older."

No. Learning how to shoot the basketball properly must start from day one. And it must be taught the correct way.

Truth #2 - Shooters are NOT born. They ARE developed

There isn't a player on this planet that was born with the ability to shoot a basketball at a high level.

Not one.

Steph Curry. Klay Thompson. Ray Allen. All of these players started shooting the ball at the exact same level that you and your players did.

At the very bottom.

Shooters are developed through hours and hours of great repetitions in the gym.

Remember: There is no substitute for hard work.

Truth #3 - Elite shooters make over 1,500 shots a week

Let's be honest... With so many distractions surrounding young players (Xbox, ps4, etc), players simply aren't getting up enough repetitions to be great shooters.

There are a lot of numbers thrown around, but these are the numbers I've been sharing with youth and high school players and coaches.

Obviously, there's no exact number that will create an elite shooter, and there's plenty of other contributing factors, but it's a good baseline to remember.

Here's the simple chart I refer to:

Elite Shooter - 1,500 made shots a week.

Great Shooter - 1,000 made shots a week.
Good Shooter - 500 made shots a week.

Surprisingly, I've had a few coaches tell me how low this number is. Always adding how their son or players commonly shoot 1,000+ shots a day...

I find this absurd and highly doubtful.

Let's remember how many other commitments players have...

With school, homework, employment, practices, games, other sports, friends, etc, I believe it's unrealistic and unfair for us to expect players to shoot more than 1,500 shots a week.

Let's crunch the numbers...

Let's say a player makes one shot every 15 seconds. Which is four made shots per minute.

Here's how long it would take a player each week to reach each level of shooting ability:

Good - 500 made shots would take 125 minutes = 2 hours and 5 minutes.

Great - 1000 made shots would take 250 minutes = 4 hours and 10 minutes.

Elite - 1,500 made shots would take 375 minutes = 6 hours and 15 minutes.

Doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it?

There are 168 hours in a week. All your players need to do is use 4 of them to become a great shooter.

Wondering how many shots some of the greatest shooters on the planet make each day?

After a little research on the internet, I found numerous articles answering the following question on elite shooters... 

"How many shots do you make every day?"

Steph Curry - "It's not a ridiculous number. I count makes, so in the summer, I make 500. During the season, depending on what portion of the schedule we're going through, I make 200 to 350. And whatever goal I set before the workout is the goal. I won't shortcut it."

Kyle Korver - “I don’t ever shoot a ton of shots at once because I want to shoot them game-like. You can’t shoot 500 shots at the exact speed and exact intensity that you’re going to in a game. Very rarely will I shoot more than 150 shots at once.”

Steve Novak - 300 made shots every day.

Buddy Hield - 300 - 500 made shots every day.

Tyler Harvey - 350 - 400 made shots every day.

That's only a few players (and they're superstar shooters!), but as you can see, you don't need to be shooting a mind-boggling amount of shots every week.

Truth #4 - Most players don't track their shots

I first started tracking my own shots after reading a great article on shooting coach Dave Hopla (Dave regularly shoots 98+% while shooting).

Dave tracks every single shot he takes.

Yet for some odd reason, today's players and coaches aren't copying his methods and tracking their own shots.

Doesn't it make sense to copy someone that shoots 98% (seriously) from the floor?

To me, it's a no-brainer.

Here are 5 quick reasons why tracking shots will make you a great shooter:

1. You cannot improve what you don't measure.
2. It makes every single shot important.
3. Players can set shooting goals.
4. Players will see improvements.
5. Players will find out their weak areas.

Truth #5 - Most players don't have a plan to improve

My pet hate is players that go to the gym and 'getting up shots' without a plan.

Contrary to what most players think, just being in the gym won't make anyone a better player.

Players have to be working on the right things. Their weaknesses, the shots they take in games, free throws, shooting technique, etc.

Without a plan, players will end up messing around and wasting time that could have been spent improving their game.