But Can You Dance To It

If you are old enough to have seen American
Bandstand on television, and you know Dick
Clark is more than just Mr. New Year's Eve.
He was Mr. Pop Music for years broadcasting out
of Philadelphia every afternoon in the beginning,
then Saturday mornings on ABC later.

One of the always popular segments of the show
was always when he'd take two volunteers from
the audience and have them listen to several
brand new records and rate them for all the
world to hear.

Like a "Hot or Not" for new music.

Inevitably though when they didn't like a tune,
the biggest complaint was what?

'You can't dance to it'

Like most good things in life it had to have that
swing or it wasn't worth a thing.

Your shooting has to have a rhythm too or it
won't be worth a hoot. There's an obvious beat
to the dribble, but the same is true of a good
jump shot, reverse layup, dunk, runner, and
baby hook. It's your job is to find that rhythm
in practice and be able to find it again in
warmups and during your games.

Defenses will do their best to create chaos and
knock you out of rhythm, but if you lock into it
like a great drummer and not let it go you can
become almost unstoppable.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. I've been reading a new book by Scott
Jaimet called "The Perfect Jumpshot" and it
definitely lives up to it's name. The picture
perfect jumpshot feels good to your body. In
the best of senses it is addictive, and there's
no reason you can't learn it with the help of
this book.

Keep tuned. I'll be sharing tidbits from the
book and show you where you can get it soon.

P.S.S. I'm still editing the report on the
Complete Breath, and it's coming along nicely.
If you're impatient though you could go ahead
and read Patrick Chylinski's tricks-of-the-trade
bestseller on "How To Average 20 Points A
Game".

One of his secrets is to show your teeth from
the tipoff. Let your defender know he's in for
a long night because you know what you're
doing.

You can't be passive. So here let me toss the
ball up, and, oh look, it's tipped to you. Now
run out and order Patrick's book today at:

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

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.

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

Whither Strength

Where does strength for shooting come from?

Dr. Hal Wissel says it comes from the rhythm of
your down & up leg motion. So do most shooting
coaches. No matter what they call it leg drive is
of primo importance.

Leg drive lets you keep your upper body relaxed.
Coach Gary Groharing of the Strictly Shooting
camps in the metro Chicago area calls it 'soft on top.'

The kinetic chain of events in getting that power up
thru the legs into the shot is also critical. Everything
needs to go down together and everything needs to
come up together. The better both halves work
together the smoother and more accurate the shot is.

So shooting strength is much more than arm and
shoulder strength. Leg strength is also a must, and
you have to have a solid mid-section. Core strength
is what you need to transfer your leg power through
to the upper body and to the ball.

Does that mean I recommend running out and doing
Pilates every day? That might not be a bad idea, but
it's not very convenient. You need something you
can do every day, at home or in a hotel room without
any bulky or expensive equipment.

My friend Matt Furey has the perfect answer for you.
Matt has developed an intense daily bodyweight
program for building leg, core, and upper body strength.
And it does this while integrating mind and body and
building endurance and flexibility. And it doesn't take
hours to do either.

Matt's book 'Combat Conditioning' is an international
bestseller which combines Eastern wisdom with
powerful breathing and natural wholistic muscle
building. The result is a body that works together,
and it will provide a great foundation for becoming a
shooter.

See what it can do for you today at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Sign up on Matt's opt-in email list, and find out
how you can get "Combat Conditioning" free for
taking a 1 month test drive in Matt's Inner Circle.
You will be estatic you did.

I Got Rhythm

My 8 yr old grandson wants to shoot hoops every
time I turn around. It's hard to break him of the
habit of holding the ball low though. Shooting from
the hip might have worked in the Wild, Wild West,
but it's not the way to shoot a basketball.

It starts in younger players who feel they don't have
the strength to get the ball to the basket. I've seen
those same kids hit 8th or 9th grade though, and
they're still bringing the ball up from below their
waist. That's just asking for a block party in high
school. Much better to teach them right as soon as
you can.

Here's what Dr. Hal Wissel has to say about that:

"Rhythm is more important than strength in
shooting.

Although sometimes we have younger players use a
smaller ball and shoot at an 8.5' basket, we also have
7 year olds making shots at a regulation basket by
using the down and up action of the legs.

[Either way they don't teach shooting from the hip.
Ed.]

Confidence is the most important factor in shooting
but rhythm is a close second. Rhythm and range
come from the down-and-up motion of your legs
rather than from lowering the ball or stepping into
the shot.

Start with your knees slightly flexed: Then bend
your knees and fully extend them in a down-and-
up motion. Saying the keywords DOWN and UP!!!
(with confidence and rhythm, emphasizing the word
UP) to trigger your leg action.

Let your legs and shooting arm move together. As
your legs go up, your arm goes up. As your legs
reach full extension, your back, shoulders and
shooting arm extend in a smooth, continuous
forward and upward direction toward your target.

It is important to keep the ball high with your
shooting hand facing the rim."

From my experience keeping the ball high takes
some getting used to, but after a couple of days of
practice it feels very normal. It fosters a quick
release and also provides less margin for error.

To get more great teaching like this and more
importantly to see it in action you need to glue
your eyeballs to Hal's 'Confidence, Rhythm, and
Mechanics DVD available now at:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. When you're shooting off the pass the down
motion of the legs comes just before the catch and
the shot goes up as the legs go up providing for a
quicker more accurate release.

To find out how to use Hal's highly effective
shooting methods and footwork in real world,
game-time situations you need his second DVD
- 'Off the Pass, Off the Dribble, and In the Post.'

That is exactly what you need to be a shooter
who can create his own open looks. That's also
available now at:

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

Make Every Shot Count.