It's Easier Than You Think

Have you ever played the party game,

'He Who Knows, And Knows He Knows'?

It's a bit of a mysterious game and has to be
done in a quiet room. The ringleader starts it
off without much explanation and announces:

'He who knows, and knows he knows, please
leave the room!'

Before long someone who is in on it gets up and
leaves the room. The moderator then singles
out one person. Usually someone left in the
room but it could be the guesser too. The
missing person is expected to come back and
and pick out the person who was singled out.

Those in the 'know' can get it right 100% of the
time. The others sit there frustrated, trying to
figure out the trick - what signal is being sent,
what the triggering event is, or what the heck
is going on, period.

People will think they have it figured out and
volunteer to leave the room, come back and try
out their ideas. Usually without success, till
suddenly they figure it out, and after that
they're in on it forever.

I won't tell you the trick in case you ever get
to play the game, but I will tell you once you
figure it out, it's so incredibly simple you have
to laugh.

Shooting is that way too.

Ed Palubinskas originally from Australia who
played at LSU is one of the greatest shooters
and shooting coaches in the world.

He missed three freethrows in shooting
competitions over a 15 year period once, holds
several Guinness world records, and averages
over 99% from the line and 92% from the
3-point arc still today.

Ed talks about 'Mastering The Shooting
Moment'. I talk a lot about concentration, and
from the feedback I've gotten some people are
misunderstanding the concept. They think it's
something like being in a trance for a half hour.
Or it's racheting up your willpower to crazy
levels.

It's not at all. Concentration is a relaxation
which lets things that lets everything that
doesn't matter to your current task fall away.
It's the opposite of trying too hard. It's trying
easy.

Once you know the trick to shooting - Once
you've figured it out. Once you've found that
groove, shooting almost becomes easy. Where
that place is there's a natural relaxation and it
feels right.

Now get this. Ed told me you really only need
to concentrate for about 5/100's of a second.

The 5/100's of a second during the release of
the basketball.

That's how a good shooter can come down the
court with chaos all around him and still get
off a sweet shot. He doesn't need to concentrate
for 20 seconds. He just has to find that rim, be
in balance, relaxed, and concentrate for the split
second of the release.

Of course learning the best mechanics will give
you a way to achieve that concentrated
relaxation at the right time. Put it together
and it is well within your power to get into the
90th percentile from the free throw stripe.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Stan Kellner teaches much the same idea
in his shooting cybernetics DVD when he has
you focus on the word 'Feel'. That means both
the release feels right, and you also already
feel the ball going into the hoop.

Learn how to let your mind become a
targeting machine today at:

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

P.S.S. Ed has his wonderful shooting program on
VHS tape which is a classic. I hope he'd re-issues
it in DVD soon and gives me permission to carry it.
Till then you can find it all at:

http://www.freethrowmaster.com/Freethrow/

Note: This entry is protected by copyright, but
I encourage you copy and share it freely.
Please just include the whole message including
links and my contact information. Thanks a ton.

Dump Your Junk

Can you pitch your junk mail without reading it?

Most people can.

There are curiosity junkies who're afraid they
might miss something valuable. It's tough for
them. But even those people probably could
if they knew there was a reward involved.

There is. If you can pitch it, you can concentrate
like me.

All I do is relax with slow, deep, complete
breathing and focus on a thought I want to hold.
My goal is to get to where I can focus on that one
thought and let all others flash by. I see them as
junk mail I don't want to open. The postman may
deliver it, but I don't have to open it.

Not that these other thoughts are all junk, but if
they don't contribute to my focusing thought I
want to let them drift away for the moment.

To get started I sit comfortably, take a couple of
deep slow breaths while relaxing my body. I start
with the feet, move up to the calves, quads and
hamstrings, glutes, abs, back, chest, shoulders,
arms, hands, neck and head.

Try it.

Don't worry how good you are. You'll get better
with practice and be able to relax almost at will.

Then focus on a thought, idea, or mental image
and begin to let go of all the other thoughts that
will bombard you. Keep your breathing nice and
relaxed.

Start with 5 minutes and build up to 15 or more,
and you will be growing your power of
concentration every day.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Hey, I just learned how to breathe this week.
Stay tuned the next couple of weeks, and I'll have
something to show you what I mean. If you can
take your eyes off of March Madness that is.

P.S.S. Coach Tony Alfonso has poured a lifetime
of experience at training ballers into his new 137
page Strength & Speed Training manual. If you
or your program can't afford a dedicated strength
and conditioning coach Tony's book will lay out
exactly what you need to do to get better.

