Proper Stance for Shooting a Basketball

Series Summary

You love playing basketball but you don't seem to be getting any better. You try to emulate stars like Tracy and Koby, but somehow those shots you see on the ESPN highlight reels don't work quite as well for you. In fact, you feel kind of silly when you land on your backside after trying a maneuver better left to the pros. And you don't get any points for trying; in fact you are the victim of wisecracks and a sideline seat because no one picks you. What you need is not flash and speed, but fundamentals, a mastery of the basic skills. Think Tim Duncan instead of Koby. Tim may not be as flashy, but he wins championships. And respect. And that's what you need after that behind the back reverse lay up that got stuffed back in your face....

In this series of free basketball instruction videos, our expert will demonstrate the basics, such as proper balance and elbow position, for shooting a basketball. He also shows you a variety of different shots, like the runner and the hook shot that will expand your arsenal. And once you have all of those mastered, you may want to step up to the ultimate finesse shot: the finger roll. Also included in this series is a segment on how to improve your mental game. Master the skills in these videos and you will become an offensive force on the hoops court.

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Travis and on behalf of Expert Village we are going to talk about shooting. Shooting drills, shooting techniques, stance, so on and so forth. What I want to talk about in this particular clip is beef. Beef with the first letter B being balance. By a good balance with anything walking, standing, anything we want to have our legs spread at a nice comfortable distance apart. Usually for most people shoulder width apart, so for me it is about here where I am comfortable. Then the other balance is bending our knees. So see we don't want to be standing here getting ready to shoot the ball with out legs locked or straight. We want to bend our knees, you don't have to bend way down just down right in here you know forty-five degree angle or so. Maybe thirty or less whatever you are comfortable with. When you are ready you are in that ready stance. This in basketball is called the triple threat position because from here you can do one of three things. You can shoot, you can pass or you can dribble so a great balance position feet about shoulder width apart. Bend the knees and assume that ready position then you are ready to go and react. "