Shots Are Shots

"I NEVER hit a shot, not even in practice,
without having a very sharp, in-focus picture
of it in my head.

First I see the ball where I want it to finish,
nice and white and sitting up high on the
bright green grass. Then the scene quickly
changes, and I see the ball going there: its
path, trajectory, and shape, even its
behavior on landing.

Then there is a sort of fade-out, and the next
scene shows me making the kind of swing that
will turn the previous images into reality."

- Jack Nicklaus

Sure it's a golfer talking and not a hoopster,
but not just any golfer. One of the best ever.
So I think you can learn something about
shooting hoops from him, and about hitting
any goal or target for that matter.

First, notice he ALWAYS visualizes before
taking action, even in practice. That nugget
is priceless. If you can get in the habit of
doing that one thing your life can change
forever.

Of course, you CAN take action WITHOUT
visualizing beforehand. You can also do it
blindfolded if you want, but why? If the
world's most successful people visualize,
why not you?

Secondly he starts with visualizing his ideal
end result. That helps energize, focus and
intensify the rest of his visuals.

Then he visualizes every aspect of the flight
of the ball, i.e. the process leading up to the
result. In shooting that would involve the
direction and arc of the ball, proper backspin,
etc.

And lastly he sees himself executing the
perfect form to make the rest of his
visualization happen.

Nothing really hard about that. You just
have to take the time to do it.

And I'm serious about using this with
anything. Little things even. More about
that next time.

Make Every Shot Count,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. In golf you have the luxury of taking
your time before every shot. You can do that
on free throws, but for game speed shots
you'll need to develop a shorthand
visualization sequence.

In his "Primetime Shooting" DVD Coach
Stan Kellner teaches a quick 3 count
visualization very similar to what Jack
Nicklaus does.

Get the step-by-step on that and a half-
dozen other powerful visualization drills
for shooting today at:

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

P.S.S. Learning how to control your
breathing is also a huge factor in generating
powerful, charged, confident visualizations.

If you're not doing this already, don't worry.
Not many people teach this. If you want to
make your actions more effective and easier
though you'll do well to learn:

'Miracle Of The Complete Breath'

I've even made it easy for you to get started
in minutes today at:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006,2007

This post is protected by copyright, but you have
permission to copy and use it in its entirety as long
as the links are intact.

Get It Out Of Reverse

Have you ever put your car in reverse, backed
up, and gotten interrupted with a question or a
cell phone call?

What usually happens next? You put your
foot on the brake and shift your attention to
whatever's going on, right?

Then what?

If you're anything like me whenever you're
finished and ready to take off again you might
have forgotten the car was still in reverse.

Oops.

Hopefully you haven't ever floored it and
crashed into something before you figured
it out, but if you have, it really helps to
remember never to do that again.

Have you noticed we do the same thing in
our daily lives too?

We stay in reverse. We live in the past. We
dwell on what happened to us, or what the
president did or didn't do, or what somebody
said. I don't care if you were in the right or
not, any time you're focused on something
that's already happened you are driving in
reverse.

And it's hard to make any progress when
you're going backwards.

You're always missing the present moment
because you're rehashing what happened
minutes, hours, days,or even years before.
Sure there are things to be learned from the
past, but absorb the lesson and get back to
living in the present. That's where the
action is.

As a shooter you know where I'm going with
this. It's necessary to pay attention and be
able to correct your shooting flaws. That's
what feedback and learning are all about.

But you can't dwell on your misses and your
failures. If you do for too long I promise
you'll find yourself sitting on the bench.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean

P.S. The best teacher of the mental side of
shooting I know is Coach Stan Kellner.
I confess I don't know what percentage of
shooting is mental. I've heard as much as
90% and I believe it is high, but even if it's
only 50% you probably want to find out
what Stan can do for you today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/kellner_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 any complete entry as long as all links are intact.

Coach Dean Delker
8413 SW 4th Place
Gainesville, FL 32607 USA
352-333-0374 Phone

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

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.

