Can You Repeat That Again

Pete and Repeat sittin' in a tree. Pete fell out. Who was left?

Repeat.

Pete and Repeat sittin' in a tree . . .

I'm sure you've heard some variation of that little ditty when
you were a kid. Are you the kind of person who would keep
making the speaker repeat himself, or would you do your
darndest never to say repeat?

I think most of us fall in the latter category. We don't like to
repeat things much. How many books have you read more
than once? Probably only a few. And a movie has to be totally
exceptional for you to want to see it more than once or twice.

Dr. Hal Wissel says 1,000 shots a day in good form for 21 days
will make you a shooter. Larry Bird and Michael Jordan have
always preached the same kind of a work ethic.

You can learn to shoot. There are plenty of quality shooting
videos that don't cost an arm and a leg. In fact, before too
long I'll have all the best ones available at:

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

but no video on earth has the power to make you get out and
shoot, shoot and shoot some more.

Like it or not, repetition of the right stuff is the key to improving
your shooting. So why haven't you done more of it then? Maybe
it's because you think it's going to be boring.

Fear not, though. It doesn't have to be so. You CAN enjoy the
journey. One of the best ways is to use your creative imagination.

How? By by turning on your mental DVD player and:

Seeing yourself making the winning last second shot in the
championship game and feeling the rush of elation that comes.

Seeing your name written up in the paper and feeling justifiably
proud.

Seeing yourself being rewarded for all your work with game time
scoring runs.

Hearing the deafening roar of the crowd every time you score.

Feeling the thrill of victory before it happens.

Do this enough and no repetition need ever become boring.

Another technique you can use to energize your shooting routine
is by practicing awareness. Pay attention to shooting mechanics,
body position, tension and relaxation in your muscles, your
breathing, the thoughts running through your head, your self-talk,
etc. Not all at one time of course, but pick one thing at a time to
focus on an see how that can work to better your shooting.

You can do it. You have done it in the past with something you
really wanted to do. You may have surprised even yourself, and
you would not be denied.

Spend a few minutes re-living one of those success experiences
as vividly as you can, then let those feelings bubble over into
your practice. You will see a big difference, and it won't take
long.

Wait till you see Stan Kellner's new "Ultimate Shooting DVD"
which applies cybernetic training techniques in much more
detail specifically to shooting the basketball. It is a match
made in heaven. It will be out in a couple of weeks, and
knowing what kind of results he gets teaching this in his
camps you are going to love the results you will get. Shooting
will never be boring again.

Shoot for The Stars

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. If you are ready for the ultimate in mental makeovers
you want to check out the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation's
crowning work, "Zero Resistance Living". This step-by-step
course will teach you how to use your God-given imagination
and internal goal mechanisms to live a life that counts. It is
not cheap, but it will pay you back over and over for your
whole lifetime. Go ahead and find out more today at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Crush Everything In Your Path

My friend John Wood specializes in crushing things.

His father Kim is the legendary NFL strength and conditioning
coach who called the Cincinnatti Bengals training room home
from 1975 to 2001 so John grew up around the strength game.

John's competitive edge when he played defensive end for the
University of Michigan Wolverines was from his elbows down.
His hand and grip strength was stunning, and now he's helping
athletes from all over the world perfect this neglected part of
their training.

You may not think of basketball as being a strong man's game,
but I know of at least 10 ways stronger hands, wrists, and
forearms will help you become more of a winner on the
hardwood. You will be able to:

1). Dribble harder, faster, and with more control.

2). Finish layups stronger and with more finesse. No more
losing the ball on the way up.

3). Put better english on the ball on shots around the basket.

4). Execute the finger roll to perfection.

5). Palm the ball better and dunk with more authority.

6). Put more mustard on your passes and receive the ball
with softer hands. More hand strength means you don't
have to tense your muscles so much on the catch.

7). Rebound like a beast. Control the ball more completely
even if it's not right in your wheelhouse. Let them try
to slap it away.

8). Increase your shooting range. Keep good shooting form
much further from the basket.

9). Increase your all-important feel and touch in shooting.

10). Ramp up your confidence. There is something wonderful
that happens inside when you know you what powerful
hands you have.

There are probably 10 more we could think of, but you get
the picture. Now is the time for new beginnings and for
building the level of fitness and conditioning that will make
you more of a winner next season. Now is the time to build
your fitness foundation.

A tremendous place to start is with hand grippers. Not the kind
you get at your local department store though. John Wood can
teach you how to use the Ironmind Captains of Crush grippers.

Due to the physical design of the gripper, the nature of using a
spring as resistance, and the unique leverages of the fingers,
spring hand grippers nearly match the exact strength curve of
the human hand. Made of industrial strength materials and
coming in graduated resistances they are engineered to improve
your hand and grip strength, and be fun and challenging in the
process.

But let the expert explain it to you. Power on over to:

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

Shoot for The Stars

Dean Delker - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. If you are interested in overall fitness, and who isn't,
you can't do any better than Matt Furey's international
best-selling "Combat Conditioning" course. Matt has won
an NCAA National Championship in wrestling and a Kung
Fu World Championship, and he understands how to use
deep breathing and bodyweight exercises to produce not
only strength, but endurance, balance, explosiveness, and
flexibility. Athletes and warriors all over the world swear
by his unorthodox methods, and the reason they do is
they are getting results. See for yourself at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Team Shoots Self in Soccer Foot

I have to tell you I'm not a big fan of soccer at all. Maybe if they
Americanized it more I would. If teams could substitute freely,
and coaches could keep fresh bodies on the field maybe there
would be enough offense to keep my attention. Or if they got rid
of that silly offside rule. That's like having no fast break in
basketball.

I had to watch USA's elimination match Thursday in the World
Cup though, and it was embarrassing. Whenever we got in the
open you could hear the anticipation in the crowd rising, and
then the attacker would back off and pass backwards.
Frustrating. Around the water cooler there's been a lot of talk
about how to fix things.

Basketball coach Creighton Burns said something like this on a
coach's listserv I am on.

Isn't a little strange a country with probably the most
organized development programs in the world fails to produce
world class soccer players, while the beaches and streets of
barrios in Brazil, Argentina and elsewhere produce teams worth
of international playmakers.

The problem is similar to the one in basketball development:
too much structure, organization and adult involvement stifles
creative development and self-learning and players simply lack
the feel, touch, vision and creativity of world class players.

In basketball, the urban parks proved to be the classrooms
of generations past, but today, kids have left the parks in favor
of AAU Tournaments, travelling teams, free shoes, and
overcoaching. Kids depend on coaching more and more and
this dependence eliminates creativity, quick thinking,
decision-making and feel.

I've also seen where coach Coach Gary R. Allen wrote:

Our training methods ignore perhaps the most crucial element
in the total development of a player: the ability to read the flow
of a game, and how to anticipate and adjust to individual
opponents and teams.

These are the intangible traits that makes good players rise
above the others. We must focus on the long-term
development of players. Guiding them, but more importantly,
allowing them, to think for themselves, to make their own
decisions. This will enable them to have the tools to adjust and
exploit a vast array of situations.

The answer is not more coaching; it's less. Players need to
play, to experiment and to learn on their own. Until we change
the methods we use, fewer and fewer Dwayne Wade's and Le
Bron James' will find their way to the highest levels.

I really agree with this philosophy, and that's one of the reasons
I promote the shooting videos I do. Each and every one is
engineered to help players improve themselves and toward
coaches becoming better shooting coaches.

I think the most significant learning is self-learning anyway.
Great coaches are those who are able to impart a spirit of
responsibility to each individual, and at the same time build
a sense of team responsibility. You need to look to to your
live, in-person coach for the latter, but my team of shooting
coaches can do wonders for you with the first part.

One of the most respected names in the shooting game is
Coach Tom Nordland, and Tom just came out with program
condensing all his experience into a single 2 hour DVD. I
believe you want to unleash your creativity on the court
and be the best you can be. Now's your chance.

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean Delker - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. After shooting for hours on end there's nothing better
than to come home, chill out, and recharge your batteries
by listening to powerfully-charged, positive music. Music
affects the body on the cellular level. Science is proving that
daily. If you want to see the
proof, shuttle on over to:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Are You Aware

After ten years of hard work the apprentice Tenno had finally
achieved the rank of Zen teacher. One rainy day, he went to
visit the famous master Nan-in.

When he walked in, the master greeted him with a question,
"Did you leave your wooden clogs and umbrella on the porch?"

"Yes," Tenno replied.

"Tell me," the master continued, "did you place your umbrella
to the left of your shoes, or to the right?"

Tenno did not know the answer, and realized he had not yet
attained full awareness. So he became Nan-in's apprentice and
studied under him for ten more years.

Awareness is not something we cultivate much in Western
society either, is it? Much to our detriment too. Everything in
our lives could benefit immeasurably from paying more and
better attention in the moment.

When you are practicing your shooting, paying attention is the
name of the game. The more you understand what makes your
shot work or not work, the better you will be able to make
adjustments and fine-tune your shooting stroke. If you commit
yourself to this kind of awareness tremendous learning is possible.
Mastery itself is possible.

