Phase Two - The backswing

The Backswing

The second component of the basketball free throw, following the preliminary movements is the backswing. This consists of the movements that occur during the crouch and preparations for the shot (Kelbick, 2007). The optimal  back swing position for a free throw is demonstrated in the picture below. Every individual player has his own technique this is just a guide which I will be using to analyse my free throw shot.

Fig 1. Side on backswing - In this position the player shows a good backswing: The knees are flexed close to 90 degrees, with the trunk flexion being around 50 degrees from vertical. The shoulder of the shooting arm close to zero degrees (parallel to the body) with the upper arm held along the trunk.

Fig2. Baseline assessment of backswing - Knee flexion is good, sitting around 90 degrees. Trunk flexion is at roughly 20 degrees from vertical (greater flexion wanted)  The ball is held too far out reducing optimal shoulder and elbow flexion seen in the above figure - knee flexion 89 degrees - hip flexion 115 degrees.

Fig 3. Front on view of the backswing - Critical features show good knee, hip and trunk flexion. Ball is above shooting knee and feet shoulder width apart. 

Note: Shoulder, hip, knee and ankle of the shooting side are lined up vertically.

Fig 4. Baseline assessment of backswing - Good knee flexion, trunk flexion is average. Feet are shoulder width apart. Shoulder elbow and ankle are all vertically aligned, knee is tilted toward the midline and ball position is to central. These should all line up to create equal force producing movements increasing shot accuracy and percentage.

Design of session

1. Use teaching points and video reflection to critically assess backswing
2. Apply new knowledge of motor skill to practice
3. Focus on hip and trunk flexion - this may help with the next phase - force producing movements
4. Work on aligning ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and elbow on the shooting side as shot is taken - better alignment creates a more central force producing movement.

Statistics

Shooting from the line I shot 5 sets of 10 free throws and this is how they went:

Set one: 3 from 10

Set two: 2 from 10

Set three: 4 from 10

Set four: 5 from 10

Set five:4 from 10

18 shots were converted from 50 giving me a hot percentage of 36%

Reflection

Trying to induce change on an action that is predominantly natural can be hard, but also very beneficial. Having shot basketballs for a long time without any coaching or critiquing, making technical adjustments on my shot was a complex task. I have implemented a few changes to work on and adapt to over the coming sessions. From todays shot statistics my shooting percentage has dropped, although it may take a few session to adapt to these changes in technique.

References

Kelbick, D. (2007, September 10). Basketball Fundamentals - Free Throw Shooting. Breakthrough Basketball - Hundreds of FREE Basketball Coaching Drills, Plays, Tips, Offenses, Defenses & Resources. Retrieved May 20, 2013, from http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/fundamentals/foulshooting.htm