And it's filled with workouts for all phases of the
basketball year: in-season, post-season, pre-
season, off-season/summer and everything in
between.

If you need more strength, flexibility, quickness,
speed, explosiveness, stamina, or toughness let
Tony show you how it's done right at:

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

Note: This blog entry is protected by copyright with
all rights reserved, but you do have permission to
copy and use it in its entirety as long as the links are
intact and the contact information is included.

Copyright 2006,2007 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

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

dean@deandelker.com
www.deandelker.com

Feng Shui Your Mind

For awhile there I couldn't turn around without
somebody throwing Feng Shui in my face. I got
sick of it. My teenage daughters and all their
friends were really into it, for example.

For those of you who have been living under a
rock the last couple of years Feng Shui is the
ancient art of creating an environment which
has a positive, peaceful, supportive energy.
By using space, placing objects, being aware of
colors, textures, lines of sight, etc. you can
create a more emotionally uplifting place to
live or work.

Think of it as the opposite of clutter. In order
for energy to flow powerfully, and for your
space to support your mental and emotional
well-being the clutter must be cleared.

It is good to know a lost art like this can be
revived because we all want to revive the lost
art of shooting too. For that to happen a
related skill needs to be reborn, and that is
concentration or focus.

Without that don't expect to get anything near
the results you want in any area. Success
depends on concentrated effort. As the Bible
puts it, 'a double-minded man is unstable in all
his ways.' So if you've been plagued by
inconsistency lately concentration is probably
what you've been lacking.

The key is not just eliminating clutter from your
environment, but from your mind and heart too.
In the days ahead I'll help you work on that.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Any exercises that give you better control of
your body help you also control your mind and
build concentration. That's one reason I've
always recommended the deep breathing and
controlled bodyweight exercises taught by Matt
Furey (www.mattfurey.com) and for women
Eddie Baran (www.eddiebaran.com).

Mindlessly exercising is one of the worst things
you can do for any sport. It makes you dumb
and dumber. Now though I've found a basketball
conditioning program that works on everything
you need to be a force on the basketball court.

If you want to develop superior strength, better
footwork, increased agility, insane explosiveness,
and rock-solid core power. Coach Tony Alfonso
has designed a superior, year-round conditioning
program just for basketball players. It's available
as a downloadable e-book now at:

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

Get started now and make a difference for
summer league play or for next season.

Note: 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 the contact information is
included.

Copyright 2006,2007 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

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

dean@deandelker.com
www.deandelker.com

My Tips Are Worthless

My shooting tips are worthless.

Yeah, that's what I said.

My advice sucks. So does Tom Nordland's, Hal
Wissel's, Stan Kellner's, Ed Palubinskas', Dave
Hopla's, Ted St. Martin's, & Dick Baumgartner's.
I'm leaving many great one's out, but any shot
coach you can name.

It's all a bunch of hooey if you don't have one
super important factor going for you.

You must develop FOCUS.

Deep concentrated FOCUS.

And to be a great you must maintain it for long
stretches of time.

This goes hand-in-hand with 'taking action' which
I know you've had preached to you more times
than you can count.

Taking action is critical, but what most people
don't think about is taking scattered, random,
inconsistent action is almost as useless as taking
no action at all.

My experience is it's much better to focus on one
action until you become proficient at it than it is to
scatter your energy by flirting with many tasks.
You might think you're getting more done the
second way, but it's just not true.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. One way to develop your power of concentration
and focus is through the exercises you got when you
signed up for this list. Dig them back out, or you can
find them again at:

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

Put in time daily practicing these exercises and
your ability to concentrate will begin to astound
you. It will certainly help your shooting, but you
get a double bonus because I can't think of
anything in your life it won't also help.

P.P.S. Focus is also one of the secrets of how to
average 20 points a game as explained by personal
coach Patrick Chylinski in his hot-selling e-report.

For instance, during the first few minutes of a game
players are still getting warmed up and getting into
the action. If you can hit a few buckets early, before
everybody else is really into the game, you've
established a good foundation for a big scoring night.
Focus will do that for you.

Find out what else to focus on to become a prime-
time scorer today at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006,2007

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

Thanks a million.

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

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

The Game of Concentration

If you're a shooter you know the value of focus and
concentration better than most people. It is
foundational to what you do.

