Tricks to Remember Proper Basketball Shooting Technique

To help you or your players remember basketball shooting technique, here are a variety of memory tricks. Some of these word-plays really stick with players.

Choose the methods that resonate best with you.

Alliteration

It’s easier to remember phrases and names that start with the same letter. For example, the names Bed Bath and Beyond, Ronald Reagan, Donald Duck, and Steak N Shake all use alliteration.

Here are a few alliteration phrases that might help you remember shooting mechanics:

Toes to target

Palm to passer

Wrist wrinkle

Elbow above eyebrow

Freeze follow-through

Shoot and stay

ANALOGIES

Word association can help you remember too. Here are just a few ideas:

Wave Good Bye: This reminds you to have a relaxed wrist in your release and follow-through, as if you were waving good bye to someone while holding your position. This will help to soften your shot and give you good touch.

Reaching Into a Cookie Jar: This reminds you that your follow-through extension should be high and that your hand should be extended forward and a little downward. Be careful not to overdo this by straining your wrist so that your hand is rigidly held straight down, because this will disturb your shooting touch.

The 3 S’s (Spin, Stop, Sight): This reminds you to line up your fingers with a ball seam and to follow-through so that your shot has a straight, moderate backspin on it. It’s also a reminder to pay attention to correct footwork so that you are shooting from a balanced stance and to keep your eyes on the hoop rather than the flight of the ball. Shots with straight, moderate backspin are usually soft and give kind"shooter’s bounces". Correct footwork is the topic of our next section.

Gun Barrel: This reminds you to have the ball ready to shoot from the shoulder through the finger tip follow-through. Freeze the follow-through until the ball reaches the rim.

L.E.A.F. (Legs, Elbow, Arch, Finish): This is particularly easy for young players to remember.
L= Legs. Make sure you have your legs in your shot. If your shot is short, not enough legs.
E= Elbow. Is your elbow in and under the ball in a comfortable position?
A= Arch. Shoot the ball up and not at the rim.
F= Finish your shot. Let the arm and the hand stay out there like you are posing for a photo. If your distance is inconsistent, this will help. (Mom needs time to focus that new camera!)

Teaching is the best way to learn:

One of the best ways for a player to learn is to teach the correct basketball shooting technique to someone else. Once you show someone else a few times, it will be very hard to forget.

Coaches might consider asking their players to study shooting form and teach some 3rd graders how to shoot.