Form Shooting Drill - Having good, solid form is a key element in being a good shooter. To work on your mechanics, use a close to the basket shooting drill.

Stand 2 or 3 feet from the backboard and on one side of the basket. Using only your shooting arm, shoot a bank shot into the basket. Use perfect form (ball on finger tips, elbow in, shoot up-and-out towards the basket, follow through with good backspin on the ball). Rebound the ball and shoot again. Shoot at least 15 shots from each side of the basket. Shoot with your right arm from the right side of the basket, and shoot with your left arm from the left side of the basket. Once you've shot 15 shots from each side, step back 2 or 3 feet further away from the basket and repeat the drill.

Mikan Drill Post Development Drills Posted 3/17/2008 By Mike Taylor Professional Head Coach in Europe Mike Taylor breaks down 4 Post Drills that he uses religiously with his team regardless of the time of year.  Used in the off season, these drills can develop a post player's skill set, while integrating them into an in season practice plan can keep those skills sharp. Read More

Mikan Drill - Named after George Mikan, one of the NBA's early stars, this drill is a key to improving your shot. The drill involves shooting a hook shot in the lane, but it really helps you improve your overall game. The Mikan drill helps you improve your hook shot, but it also helps you improve your coordination, touch around the basket, shot release, follow through, and confidence in your short range game. Start in front of the basket, 2 to 3 feet in front of the rim. Jump off of your left leg and shoot a right-handed hook shot off the backboard and into the basket. Rebound the ball, and immediately go into the shooting motion of shooting a left-handed hook shot (jumping off of your right leg). Remember to explode up and off the ground as you shoot the shot. Keep both hands on the ball until you are in the final stages of releasing the shot. Fully extend your shooting arm, and release the ball high in the air, using your non-shooting arm to create space between you and the defender. Shoot 15 shots with each arm, then move back 2 or 3 feet and repeat the drill, shooting another 15 shots with each arm.

Quick Shot Drill - One of the most important parts of being a good shooter is having a quick shot, and a quick shot release. Even if the defense is playing you close, a quick shot release will allow you to still take the shot, even under lots of pressure.

Here is a great quick-shot drill. The next time you go out to the court to shoot around, make a point to work on the quickness of your shot release. Take a few jump shots like you regularly do (at your regular speed). Now, concentrate on shooting the ball much more quickly. Speed up your shot, all the way from bringing the ball through your shooting pocket, to the actual shot, and the release of the basketball. Concentrate on speeding up the process, but without sacrificing or changing your shooting form at all. Shoot at least 25 jumpers at this faster speed.

Do this drill each time you take the court to work on your shot, and pretty soon you'll start to notice that you shoot the ball with a much quicker release.

Fall-Away Jumper Drill - If you watch an NBA game, you'll notice that a lot of players shoot fall-away jumpers. There's a reason for that: players in the NBA are so tall, such good athletes, and such good jumpers, that it can be very difficult to shoot the basketball. Jumping straight up and taking the jumper isn't an option, because the shot can easily be blocked.

So players look for ways to create enough space to shoot the basketball. One technique to create space is the fall-away. Try this drill and start practicing working on a fall-away jump shot. Start on the block with your back to the basket. Now, shoot a turnaround jumper to the baseline, falling slightly away from the basket. Concentrate on shooting the ball with perfect form, getting good arch on the ball, and keeping your body on-balance, even though you are drifting slightly back from the basket. Shoot 20 jumpers from each side of the basket.

Shooting these from the blocks is a good way to start learning the fall-away jumper, especially for inside players. After several workouts of shooting the fall-away from the block, move to other spots on the floor (such as the elbows, the wings, shorter shots in the lane).