One of my childhood memories is "Concentration"
a game show on TV. I remember Hugh Downs was
the host for a good while. I was good at the game,
but not great. One thing I did figure out around that
time was the harder I tried to concentrate the worse
I did.

Today I was reminded why.

I was reading Chapter 17 in the "The Master Key"
by Charles Haanel where it says:

"Concentration is much misunderstood; there seems
to be an idea of effort or activity associated with it
when just the contrary is necessary. The greatness
of an actor lies in the fact he forgets himself in his
character, becoming so identified with it that the
audience is swayed by the realism of his
performance.

This will give you a good idea of true concentration.
You should be so interested in your thought, so
engrossed in your subject or your action as to be
conscious of nothing else."

So the key is to focus without mustering up artificial
willpower by striving and straining. It can't be done
by trying harder. In shooting you want to lose your
self-consciousness and immerse yourself in the pure
shot falling through the basket.

It's a little hard to describe unless you're a
professional like Coach Stan Kellner who's been
helping players lock into hoops concentration for
30 years.

If you hurry you can see him work his magic on
DVD in your own living room in a matter of days by
cruising on over to:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Coach Stan has a chapter in his book "Beyond
The Absolute Limit" where he teaches you to
befriend your ball and the rim. Kids have been told
to carry their ball with them at all times and get to
know it like a friend, but that's only half the
equation.

Make the rim your friend too so it quits being an
obstacle to be conquered, and becomes a buddy who
welcomes your ball into its cozy net.

Sounds crazy doesn't it, but it's precisely the kind of
change of focus that can work wonders. Besides what
do you care how crazy it sounds if it works? Try it for
yourself now at:

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

Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

What Can Focus Do For You

I don't hear a lot of people talking about the virtues
of concentration and focus. It's something I think
most people associate with things that require
extreme concentration like tightrope walking.

The truth is for any kind of athlete though focus
can be invaluable. It will allow you to:

-> Defeat teams with greater athleticism

-> Perform with more consistently by not drifting
mentally in and out

-> Perform when it matters most, like free throws
in crunch time.

-> Work smarter in practices and in the off season

-> Block out adversity and distractions

With the ability to focus on the moment an athlete
can get in a mental state which will let his or her
physical ability be maximized. What people call
"being in the zone".

The value of focus for a shooter is obvious, but the
ability to concentrate and get in the zone where
your mind doesn't interfere with what you've
been trained to do is a skill everybody needs so
keep practicing your sitting still routine. It's a
good start.

Get another good start putting your focus to best
use by spending time with Coach Stan Kellner on
his "How To Become A Prime-Time Shooting
Machine" DVD. Learn how to use your mind at it's
fullest in shooting a basketball today at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Don't forget to have fun too. Did you know
you can exercise and compete with an inner and
outer smile, and it helps take your performanc to
a another level. Learn how to supercharge your
conditioning today at:

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

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

How To Focus Like A Star

The great athletes of our time, people like Michael
Jordan, Joe Montana, and Carl Lewis, all had
amazing physical abilities (strength, stamina, and
quickness).

But as the true elite of the sporting world, this
group also displayed another trait that separated
them from even the very talented opponents they
faced: the power to concentrate and focus on the
task at hand.

Patrick Chylinski

How would you develop focus and concentration
like that?

Would you believe me if I told you there were
several simple steps you can take to get started?

First, don't forget the concentration exercises you
got for signing up on this list. They are deceptively
powerful. Did you read over them and say I ought
to try these some day?

Dig them back up and start practicing for 15
minutes a day, more if you can. Let yourself relax
and flow with your surroundings. Experience the
growing power of your focus. You can find the
exercises again at:

www.deandelker.com/concentration_exercises.html

A second simple way to develop focus is to change
the way you train and work out. Start paying
attention moment to moment when you are
exercising. Pay attention to your breathing. Count
your breaths. Count your reps, count your steps.

Coach Tim Kauppinen suggests for example, when
you run hill sprints, you pay close attention to your
steps as you move up the hill or stairs.
Counting in your head will cause you to focus on the
pace - not how hard it is to sprint up the hill.

Counting is a great technique because it keeps the
conscious mind busy and allows the subconscious to
come to the forefront. That allows deeper learning
and body/mind integration to take place. Exercise
is really productive when that happens.

When you are shooting try paying attention to
various factors and see how each affects your shot.
One time pay attention to the leg drive you're using.
Another time focus on arm angle and follow through.

