Secret to Shooting- REPETITION (The Gun)

DOES SHOOTING ON THE SHOOTING GUN REALLY WORK? Yes, absolutely positively!

SHOOTERS SHOOT- The entire point of this particular blog is to explain why shooting on the Gun can turn an average shooter into a good shooter, and turn a good shooter into a great shooter. There have been some shooters who have been called "natural shooters." The reality is that there is no such thing as a "natural shooter." Coaches and players who believe in the concept of "natural shooters," usually are coaches and players who tend to lose. Over the last 100 years of basketball, successful coaches and successful players has recognized that the best way to become a great shooter is to..... SHOOT. Shoot a lot of shots. 

MUSCLE MEMORY- Muscle memory is the process that allows the body to remember certain motor skills and perform them without conscious effort. I had typing class in 1968, but 50+ years later, I can still type without thinking about it- muscle memory. Riding a bike and playing a piano are both examples of muscle memory. With practice, both skills become something a person can do without thinking about it. It is not really muscles "remembering," it is your brain creating strong and efficient pathways to transmit appropriate signals. With repetition, your brain no longer has to think about it. 

HOW MUCH REPETITION IS NEEDED? Psychologist Malcolm Gladwell says we need 10,000 hours of repetition to become an expert. Other psychologists feel it takes 5,000 to 10,000 repetitions of a skill to develop muscle memory. The point- it takes a lot of MADE shots to develop muscle memory.

WHY THE GUN? WHY NOT JUST SHOOT?- Two players sharing a Gun for a workout can get up 600-900 shots in an hour, depending on what set the timer. Two players shooting, where one player rebounds and the other shoots will usually each get up 300-450 shots in an hour. A player on the Gun can easily get up twice as many shots as a player shooting with a partner. To get the number of shots that you need to get to develop muscle memory, you need to find a way to get onto the Gun.

BUT THE PASS IS COMING FROM THE BASKET- When I went into to get approval to purchase our first Shooting Gun, the administrator explained to me,"Shooting on the Gun is not game like. Every pass you get is coming from the basket and that is not what happens in a game." People who use this argument fail to understand two things: the concept of muscle memory and the dynamics of a shot. No matter where the pass comes from, or if the player is picking the ball up off the dribble- they do the same thing with the ball. The catch it or pick it up off the dribble, and move it into the shooting pocket. Most makes and most misses are determined why what the player does in the phase between the shooting pocket and the shot follow thru. So it does not matter if you are catching a pass from the right or left or from the basket- you are working to develop muscle memory for the MOST IMPORTANT PHASE OF THE SHOT- from pocket to follow thru. 

SHOOTING MATH- College coach, Luke Yaklich after years of coaching high school boys and girls, working with college men came up with the math formula to become a great shooter. (200 Makes) X (5 Days/Week) X (4 Weeks/Month) X (7 Months) = 28,000 Makes.

IT MUST BE MAKES- When you are working to develop muscle memory, it MUST be successful shots. If you shoot 100 shots and miss 80 of them- you are not training your brain to make shots. So when you shoot, you must be shooting at a distance where you are consistently making shots. 

GALESBURG PLAYERS WHO PROVE SHOOTERS SHOOT- 

Jess Howard- She made 25,000 threes in the off-season from April thru October. She made 378 threes in her career, and set an Illinois State record with 139 made threes in a season. 

Lexi (Daniels) Demott- She made 25,000 threes in the off-season from April thru October. As a freshman she made 23 threes/22% and as a sophomore made 17/ 25%. Then in the off-season after her sophomore year committed to trying to get 20,000 shots in the off-season. As a junior she made 107 threes / 36% and as a senior 111 threes / 43%. So by making 25,000 shots in the off-season on the Gun, she went from making only 23 & 17 to making 107 & 111. From shooting 22% & 25% to shooting 36% & 43%. Shooting on the Gun works!!

Saige Milroy- She made 20,000 threes in the off-season. By her senior year, she made 98 threes and shot 38% from the arc. 

Antonia Kisler and Alexis Edgerson played another sport but still found a way to get the shots up. Antonia made approximately 15,000 shots and Alexis made approximately 10,000 shots. Antonia went from not making a three as a junior, to make 37 threes and shooting 38% behind the arc, while Alexis went from making 29 threes & 21% as a junior to making 67 threes & 33% as a senior. 

WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY SHOT?- So sometimes when a player misses shots, they will think it is something in their technique. And people will be quick to give advice- "your guide hand is riding the ball", "you are not holding your follow thru", "your shot is flat."  Minor adjustments to your shot are fine. Focusing on a small part of the technique can be helpful. While any of these things may be true- the player and they person giving the correction are missing the big picture. If you have invested the time, if you have gotten the reps in, then muscle memory should be taking care of things. If you are having to constantly "think about it", then you have not put the time in and have not put the reps in. The key to becoming a great shooter is to have shot enough that it is not something you have to think about. You have done it exactly the same way for thousands and thousands of times- NOW YOUR SHOT IS NATURAL!