Well, learning to shoot a basketball free throw (correctly) is very much a similar process. I’m going along, what seems to be nicely, making series of shots and then –wham! – I miss with a shot that seemed to come from out of left field.  I think, “Where did that come from”?  Then, maybe I miss another one or two.  Then, I am back, focused and making another series of shots.  From what I have observed from many shooters, this seems to be a normal occurrence.  The key, in case you missed it, is focus.  More on that later.

Now, I am not a beginner.  I am 67 years old and have 56 years of basketball experience behind me.  I was a prolific scorer for 15 years, shooting from all over with either hand, averaging 22 ppg. in my playing career (pre-3 point line).  Still, I didn’t really know how to shoot, as I understand it today.  I thought I did.  Throughout my coaching career, I even had good success teaching others how to shoot.

So, why do I sound like I am just learning how to shoot?  Because now, retired, I am studying, analyzing and practicing like I never did before.  I am seeing what makes my shot ‘tick’.  And, before, I was too quickly bored to really get inside myself and take the time and have the patience to go through the process toward becoming a master.  Now, I am focused on learning about what my mind is doing; what my shooting shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand and fingers are doing.  I am focused on the stroke (direction, arc, force) my shooting arm is making on every shot and the delivery (wrist & fingers releasing the ball).  I am building muscle memory for correct shooting, perfecting what I practice, creating perfection for my shot.

Where I was an okay free throw shooter before all this time spent learning why I was only an okay shooter, maybe shooting 80% one day and 90% the next, I don’t have those kinds of swings in accuracy or inconsistency any more.  My swings may be while shooting from one set of 25 to the next, but never below 92%, and because I have learned to correct my shots after a miss, my next set could be up to 100%.  My days now average 96%.

When I was first contacted by Jim “Makevery” Schatz, in October, 2009, about becoming a founding member of an organization (National Basketball Shooters Association – NBSA) to bring attention to the paltry free throw shooting percentages of players everywhere, I was immediately intrigued and hooked.  I have long felt that it is incredible that professional players are being paid millions as the best basketball players in the world and yet, as a group, can’t convert free throws.  I have been teaching basketball long enough to know, too, that until the pros and colleges take free throw teaching seriously and work to improve their percentages, the young players will not embrace free throws as being important – certainly not like they do shooting 3’s, slam dunks, or making shake–n-bake moves.

I immediately began to pay attention to free throw mechanics.  I read. I watched videos and YouTube shots, studying techniques of successful shooters.  I worked with shooting masters and free throw world record holders (Ed Palubinskas, Rick Rosser, Bob Fisher). I practiced so many varied techniques, most of the time I couldn’t remember which form I used the day before and which ones worked better for me than others.

See, that’s one of the problems – there is no one best method for shooting.  While I wanted to find a best method for myself, I also wanted one I could easily teach to others.  What I learned in this discovery process is that what works best for me is not necessarily what is best for someone else, nor even what I would teach to someone else.

What I teach depends on the shooter and his or her experience and how they already have learned to deliver their shot.  Then, I build or reconstruct from there. And, for a raw beginner, I will teach differently than for someone who already has a developed shot.

All the focus, practice, dissecting of my shot and analyzing what others teach and do, has enabled me to arrive at a place I had dreamed of being and had set my intentions for being – free throw shooting mastery (above 95%).  Well, I will tell you, it’s nice, but I know I have more to learn and improve and the next 2-3% may be slow going.  I have the background, muscle memory and habits formed now to go from here.  98-99% will come.  Perhaps a few thousand more shots….

So, now eleven months later, what I did to shoot consistently at 96% - my attempts, frustrations, different methods, my practice routine and my results – are all documented for the shooter with a serious intent to raise their shooting percentage, in my upcoming ebook.