Body control is very important in the game of basketball, and shooting the fall-away tests your ability to shoot the ball under control. Most coaches teach jumping straight up while shooting jump shots, and this is the right thing to teach. But as you move from one level to the next, and players get taller, and have better jumping ability, learning and using the fall-away will be a big part of your game. Now, if you have an open jump shot, then use classic jump shot form (jump straight up or slightly forward for the jumper). But if you are playing against a good defender, and he is playing you tight, a fall-away may be what you need to get room to take the jumper.

Justin Willis, Founder of Competitive Sports Edge, attended West Virginia University where he majored in Mechanical Engineering and Exercise Science.  There he played on the Mountaineer baseball and football teams.  Justin later transferred to Point Park University in his home town of Pittsburgh, PA where he also played baseball and majored in Biology. 

In 2003 Justin moved to Northern Virginia where he began work for a successful speed and condition program until the summer of 2007, when he began Competitive Sports Edge.  

Justin is a Certified Conditioning Specialist (CCS) through the National Strength Professionals Association, a SPARQ certified trainer, and a certified Kettlebell instructor through the American Kettlebell Club (AKC).  Justin thrives in helping his athletes achieve their full potential through improving their form and functionality in all aspects of their chosen sport.  Over the years he has worked with hundreds of athletes in the Elementary School, Middle School, High School, Collegiate, and Professional ranks, in athletic improvement. 

Let’s face it, there is nothing like flat out speed that will make a difference in a game or any competition. We have all seen it; games are won and lost because of some player’s quickness and speed. Even your athletic career will be affected by how fast you are. There is no substitute for blazing speed to ignite your team, turn your game around, discourage your opponent, or just have a great time.

And there is no quicker and simpler way to maximize your speed than by following our speed training exercise program.

Now we all know that there are all kinds of speed drills, practice equipment, training programs and theories about how to get faster. Every one has a technique or theory. But, latest research has uncovered what most experts are now beginning to agree on.

That speed and quickness are not the same as strength and endurance and you won’t achieve great speed by only training for strength. Speed is not determined by just how strong your muscles are but also by how quickly they react and contract. And it is acknowledged that the speed and quickness of your muscles is accomplished by conditioning what are called your fast twitch muscles fibers.

Whatever your sport or athletic goals might be, if it is important to you to increase running speed, with greater power and agility then the Run Faster Speed Training Exercise Program will absolutely raise your performance to the next level!

Maybe you are like many athletes today who are not performing as well as they could be because you have not been taught how to run faster by training your muscles in a way that conditions them specifically for speed and quickness.

Now, after years of research and trials by athletes and athletic training specialists we have assembled one of the most highly effective, easy to use, and least expensive speed training programs available today.

Running speed determines performance level

Think of what you could do if you could sprint faster and explode past your competition. You may have tried different agility drills for speed training and you may have been disappointed at the results. 

But when you understand what makes muscles faster and why it works and how to properly apply it to specific muscles, you will have discovered how to run faster by making your muscles quicker and how to achieve the level of performance that you are actually capable of.

By ordering this program and doing the exercises described you will have the tools you need for increased performance like you have never experienced before.

Fast twitch muscle fibers are often ignored

You see, most training programs are not designed to or capable of conditioning your fast twitch muscles fibers for explosive speed and quickness. That's because strength and endurance training will cause these fibers to ignore their natural ability to contract instantly. In fact, once you start to exercise these specific muscle fibers, the way we teach it, you will likely discover that up until now they have been underdeveloped. 

If you think you are fast now, just wait until you unlock the speed that fast twitch muscle fibers are capable of!

Our remarkable exercise program is designed to do just one thing and it does it very well - target and condition your fast twitch muscle fibers for speed and quickness.
 
This type of conditioning will result in you being able to run faster, and with greater speed and agility and balance. You will surprise yourself and astonish your friends and competitors!

Speed is critical in almost all sports

Whether your sport is football, soccer, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, tennis, track and field or any other sport that requires speed and agility training, you will be using the same principles acknowledged by top athletes to increase running speed, quickness and power, without the high cost of expensive equipment.