Shooting for success during the offseason

I’ve seen many summer program workouts that specify an amount of shots each player should shoot. Shoot 100 threes, 20 jump shots, 20 jump shots off the dribble, 20 jump shots off a move, 20 bank shots, and then 10 free throws.

These are very good, but we’ve taken shooting one step further. We now require our athletes to make a certain number of shots from each spot. This will give the good shooter a chance to speed through his workout while the athlete who needs work will get more shots to try and improve.

Spot shooting

In practice, we used to shoot 25 shots from five spots with a partner. This was great, but our better shooter would finish more quickly than the rest of the team. Now we take shots from each spot for two minutes. Our better shooters get a lot of shots off, while other shooters are not pressured to shoot a certain number of shots.

Have players finish by setting a certain number of made shots in a row before they can get a drink. If they are shooting free throws, they might have to make five in a row before they can get a drink of water. This can be adjusted for each team or by position.

As a team we led the state of Indiana in team free-throw shooting one year at 78 percent. One year my son shot 92.8 percent from the line for 155 of 167.

A typical summer shooting workout for our team might include:

1. Make 20 shots from each of 5 spots (2 baseline 2 wing 1 middle). Make 10 free throws.
2. Make 20 shots off the dribble. Make 10 free throws.
3. Make 20 shots off a move. Make 10 free throws.
4. Make 20 post moves. Make 10 free throws.
5. Make 20 drives to the basket and shoot. Make 10 free throws.
6. Make 20 3-point shots. Make 10 free throws.
7. Make 20 3-point shots off a move. Make 10 free throws.
8. Make 20 3-point shots off a pivot (go left and right). Make 10 free throws.
9. Make 20 3-point shots off a step-back move (drive and step back). Make 10 free throws.
10. Make 20 3-point shots off a pass with either a partner or a pass to yourself. Make 10 free throws.

Other drills you could add include: 20 bank shots, 20 bank threes, 20 reverse layups, or 20 hard layups. Use your imagination.

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For you “stat” nuts: When your players have completed the workout, they will have made 100 free throws, 100 3-point shots, and 180 other shots.

I’ve read where some kid during a summer took 40,000 shots. How many did he make? If he made only 100, he’s in trouble. The number made is more important, especially if they make them in a short amount of time. This means they make many more shots than they miss.

Give players a goal

Have your players pick a spot on the floor and make five shots in a row. This puts some individual pressure on the athlete and gives them a goal. This can be increased or decreased depending on the player.

Do the same with free throws, and have your players make five or 10 in a row before they quit. You can do this at the end of each different shot or at the end of the workout.

By all means, change, modify and revise the workout as they go along. Do not follow this workout or any workout for that matter seven days a week for 52 weeks a year. Add variety and fun to make your players come back for more. Make it positive and motivating.

On an off day, we time our players to see how long it takes them to make 100 3-point shots with one ball and one rebounder. Our record is 6:58 to make 100 3-point shots.

This is only a shooting workout. We also have a ball handling, jump rope, and a miscellaneous workout to add to and mix in with the shooting workout.