In a sense when you practice you are experimenting. You are
seeing what happens when you vary your shooting mechanics,
when you hold mental images in your mind, when you plant
triggers and keywords into your system.

A very good beginning in my mind will always be Coach Tom
Nordland's Swish videos, and especially Swish 2 now that it's out.

Tom's Swish 1 is a brilliant introduction to a simple, effective
method of shooting, and Swish 2 takes your learning to a whole
new level.

Find out all the new information you should be paying attention
to now at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Father Knows Best

I hope you've had a fulfilling Father's Day . I was blessed to be a
father and grandfather and there's nothing quite like that feeling.
My daddy passed away in 1990 so I spent part of my day
reminiscing about he and his father.

My grandfather was a trip. He lived to be 103 and was an
entrepreneur in the furniture business. Well actually the whole
family was. He started in the late 1800's with 3 of his brothers
as Delker Brother's Buggy Company which was mostly
woodworking. When cars came along they switched to making
hardwood furniture. If you ever find Delker Brother's Furniture
I would recommend you buy it up. It's high quality hardwood
maple early American furniture.

After graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in art my
father joined two of his seven brothers and my grandfather at
Delker Brothers. Daddy was the designer and prototype builder.
He was also a builder of people.

One superb quality my daddy had was to look at you with eyes
of hope. He saw not what you were, but what you could be, and
what he believed you would be. He knew most of my flaws, but
I know he still saw me as a 10. Now I always try to honor him
by thinking of myself in the same light.

Many basketball players I've known have had a great father or
father figure in their lives, or at the very least they've had
someone who believed in them like a good father. If there is
someone in your life who believes in you isn't it time to see
yourself as a 10 today.

Before you go out shooting, go to practice, or play in your next
game spend a few minutes seeing yourself as a 10 especially
when it comes to shooting. See yourself performing at your
absolute best.

In the Psycho Cybernetics Foundation's flagship achievement,
the Zero Resistance Living course Dr. Malcolm Maltz teaches a
number of ways to use your imagination to recall past successes
and see yourself as a true winner. You can check it out today at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Coach Tom Nordland's Swish 1 shooting DVD is one of the
top selling shooting videos ever. Now Coach has amassed all he's
learned about shooting in his latest creation: Swish 2: Learning
and Coaching the Swish Method of Shooting. It is a must-see-
work for the serious shooter, coach, or parent. Find out how to
order it today at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Meet Big Money

My wife, I, and our 19 and 21 year old daughters recently got back
from an Inner Game of Wealth weekend seminar. Now that we
better know how to win that game I've had the green stuff on my
mind a lot.

A couple of years ago there was a defensive tackle on the Florida
Gator football team named Gerard Warren who now plays in the
NFL. Since high school he's gone by the knickname of 'Big Money'.
That's because he delivered in the biggest games.

He's what we call a money player - someone who can sustain the
high levels of performance under the most stressful of situations.

How do you become a money player when it comes to putting the
ball in the basket? According to the Psycho-Cybernetics
Foundation's 'Zero Resistance Living' course there are 4 key
elements to high performance.

1). You must be able to forget or put out of your mind past
mistakes like missed shots and turnovers.

2). You must be able to recall past successes.

3). You must be able to focus on the present moment.

4). You must be able to focus on your target and not on your
obstacles.

It is easier to do than you think too. It is a step by step
process clearly laid out in the ZRL manual. I believe in
you and know you want the very best performance on
the court and in all facets of your life. See what the
buzz is all about and sign up for free daily email success
tips today at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

True Confessions of a Bookworm

I've got a confession to make. My basketball career was over
virtually before it began. In a lot of areas I've been a late
bloomer, but the highlight of my playing days was the 8th grade.

At 5' 7' I was decent forward material, but who could have
guessed I would eventually top out at 5 feet 7 and a half inches.

Still height wasn't the main reason I became a basketball coach
and fan instead of a player. In my case width was the problem.
I don't know if it was junior high (middle school) stress or just
the legendary Delker sweet tooth but if you'd have seen me at
the bakery most days in 1963-64 you'd have thought I was in
training to be a doughnut toting beat cop. And it all showed in
my clothes.

I had always been shy and introverted, but believe me
becoming a fatty didn't help turn that around one bit. I was also
a brain and a bookworm. I lived around the corner from our
public library (Thank you, Mr. Andrew Carnegie), and as an
insatiable reader I knew that place like the back of my hand.

