Interview With A Gunslinger

I have a co-worker Dwight who's a shooter in his
spare-time. Not a basketball shooter, and not a
hunter, but he does have a lot of guns.

Don't worry. He's not a hit man or anything. And
the ATF is not after him.

He's a competitive shooter. He shoots pistols, rifles,
and shotguns at targets. And very fast. Faster than
most of those he's competing against.

He wins trophies, and the other day I asked him how.

The first factor Dwight mentioned is always following
his routine. Especially in his pre-game ritual. He
wears the same clothes every time. He loads his own
shells, loads them in the same order, stacks them the
same way, and cleans his guns in the same order
everytime. He draws comfort from the routine.

He says routine breeds familiarity which leads to
more relaxation which generates focused attention.
That's the atmosphere in which good shooting
happens whether it's with guns or roundballs.

I remember Kyle Macy from Indiana high school
sports, the University of Kentucky, and 7 years in
the NBA. He had a fixed routine when he shot free
throws, and he still holds the career free throw
shooting percentage record at UK.

Find a routine that works for you. Sight the basket,
take a deep breath, release and relax, visualize a
swish, bend over, pull up your socks, dribble three
times, set, raise and shoot, etc.

Don't make it too complex, and make it something
that leads to a relaxed, confident concentration.

If you want some more pointers Coach Tom
Nordland teaches how to apply his Swish Method
of shooting to free throws in his detailed two hour
Swish 2 DVD.

Discover how to prime your mind with a confident
routine today by running over to:

http://www.deandelker.com/swish2.html

Stay tuned for part 2 of Dwight's interview on
breathing next time.

Shoot For The Stars

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Hal Wissel's emphasis on confidence,
rhythm, and good shooting mechanics leads to
good free throw shooting too. See how Hal gets
you shooting at the top of your game consistently
by taking focused action right now at:

http://www.deandelker.com/wissel_order.html

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc