Frequently Asked Questions

Simply put, no.  You will determine how much you improve as a shooter.  No book or video transforms a player’s skill level.  This book shows you the tools to develop and provides both exercises to cultivate them and the means by which you can track your progress.  Whether you are a novice or high-level player, your efforts and determination to overcome obstacles along your journey will drive your progress.

In a way, you don’t want to eliminate those butterflies in your stomach.  NBA legend Bill Russell used to barf before every game and he did ok!  You need some of that energy to play your best.  On the other hand, too much energy will cause you to lose your concentration and muscle control.  The idea is to rev up before you get into the game, but dial it back if your energy level distracts you.  Bill Russell clearly cared immensely about playing well, but he obviously was able to channel it well enough to lift his game to an extraordinary level.  Shooting Out of Your Mind includes many exercises to better regulate your energy level so it helps you play better.

Some coaches come from that  “kick ‘em in the pants to motivate ‘em” model of motivating players.  Either they have a terrible temper or they believe that players need to fear them to play their best.  The problem is that this tends to make players afraid to make any mistakes, and inhibits, not helps performances.  One way to address this is to arrange a team meeting where players (or team captains in a private meeting) can address how the coach’s behavior distracts your play.  Youth coaches can have a meeting with players’ parents to discuss their children’s feelings.  Individually, you may be able to convince yourself that your coach is just passionate and simply wants you to play your best – in other words, he wouldn’t yell if he didn’t care about you.  This re-interpretation from “coach hates me” to “coach really cares about me and only wants me to play my best” may lessen the negative impact it has on your game.

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