- 1). Bend your knees with legs shoulder-width apart. This gives you more power when you jump.
- 2). Hold the ball with your dominant hand. If you are right-handed, place your hand slightly right of center on the ball. If you are left-handed, place your left hand slightly left of center on the ball. Grip the ball with your finger tips, not your palm. Leave about an inch of space between your palm and the ball.
- 3). Place your off-hand on the side of the ball. It will guide the ball as you shoot and steady it from falling off to the side.
- 4). Keep your elbows close to your body and pointing toward the ground. Your elbow of your dominant arm should be almost directly under the ball.
- 5). Bring the ball up so that it is just above your head. According to YouthBasketballTips.com, bringing the ball above your head "should be (done)...in one motion." Your dominant arm should form a right angle with your bicep parallel to the ground and your forearm perpendicular to the ground. When you have become comfortable with the shooting process, your jump will coincide with this step.
- 6). Cock the wrist of your dominant hand. You should be able to see the wrinkles of your wrist. There is no need to bend it back to an uncomfortable point, but enough to give the ball more power when you release it.
- 7). Extend your dominant arm toward the hoop to shoot the ball. You can almost leave your other hand behind as you do this.
- 8). Aim the ball as you shoot it. According to Tom Curtiss of ShotScience.com, many coaches teach their players to aim for the front or back of the rim. He suggests, however, to aim for the "inside diameter of the rim," or the space where you actually want the ball to end up to make the basket. Additionally, Curtiss asserts that you need "a good arc" to your shot, meaning the flight pattern of the ball should not be straight. A straight shot has little chance of making it over the rim. A nicely arced shot, aimed at the inside diameter of the rim, has a better chance of going in than a straight or flat shot. Adjust your aim according to the results of each shot. Eventually you will find the right target and arc to make your shot more consistently.
- 9). Snap your wrist as you release the ball. Once the ball is released, your dominant arm should be in the air, with your wrist bent, resembling a goose neck.
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