Shooting Accuracy: What to Do if You Air Ball a Lot
Improper shooting form can cause you to fail when trying to shoot accurately. If you’re an NBA fan, you’ve probably seen players air ball a shot before, meaning they miss badly and the ball goes straight up into the air after they release it from their hands. If you’re one of those players, following these steps can help improve your shooting accuracy and reduce the amount of times you air ball the ball.
Shooting form
Basketball is one of the only sports where proper form is absolutely essential. Every great basketball player stays with the same shooting form for the entirety of their career. If you have poor shooting form, you’ll likely never have that Wilt Chamberlain-esque 50-point game. It may not be obvious at first glance, but high level shooters don’t just take shots—they throw them. The problem is, even good players will sometimes air ball a shot or two because they didn’t stay with proper form. For example, maybe you slightly turned your wrist while shooting and it caused your shot to go off target by three feet.
Improving your shooting form
If you can’t shoot with the form that coaches have been telling you to use, start practicing on the opposite side of the court from your dominant hand. Using proper form from that angle will not only improve your accuracy, but also give you more confidence on your regular shooting spots. Once you’ve mastered that shooting angle, switch sides so that you get practice on both. The hardest part is making sure that, when using different angles on the court, you maintain all of the fundamentals. Your knees should always be bent and pointing towards the hoop when shooting; your elbow should be tucked in close to your body. But the biggest factor in improving shot accuracy is repetition.
2 ways to improving Accuracy right now
Proper Form and Getting into Game-Mode The first step to improving your shooting accuracy is making sure you’re using proper form. One big tip: Don’t have your feet too close together—this limits your range of motion. Also, when you shoot, focus on keeping your wrist and elbow in line with each other; they should both point towards rim while you shoot. It may seem obvious but few people actually get their hands in exactly that position. Many people lead with their elbows or shoulders instead of their wrists when shooting jump shots, which makes it more difficult to release properly. Practice incorporating proper form into your daily warm-up routine to improve shooting accuracy as quickly as possible.
If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE