Lethal Weapon II

Back to the Wissel vs. Nordland shootout.

I think Hal's DVD's are best for more mature,
stronger shooters. It could be appropriate for
girls who are long-limbed or just stronger than
average though. I think the younger you are
the less likely it would be for you. I'd want to
see you be able to start your shot above eye
level first.

Also his DVD's only show he and his sons
working with NBA players and prospects, and
no women or young people are involved.

I think Tom's system is best for the young
person who's set point needs to be below eye-
level to generate enough power. He also has
plenty of younger boys and girls taking part
in his videos.

In both systems most of your power comes
from the stable muscles of your lower body.
Then your goal is to keep the upper body as
relaxed as if you were shooting a 3 - 5 foot
shot. Obviously, the further out you move
the more leg you put into it.

So if it were my daughter the winner would
have to be Coach Tom Nordland and Swish 2
which you can scarf up for your daughter
now at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. That doesn't mean I think any less of Hal's
materials though. If you have the strength and
leverage for it, and you put in the time, it will
give you a quick-release accurate jumpshot that
works in most game time situations, and Hal
teaches the footwork to match.

And you're in luck you can pick up a copy today
at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006,2007

This blog is protected by copyright with all rights
reserved, but you do have permission to copy and
use entries in their entirety as long as the links are
intact and this footer is included.

Coach Dean Delker
8413 SW 4th Place
Gainesville, FL 32607
352-494-6572

dean@deandelker.com
www.deandelker.com

Be A Lethal Weapon

A reader last week asked what shooting DVD I'd
recommend for his high school freshman daughter
who's playing on the varsity and has had several
years experience on a traveling AAU team. From
that I take it she's probably not bad shooter now,
but she wants to be a lethal weapon from the
outside.

Actually the father's words were 'to be a more
consistent shooter from the outside'. I added the
lethal weapon part just for the raw sensationalism
of it all. And of course if she can shoot lights out
there's a much better chance there's a scholarship
in her future. That makes spending $$$$ on DVD's
a fantastic investment doesn't it, Dad?

Without seeing a video of her shooting I'm
handicapped, but here are my thoughts on a Hal
Wissel vs. Tom Nordland shootout. Believe me
both can work, and work extremely well, but there
are differences.

Hal has you squaring up with feet even and facing
the basket. Then you position the ball held high
over your shooting shoulder, i.e. to the side of the
head. This allows the elbow to stay aligned with
the arm and keep the hand square to the basket
all the way through the shooting motion.

That provides built-in consistency, accuracy, and
power to your stroke. The hand is less likely to
twist, but it does means the eye sees the target at
a different angle than you are shooting. You have
to triangulate. Your mind makes the adjustment,
and you don't even notice it after awhile, but that
does take work.

So the stroke might tend be more consistent, but
the left-right targeting less so.

Tom Nordland's Swish 2 system has you to turn
slightly to the basket. If you are right handed your
lead foot will be ahead of the follower and point as
much as 45 degrees to the left.

This lets you line up eye, hand, and basket for
better targeting. Younger shooters and girls may
need to sight over the ball while stronger shooters
with a set point over the eyes will sight from under
the ball.

Turning slightly makes it easier to keep the hand
perpendicular to the basket through the stroke.
Note the elbow won't be tucked in like some have
taught in the past. That actually takes the hand
past vertical. The elbow will naturally flare out
some. Not too much because then the hand is not
vertical in the other direction. If you're doing it
right the index finger will stay straight up and
down through the shot.

So left-right targeting comes much more naturally
with Tom's Swish method, And the shooting motion
still allows you to keep a relaxed upper body and
the shooting hand square to the basket.

Next time I'll finish up my analysis and let you
know my recommendations.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. While you're working on your shot make
sure you learn how to be a top-notch scorer
too. It's more than just pure pure shooting.

Coach Patrick Chylinski has compiled a bunch
of tricks of the trade he learned in high school,
college, and playing pro ball in Europe into a
41 page e-report you can download and get
started on right away.

He averaged 29 points a game in the pro's and
knows what he's talking about. You'll be talking
too, and walking the walk when you start using
Patrick's game-tested sure shots today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/20ppg.html

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006,2007

This blog is protected by copyright with all rights
reserved, but you have permission to copy and
use this entry in its entirety as long as the links
are intact and this footer is included.

Coach Dean Delker
8413 SW 4th Place
Gainesville, FL 32607 USA
352-494-6572 Phone

http://www.deandelker.com/
dean@deandelker.com

Get The Most Out Of Your Team Picture

You'll never get much of a chance to shoot if you
don't have good administrative support for your
team. If you are coaching at a school here's a
great tip for you. And if you are a player you can
suggest this to your coach.

ALWAYS have your athletic director and/or
principal in your team picture . Tell them several
days in advance to make sure their time is freed
up, but I guarantee they'll appreciate it and love
you.

After you get the picture back buy a nice frame,
put the picture in it, and have your team make a
big deal of going and giving it to the AD and
principal. I'll bet they put the pics up on their
office walls.

Coach Billy Gillispie, Head Basketball Coach at
Texas A&M University gave me this tip through
retired Texas Coach Duane Silver. He says last
year one coach he knows did this, and the lady
principal started crying.

After she calmed down enough she said in 30
years as a principal no one had ever asked her
before to be in the team picture. It meant the
world to her.

That's how to get the most out of your team
picture, and it emphasizes the "Power of We" to
your team. Besides it being good school politics,
it is also a nice subtle lesson in the value of
teamwork and honoring those who support you.

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. You can also build tremendous unity and
chemistry if your whole team feels they can shoot
the rock. Some will always excel more, but if your
least-skilled player is confident shooting don't you
think they'll work that much harder on the rest of
their game?

Coach Tom Nordland has designed the recently
published Swish 2 DVD to teach you not only a top
notch shooting stroke, but also how to teach
shooting to others. Catch Tom's vision today and
watch your team soar at:

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

Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

What Icing Can Teach You

I'm not talking about that rule in hockey I don't
really understand. I'm thinking of when coaches
call time outs to"ice" the shooter in critical
freethrow situations.

You can use that to remember two simple tips from
Shot Doctor Basketball Camp instructor Bob Topp
(coachtopp@verizon.net)

Bob and most shooting coaches teach some variation
of what he calls "lift and freeze"

"Lift" means simply to get the elbow above the
eyebrow for good arc on the ball.

"Freeze" means to hold the follow through in place
until the ball hits the basket.

And when you're practicing, why don't you go ahead
and speak those words out loud to remind yourself
what you're doing and why.

Those two simple things help keep shots from
clanging long off the back rim with too shallow a
trajectory, and from falling short because the hands
drop too soon.

Easy to explain, but you have to get out and practice
to make it yours. - To really own it and make it
automatic.

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. If you haven't seen it yet Coach Tom Nordland
has a section in his Swish 1 DVD where he shoots with
his eyes closed. You can find out how it's done today
at:

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

Make Every Shot Count

Lets Bounce

I saw a question in a coaching forum recently about
a youngster who wasn't getting good rotation on the
ball. The kid was shooting a knuckleball.

Good even backspin gives your ball a gyroscopic
effect which helps itl fly more true. Just like a
rotating bicycle wheel keeps your bike upright.

Coach Tom Nordland chimed in on this one and
here's what he had to say:

"I advocate a pushing action with relaxed wrist and
hand. The arm motion is a full extension with the
elbow locking and with relaxed wrist and hand
[done at the] same speed every time. The ball will
then roll off the fingertips the same every time.

Have him practice relaxing the wrist and hand
without a ball at first. Just straighten the arm
upward and let the hand bounce. Then add a ball
and have him shoot to a partner or the wall,
working on relaxing those smaller muscles.

It will be difficult at first since he's probably been
programmed to 'flick his wrist.' Then take him to
a basket and see if he can do the same thing. With
practice and awareness with feedback, he'll learn
this.

It's really very simple. What this gives is
'repeatability', and it takes control away from the
smaller, more variable, fast-twitch muscles of the
wrist, hand and fingers.

This is not something I made up. Watch the great
shooters out there and almost all of them (maybe
all) have a relaxed wrist and hand. Their hands will
'bounce' [or flop loosely] a bit in the follow through
which means the wrist is relaxed.

You may have to see the shot in slow motion on TV
to really see what's happening. If you flick the wrist
it's easy to fire the ball a bit long or short, a bit left or
right. Those small muscles just aren't reliable.

As with all of my coaching I ask you to experiment
with what I say. Deliberately flick your wrist and see
how accurate and consistent you are. Then change to
more of an upward 'push and flop' as I describe it with
relaxed wrist and hand and see what you get.

If you straighten your arm at the same speed every
time (about 70% of max) note how that gives you a
simple, consistent, and repeatable shot motion. The
main power comes from the legs as you shoot on the
way up. To control distance vary the arch of the shot
not the release."

Wow, you can take that advice to the bank. If you
want to know more about Coach Nordland's original
simple shooting system on DVD which has sold over
40,000 copies world-wide it's time to relax that
wrist now and click on:

http://www.deandelker.com/swish1.html

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. In the seven years since Swish 1 was published
Coach Nordland has continued to learn more about
how to shoot most effectively, and earlier this year
he came out with version 2 of his Swish System. You
get all the same info as on the original with more
detail, more explanation, more examples, and more
drills. It's like getting two for the price of one.

It's so good a coach could use it to teach his whole
team better shooting. See for yourself what I mean
at:

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

Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Gluttons For Punishment

My friend Speed Coach Tim Kauppinen from
Badgerland Central showed me something today
that really needs repeating. I believe the majority
of coaches in most sports do something all the
time that is stupid.

I've done it myself many a time.

And "it" is to use suicides, wind sprints, running
laps, and running stairs as punishments for
goofing off, not paying attention, or losing a
drill.

There's no question the offenders get better
conditioned, but at what price?

Think about it. Why would you want to plant
negative associations in their minds with a top
notch opportunity to get stronger and faster?
Do you think they are going to want to do extra
punishment on their own outside of practice?
Do you think they will do hill or stair sprints in
the off- season to get better. Not likely.

What if you were to put sprinting drills in a
place of honor in your practices. Maybe only
let your achievers have the time to do extras.
It would be controversial, but think how you
could change the mindset of your team.

What do Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Marcus
Allen, Junior Seau, Curtis Martin, Simeon Rice,
and Lance Armstrong know that the average
athlete doesn't?

There's an huge edge to be gained doing uphill
sprints.

Maybe you need to look at the studies that show
the benefits of uphill sprinting. Coach Tim is
ready to help you out today at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. It's Homecoming this weekend here in
GatorLand, and there's always something
very powerful about coming home. There's
a way to shoot hoops that makes you feel
right at home. Let Coach Tom Nordland show
you how that is done today at:

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

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

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

Can I Get An Update

In my Clark Kent day job I am a computer systems
administrator at the University of Florida. Whenever
we get a call at our Help Desk one of the first
questions we ask is:

"Have your updates been done recently?"

We do the updating automatically for most of our
systems, but if a user has his computer turned off
during the update window, they can miss it. And
missing it can be disastrous. It's a big security risk.

Not getting the latest updates on the art and science
of shooting hoops can severely affect you too. I am
all for learning and practicing the fundamentals, but
sometimes people do come up with a better way.

I started playing tennis when I was 6 because we
lived about a block from the city tennis courts.
Every summer a wonderful old soul from the YMCA
named Doc Hosbach would organize older kids to
teach tennis lessons to the youngsters, sell discount
equipment, organize games, and tournaments, etc.

I was pretty good and was runner-up in the 14 &
under city-wide tournament when I was 11. Soon
after we moved, and I never was able to put the
same amount of time in it as I had when I was
younger, but I still have good strokes, and a
surprisingly good serve.

I took some lessons a couple of years ago though,
to try to get back in the groove, and found my
basic strokes were older than old school. It was
like a 2 handed set shot is to basketball. With the
new techniques though the forehand now is much,
much more powerful and more versitile than it
ever was before.

So even if you have good fundamentals you still
might need an update or two in your shooting
technique.

But other times there are old skills that have
been forgotten, and need to be brought back into
the light. Matt Furey's revival of "Catch As Catch
Can" wrestling from the turn of the century
wrestlers like Farmer Burns is an example.

Please don't ever get where you think you know it
all, and can't learn anything anymore. Coach Tom
Nordland didn't sit back on his laurels when his Swish
video became a best-seller 9 years ago. He kept on
refining his shooting system and learn more. Finally
he had figured out so much more, he had to come out
with a new DVD, Swish 2. If you don't have it yet
you could be losing out in a big way.

See how you can get double the bang for your buck
today at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. I love to get feedback on what you are learning,
and the kind of results you are getting. Thanks to
all who've written me already at
dean@deandelker.com


Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

The Fire That Doesn't Consume

It's getting close to basketball season again, and
today I was reminiscing about my high school
days. Holy Name Catholic High School in
Henderson, Kentucky was a tiny school. There
were 41 in my senior class.

