Foul Shot

Step 1. Stance Phase

Line your feet up behind the middle of the foul line. *Your shoulders should be squared to the basket, and your feet shoulder width apart.(*Cue)  Move your non dominate foot back an  inch or two, and your knees should be slightly bent. Your elbows will be flexed while holding the ball out in front of your body about waist level.



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Step 2. Preparatory Phase

* Your knees will be bent and your weight should be on the balls of your feet, which will cause some slight dorsal flexion(Cue). You want to maintain a low center of gravity for stability.  Hold the ball by putting your non shooting hand on the side and your shooting hand in the middle. The ball will be balanced using the palm and finger pads with a space between the ball and center of your palm. *The elbow of your shooting hand will be flexed directly under your wrist and parallel to the floor.(Cue) Your eyes and ball will be facing the basket, aiming for the rim or the box on the backboard. 


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Step 3. Movement Phase

Your shot should be one fluid motion.  From the bent knee positon, which is used for balance, you need to come up by *extending your legs for strength in your shot and extend your shooting arm for the aim in your shot(Cue). This will cause some elevation in your shoulders.  Your guide hand which is your non shooting hand, should stay in the same place. 



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Step 4. Follow Through Phase

Follow through by *flicking your wrist and your fingers should pointing at the target.(Cue)  You should also end up with your heels off the floor and up on your toes. The basketball foul shot takes place in the sagittal plane around the mediolateral axis.




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Step 5. Recovery Phase

Get back into the game.


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Foul Shot Videos
Vidoes are from the Sagittal Plane view

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Expert

Drill: Wall Sits

This is a great static position drill used by many athletes during practices. This exercise is great for your quadriceps and hamstrings. Leg strength is important to being a good athlete and can prevent many injuries. Its good for helping your mechanics in basketball because your shot comes from a lot of the power used from your legs.

  1. Stand in front of a wall (about 2 feet in front of it) and lean against it.
  2. Slide down until your knees are at about 90-degree angles and hold, keeping the abdominal muscles contracted for 30 seconds.
  3. Come back to start and repeat Do this 2 to 4 times with a 60 second break in between. After a few weeks you can make it more challenging by holding it for longer intervals with a shorter rest time in between.
  4. To add intensity, hold weights or squeeze a ball between the knees.

Bounce Pass

Step 1. Stance

Get into your athletic stance position. Shoulders are squared to your partner, feet are shoulder width apart, knees are slightly bent hands on each side of the ball, *elbow flexion at 90 degrees(Cue), and abduction of the metacarpophalangeal joints and thumb.
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Step 2. Preperation


*Bend your knees(Cue), bring ball up waist level, hands on each side of the ball, lower your hips, increase flexion at your waist, retract the scapula, and eyes looking at your target.

             Novice                                                         Expert