That's probably why I've always been so fascinated by
psychology and spirituality and matters of the heart. I've
always had an active inner life and lived in my mind most of
the time. Thank God, I faced some of my fears and did
eventually join the real world. Better late than never.

Fortunately I learned there is a bridge between a person's inner
world and their outer world, and that bridge is called ACTION.
It is action that separates the men from the boys, the women
from the girls, and indeed the winners from the losers. And I
was a loser back then in many ways. I was avoiding the world,
and we're put here on this earth to have an impact. I was hiding
my light under a bushel.

No matter how much you dream and visualize the results you
want, it's not till you take action that you will begin to see those
things in your life.

To be the best shooter possible I believe you have to have a
strong mental game, but don't make the mistake of never
translating that into results by taking action. You must see
yourself becoming a great shooter before it will happen, but
don't make the mistake of assuming it will be automatic.

You must take action. You must practice. The work will be
much easier if you have pre-programmed yourself for success
and confidence, but action you must take.

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. You probably have never thought about it, but one form
of action you can take that will give you a huge competitive
edge is to exercise the hands and fingers. If you're doing
something your competitor is not, isn't that a good thing.

The Chinese believe one way to master the body, and keep
the flow of energy balanced and powerful is to master the
hand. All the major energy meridians of the body are said
to be mirrored in the fingers.

As an athlete your hands and your fingers are your bread
and butter and they need to be in tip-top shape. If you
are ready to be known as that shooter with the soft hands
and the shooter's touch make sure you check out the
'Finger Fitness' course I've found for you at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

How To Lose Your Mind

The inner game of shooting may not mean what you
think it does. One thing it is not for sure is positive
thinking. In fact, while it involves internal processes
its not really thinking at all.

Yesterday was the last day of that Peak Performance
seminar in Ft. Lauderdale when at acritical point the
trainer David Wood from British Columbia point wrote
the following on his white board:

"OPPOTUNITY"

The spelling mistake wasn't intentional, but David
used it to great advantage when he pointedout what
many of our minds were doing. We were focusing
on the missing "R".

And by doing so we were missing the whole point.
We were missing the opportunity right in front of
our eyes.

That's the kind of thing the conscious mind will do
for you. You see, it has one main job, and that is to
protect you. It does that by always paying
attention to what is wrong. It's always looking for
danger so it can help you survive. Danger, Will
Robinson.

When you're shooting though you don't want to
survive. You want to win. On the court
everything is risk, and you don't want to be
thinking about all the ways you could fail. The
mind isn't of much use to you there.

One of the keys to successful shooting is in
learning how to quiet the conscious mind, and
Coach Tom Nordland does a great job of this
in his Swish Method of Shooting.

Learn how he does it at:

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

Shoot for the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Stan Kellner the king of basketball
cybernetics is coming out with his Ultimate
Shooter DVD in a couple of weeks. Be patient,
and you'll be able to learn every trick in the
book for developing a true shooters mind.

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

My mother told me a long time ago that practice
makes perfect, but much as I love her, brothers
and sisters it just ain't so.

If it were, there would be a lot more tennis players
with perfect strokes. There are many who've hit
thousands or even tens of thousands of backhands
in practice, for instance, and still the stroke lets
them down when it counts.

So it's not enough to set volume shooting goals for
yourself or for those you coach. So many shots a
day, a week, a month, etc. Too often that leads to
"unconscious" practice. Just going through the
motions till it hurts.

And whether you want to believe it or not, that
really doesn't do you much good.

Then there are those who say, 'Perfect Practice
makes Perfect'. That sounds better on paper, but
who the blank knows what it means. It sounds like
circular reasoning to me. If you could practice
perfectly would you really need to practice?

Of course we know what they mean. Seeking to
be as perfect as possible in your practice will make
you a better shooter if at least four factors are
present.

1). You have a good idea of what the ideal is, i.e
you know what constitutes good form or good
technique.

2). You know how to duplicate the mental state of
the great shooter.

3). You practice perfectly in your imagination.

4). You understand how to use active awareness.

In coming days we'll delve into the four factors in
more detail but just think about them for now.

Shoot for the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Coach Tom Nordland's Swish DVD's are very
good at teaching three out of my four factors. He
really doesn't emphasize using your imagination
much at all, but he is one of the best I've ever seen
at showing how to use awareness and active
learning to become a great shooter.

And now that 'Swish 2: Learning and Coaching the
Swish Method' is out you can learn even more
about this neglected topic. See what I mean now at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Think What You Want, But

I used to think life was complicated, but the longer
I live the more I realize it's really not. We can make
it complex, but we don't have to.

