Let's take a look at how we teach basketball fundamentals by using one specific example: shooting...

To become a great shooter, you’ve got to take a lot of shots, and most players would like to become a great shooter. Then why don’t players who want to be great shooters practice shooting the ball more than they do? Perhaps a better question is: why don’t they even START practicing their shots? The reason is that most people don’t like doing something where failure comes more often than success.

We start teaching babies to walk by making them believe that they accomplished something marvelous by simply standing up while holding on to something. Then we go nuts when they can balance without holding onto anything. More celebration occurs when their first step is made. When they fall down, we say that it’s OK and we’re ready to try again. Success is redefined each time the baby takes an extra step. “My what a gifted human being we have here!” No wonder babies continue to improve until they have mastered the ability to walk: we never LET them fail in the early stages by our very definitions of success. The same techniques can be applied to teaching youth basketball players, professional players, and everyone between. Let me explain, again using the shooting example...

To keep a player's basketball shooting practice fun and rewarding until they have mastered the art, you must continually redefine what success is. If you, the player, could hit 51 out of 100 three pointers CONTINUALLY, you would be encouraged to keep on shooting because it is fun to succeed more times than it is to fail. Now, if I can get you to shoot the ball with perfect technique LONG ENOUGH, I know that it will start paying off. (By the way, you can learn perfect form from Better Basketball's shooting video. Click here to read about it.) But most people don’t give themselves enough time to succeed. As soon as they start practicing with perfect form and technique, they use “made baskets” as a way to judge their success. When they miss more than they make and miss maybe more than what they used to make with their old technique, they begin to listen to that little voice in the back of their mind that says, “You know, you were never a good shooter and you never will be a good shooter, why do you even try? You’re missing even more than you used to! What’s the use? Quit wasting your time and go play in a pick-up game somewhere!”

Maybe you can simply tell that little negative voice to “shut-up” and go on practicing even when you’re missing shots. Some players can. But why not try what we do with babies? REDEFINE SUCCESS like this:
YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL IF YOU CAN...
1st, Shoot 6 out of 10 with the correct hand position,
2nd, Shoot 6 out of 10 while holding the correct follow-through,
3rd, Shoot 6 out of 10 while keeping good balance,
4th, Shoot 6 out of 10 with perfect rotation on the ball,
5th, Keep 6 out of 10 shots STRAIGHT; hitting the front or back of the rim is still considered success,
6th, Keep 7 out of 10 shots STRAIGHT,
7th, Keep 8 out of 10 shots STRAIGHT,
8th Keep 8 out of 10 shots STRAIGHT, and 1 of them goes in,
9th, Keep 8 out of 10 shots STRAIGHT, and 2 of them go in,
Etc., Etc...

Do you see my point? You are feeling good about yourself every time you pick up the basketball! That little negative voice is overpowered by the one that says, “I can do this thing – I am successful – I am getting better and it feels sooooo good! I am going to become a great shooter!” You're teaching the fundamentals of basketball shooting to yourself one step at a time, always with positive results.

Eventually, the ball is going in as a result of you shooting it correctly. Soon, you are being reinforced and encouraged by the fact that 7 out 10 shots go in when you are practicing. Then you set your sights for 8 out of 10 and 9 out of 10 and........where does this stop? Bill Bradley wouldn’t stop until he hit 25 in a row. Then he moved to another spot on the floor for another 25 in a row! Can you set your goals that high? Of course you can, but you get there the same way he did: one baby step at a time.

If you're trying to determine how to teach the fundamentals of basketball, I suggest you consider this method of positive reinforcement. And by the way, I've already mentioned our shooting video as the perfect way to learn shooting technique. I also recommend our newest video, Better 1 on 1 Offense, to help build your overall ability to score. It's a great video, and goes hand in hand with Better Shooting.

Good luck with your game,

Rick Torbett