Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Shooters: Lead with your shooting shoulder (Part 1)

For years we have taught the importance of a shooter "leading with his shooting shoulder."

Leading with the shooting shoulder NATURALLY turns the body in the direction of the shooter's guide hand (as seen in the adjacent pictures of MJ and Kobe.)

In addition, we emphasize the role of the feet in terms of bringing the body to a complete stop, under control--but, not "squaring the feet" per se.

A slight turn of the body as the shooter "leads" with his shooting shoulder is most clearly observed with good free throw shooters because the stationary nature of the free throw allows the shoulder lean to be clearly seen.

I was first introduced to this concept by observing closely one of my all-time favorites, former Bulls' forward Bob "Butterbean" Love.

Shooters: Lead with your shooting shoulder (Part 2)