In those days in sports there was no such thing as
classifications. You played everybody, and we had
success far beyond what anyone could have
expected in most years. And it all started with a
gym that was one of the biggest and best in our
region. That included schools with 10 - 15 times
our enrollment.

How was that possible?

Through a burning desire to win.

As a private school we were willing to invest in
ourselves so we could play with the big boys. We
believed in our school, our coaches, our players.
It's what we called in those days "school spirit",
which really was a "winning spirit". We wanted to
win, and we were willing to do what it took for
that to happen.

In the first part of the 20th century Andrew
Carnegie commissioned a young man named
Napolean Hill to interview hundreds of successful
people from all walks of life to find the common
elements of success.

Mr. Hill wrote a book about his findings called
"Think And Grow Rich" which has become a
self-help classic. It is a great read, and contrary
to popular belief it applies to much more than
money. It's about riches of all kinds.

And Napolean Hill says the starting point for all
achievement is having a burning desire. That's
where the "winning spirit" get's it's fuel.

Have you ever thought about your passions and
your burning desires? If not, make some time
this week to do that.

If one is to be a great shooter I'm very excited
about your future. You have the right stuff. If
you learn how to keep feeding that fire you'll
shoot with the stars.

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Just as you invest time in practicing your shot,
don't forget to feed the fire by build up your shooting
IQ too. A great way to do that is with Coach Tom
Nordlands's comprehensive double length Swish 2
DVD. It's a true bargain at:

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

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

This Is Not A Toyota Commercial

Keep moving forward.

In spite of the similarities no, this is not a Toyota
commercial.

I was on a call recently with Dr. Tom Hanson, a
sports psychologist who has worked with the NY
Yankees, other baseball teams, and numerous
Fortune 500 companies. He's written several
books, and is finishing up a high-powered course
on developing confidence, whatever you do.

Of course you know how important confidence is
to shooting so count on me in on wanting to feature
Tom's course when it's out.

Tom was mountain climbing once out in Colorado,
and found himself climbing a sheer face with a
group. He got to a point where though where fear
absolutely took over and he said the rock looked to
him like an ice rink turned up on edge. He was
paralyzed and couldn't move, freaking out.

The leader from above finally got his attention and
got him to calm down enough to listen, and told him
this:

"Tom, look down at your feet and tell me which one
is higher."

"The left one", he yelled back after being scared to
look for awhile.

"Good. What I want you to do is take your right foot
and move it higher than the left one."

"O.K. Got it."

"Now what I want you to do is take your left foot and
move it higher than the right one. Can you do that,
Tom?"

"O.K. Sure."

"Now Tom I need you to take your right foot and
move it higher than your left one. Can you do that
for me, Tom?"

"Yes, sir."

Well Tom's not still on the side of that mountain so
you know the rest of the story.

Sometimes fear is so paralyzing it's all you can do
to put one foot in front of the other, but most of the
time that's all you need to do.

Keep moving forward.

Shoot for The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. If you have been stymied in your dream
of becoming a great shooter now is the perfect
time to start moving forward again. This time
you can come armed with info from one of the
best shooting coaches on the planet.

Let Coach Tom Nordland nurture your dream
with his new shooting DVD. Swish 2 is the
culmination of 7 years of refinements he's made
to the original Swish Shooting Method, and that
is an international best-seller. The new volume
is filled with more fundamentals and more
practical drills than ever before. In fact, absorb
this material, and you'd be qualified to coach
other shooters.

Take the first step now by hustling on over to:

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

You Need Never Lose Again

Coach John Wooden says you are never defeated
till you start blaming someone else.

That's when you become a victim, and you'll never
even look for the creative ideas and actions that
would bring you victory.

So if you don't ever want to lose again start taking
responsibility for what happens in your life. There
is real magic in that.

Even if the scoreboard sometimes says your team
lost, you will still be a winner because you will learn
from that situation and always get better if you are
owning your experience.

I know that is short and simple, but I can't think of
any other way to say it.

Try putting this into practice though and let me know
how it goes. You'll never go back to whining,
complaining, and blaming.

Coach Tom Nordland teaches awareness and taking
responsibility for your shooting as well as any coach I
know. See what is possible with his new Swish II DVD
today at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Coach Stan Kellner's Ultimate Shooting Method
DVD will also give you the tools you need to take
ownership of your shooting. When that happens
you're well on your way to becoming a shooting
machine.

Who are you? I'm a shooting machine. Got it?

Now you can order this powerful success magnet
today at:

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