Take thinking, for example. My coach, mentor, and
President of the Pycho-Cybernetics Foundation Matt
Furey told me recently there are only two ways to think.

One way enpowers you. The other weakens you. One
opens the door to limitless possibility. The other shuts
the door in your face.

Sports psychologist and trainer Dr. Alan Goldburg
believes free throw shooting is as much a 90% mental.
Even if his estimates are off by a little, practicing how
to think right is probably even more important than
practicing the physical mechanics of shooting.

Not that you can separate one from the other. In the
best shooters both have become integrated and
habitual, but most of us need to learn to develop the
mental side more because it has been so neglected.

Michael Jordan has said: 'I never looked at the
consequences of missing a big shot. Why? Because
when you think about the consequences, you always
think of a negative result.'

One way of thinking enpowered him so that's what
he used. The other weakened him so he gave it no
place in his mind. Remember, you are in control of
your mind, not vice versa, and it's not a democracy.

You have every right to think along lines that will
bring out the best in yourself. It's not easy to do
because many of us are not used to disciplining our
thoughts, but it is simple, and it gets easier the more
you practice it and see the kind of results that get
you excited.

I'm super excited myself right now because I've
been talking to Stan Kellner of the nationally
acclaimed, "YES, I CAN!" basketball cybernetics
training program. Stan is coming out with a new
DVD in a couple of weeks applying everything he
knows about the mental side of shooting, and that
is a ton. He also plans to package it with his best-
selling book, and an audio CD you can carry with
you at all times to reinforce his powerful training.

He's talking about seeing kids at his camps turning
into shooting machines, and that gets me pumped
up. He said several ballers at his last camps were
routinely cranking out a hundred shots in a row
without missing. I know that's hard for mere
mortals to believe, but Stan has figured how to
bring out the superman and superwoman in his
shooters. You won'twant to miss this.

You'll have to forgive me though for getting too
excited and letting the cat out of the bag too soon
because you can't buy it yet, but I can assure you
when it's available you'll be the first to know.

Shoot for The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. The above mentioned Matt Furey has learned
how to use his mind to live a life where he's fulfilling
the dreams God has put in his heart. Let him tell
you his story about how Dr. Maltz ideas have raised
him up to a place of 'Zero Resistance Living'. And like
the Remington Razor guy, Matt liked the product so
much he bought the company too. See what I'm
talking about at:

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

P.S.S. Matt is also one of the great fitness minds of
this or any other century. Drawing upon his athletic
experiences and priceless secrets of both Eastern and
Western thought Matt teaches health and fitness that
really works. No BS, no PC, no fluff, no drugs - just
practical results the way nature intended that will
make your life better and more productive. If you
appreciate someone who tells it like it is, and who
won't waste your time sprint on over now to:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006

Don't Come Up Short Again

As songwriter Randy Newman reminds us:

Well, I don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
Don't want no short people
`Round here

It's a prejudice that's not fair to the 'little people'
God created, but most people hate to be short,
don't they?

I've never heard anybody described as short,
dark, and handsome, and coming upshort means
you're broke.

And what's the most hated shot in basketball?
That's right, the air ball.The shot that comes
up short.

Hopefully you don't shoot too many air balls
anymore, but if your shot comes up short on a
regular basis what can you do about it?

If you're point of focus is the front of the rim,
that will do it sometimes. Practice aiming for
the center of the rim.

And Bob Topp who works with Ed Stahl of
www.shot-doctor.com says there are there 3
other ways your shot will come up short.

One is gripping the ball by the ends of your
fingers instead of off all the finger pads of the
hand. That causes the ball to have too much
backspin and lose power.

There should be a gap where the center of the
palm is and the heel of the hand should be off
the ball, but the rest of the hand stays in contact
with the basketball.

Also if your shot is falling short you can have a
follow through problem. One comes from
dropping the hands too soon. Holding the follow
through till the ball hits thebasket helps with that.

The other common flaw is called string pulling,
seen when the shooting arm recoils back instead
of locking straight at the elbow. Pay attention to
these factors if you tend to shoot short, and you
will see improvement. I tried it out myself last
night in my shoot around practice. It makes
quite a difference.

Shoot for the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Listening to Randy Newman probably won't
help your shooting any, but you can actually put
yourself in a positive, winning frame of mind just
based on the music you listen to.

Fortunately I've discovered the secret to releasing
the power of music through a dear friend - Tania
Gabrielle French. Tania is a performer and composer
who's works have been played around the world.

You're not going to believe your ears how much
benefit has been scientifically proven to come from
the right music. It's not secret anymore though if
you dance on over to:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006