One of the best focus factors I've found is Stan
Kellner's three power shooting words - See, Feel, &
Yes. Focusing on them frees you up to produce a
smooth, rhythmic, accurate shot. Try it. I know
you'll like it. And it's fully explained on Stan's
Prime-Time Shooting DVD at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Don't forget Stan's "Beyond The Absolute
Limit" book either. It is applied basketball
cybernetics at it's best. Pound for pound I think
there's more powerful information in this book
than in any I've read. Pick it up today at:

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

It's Your life - Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Sit Still, Junior

How many times has your mother or a teacher
ever told you to sit still? Remember that?

Well, that's exactly what I'm going to ask you to
do in a minute, but for a far different reason.
You were probably embarrassing your mother.
We're going to work on developing your power
of focus.

This will help any and all of us, but if you happen
to be what some would call ADHD or hyper, this
may be tough, but you will benefit the most from it.

First I want you to do a simple deep breathing
exercise to put you in a more laid-back, reflective
state.

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with hands
at your sides. Inhale to a 4-count while you lift
your arms up and out with palms facing up till
fingertips meet overhead with palms down. Then
exhale to a 6-count while pressing hands down
like you're squeezing air out of your lungs.
Repeat till you feel more relaxed.

Now sit in a comfortable chair and see how still
you can be. This is not as easy as it sounds. You
will have to center your attention to sitt still.
Watch and see that you are not making any
involuntary muscular movements. With a little
practice you will find you can sit still for 15
minutes. At first I advise 5 though. After you
are able to keep perfectly still, increase
the time. But never strain yourself.
You want to be relaxed.

Also try doing the breathing exercise before you
start your shooting practice. See if your focus isn't
better.

Stan Kellner teaches you how to use focus as the
first step in his Ultimate Shooting Method DVD.
If you've wondered how your form can look good,
but you still miss too many shots Stan has the
answers for you. Hint: It's all in your head, but
don't take my word for it. See the new Stan the
Man at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. It also takes a lot of focus and concentration
to close the graduated resistance hand grippers
available from strongman extraordinaire John
Wood.

Have you gotten yours yet? Talk about a work-
out that is fun, but practical. Strong hands will
make you a winner, hands down. See how today
at:

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

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

What You Can Learn From Cats

I'm not talking about "Cats" the musical, as good
as that is. And I love musicals, but I'm interested
in the real animals tonight.

Big cats.

Lion, tiger, leopard, and cheetah cats.

'Eye of the Tiger' from Rocky III is a lot more than
just the #1 song of 1982. In our culture now it
represents the essence of single-minded focus and
desire. Interesting too it was sung by a group called,
"Survivor".

Is there any better picture of concentration and
focus than that of a hungry lion or tiger stalking
it's prey?

And you know why?

Because there's no welfare line for lions.

The big cat concentrates because he has to. His
survival depends on it. He doesn't want to go
hungry.

Most of the time though we humans concentrate
because we choose to.

And to be a great basketball shooter you have to
have the hunger and focus of a lion. You have to
feel your very survival is at stake, because desire
and 'want to' are what separate the pretenders
from true champions.

Not just in the fancy arenas in front of big crowds
either. In the hot sweaty cracker box gym you
shoot in. In the early morning hours when you get
100 shots in before breakfast. That's how winners
are made. It's a tried and true formula.

You can increase your hunger for shooting though
by feasting on video of astounding marksman like
Dr. Hal Wissel's son Paul.

See him almost will the ball in the basket with
perfect form while sitting in a chair at the 3 point
line in Hal's "Confidence, Rythm, and Mechanics"
fundamental of shooting DVD. See him shoot like
his life depends on it, and you can't help want to
do the same.

And see him shoot off the dribble, off the pass, off
the curl, and in the post from all angles in Hal's
second, advanced shooting DVD.

See it, believe it, and do it yourself at:

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

Shoot for the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Stan Kellner has a drill in his "Beyond The
Absolute Limit" book called "Bear-Offs" which
develops hunger, aggressiveness and intensity
in all types of players almost overnight.

I won't give it away, but no physical contact is
involved. It starts by pairing up polite, reserved
players with more intense ones and ends with
both shouting "I Am A Beast" over an over
again to the cheers of all their teammates.

And see ordinary shooters become beasts to
be rekonned with on Stan's "Prime-Time
Shooting Machine" DVD too.

If you want to get the most out of yourself and
those you work with, don't miss any of Stan's
genius methods at:

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

It's Your Life - Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.