Dittos Rush

If you're working to make the playing field fair
and level you're working for the wrong reasons.
Work to take the opportunities that arise and
use your individual talents to excel at those
opportunities.

- Rush Limbaugh

Success leaves clues, and if you are smart you
listen to successful people wherever you find
them. Regardless of what you might think of
his politics there's no denying Rush Limbaugh
is one of the most successful people ever in
radio, and Rush is a huge sports fan.

Don't be a bigot on this one. Listen to what he
has to say about what it takes to be a winner.

'Before away games, the great Boston Celtic
Larry Bird used to arrive exceptionally early at
the other team's home stadium ... to study the
floor.

Hours ahead of the Celtics' practice and warm-
up sessions, Bird would do an inch-by-inch
survey of the wood on the court. This involved
getting down on his hands and knees to check
out individual boards, dribbling over every
square foot at various speeds and angles,
analyzing the floor's effect on the basketball.

He scrutinized the lighting, familiarized himself
with the arena's atmosphere, learned the
idiosyncrasies of the court. He knew that the
knowledge advantage he had over the other
players could make the crucial difference at key
moments -- and could, in fact, determine the
outcome of the game.

This was a boring thing to do. In fact, it was so
boring no one else bothered to do it. But Larry
Bird's unparalleled record proves his approach
was right. It was his attention to detail, this
willingness to immerse himself in the nuts and
bolts of his profession when everyone else was
relaxing or doing something more enjoyable
that created his success.

Discipline is the hardest part of this process,
because it demands your time. It is not sexy,
it is not the part that gets you the limelight.
Discipline has no pizzazz.

Discipline is private -- it is the internal decision
to work on your skills no matter what. It's
what makes you get up in the morning to do it
all over again.

You do things you don't feel like doing when you
don't feel like doing them. Discipline is what you
do in spite of your desires. It is also what
separates the pros from the amateurs, and the
successful from everybody else.'

Larry Bird was also one of the great clutch
shooters of all time, and his discipline served him
well in that area too.

All it takes is a quality decision on your part. How
far are you willing to go to be a great shooter?

Only you can answer that.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Another area where discipline plays a huge
role is conditioning. If you have the desire Coach
Tony Alfonso has all the information you'll ever
need to stay in tip-top basketball shape. His
'CompleteBasketball Strength And Speed
Program" can be yours right now at:

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

A Call To Arms

I just found another shooting enthusiast today.
Coach Herb Welling from Omaha, Nebraska
who's Central High team won the Class A State
Basketball Championship last month.

He sure needed some timely shooting when 4 out
of his top 6 players fouled out, and his team found
itself depending on 3 rarely used sophmores in a
hotly contested overtime. Not only that, but they
had to overcome a 39 point effort by the other
team's star player.

In his blog at:

http://herbwellingbasketball.blogspot.com/

Coach Welling also had this to say about Florida's
recent national championship team:

'Billy Donovan should get credit for his defense,
but his team's ability to hit open shots is attributed
to his great individual skill [development] program.
His team was really balanced offensively.

We as coaches have to stress and teach shooting.
There are plenty of good shooting DVD's [out there]
such as [those by] Dave Hopla, Hal Wissel, Andy
Enfield, Tom Nordland, Ed Palubinskas, and Duane
Lewis. Please teach and work on shooting.'

Thanks, Coach. That's exactly what I'm doing.

Football has it's position coaches, baseball it's
hitting coaches, and golf it's swing coaches, but
basketball has been slow to embrace shooting
coaches.

There are a host of good one's out there to learn
from.

And it's time to take up arms and start teaching
the next generation how to shoot like experts.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Many coaches are hesitant to change a
player's stroke. I understand the sentiment, but
I don't agree. It's true you have to do it with tact,
grace, and encouragement, but good shooting feels
good in the same way hitting the sweet spot on a
baseball bat or a tennis racket does.

Your players will get on board when you can show
them results.

P.S.S. Remind them Tiger Woods has reworked his
golf swing at least twice after people were already
calling him one of the greatest golfers ever. If
change is not too good for him, your players shouldn't
have a problem with it.

If you don't feel qualified to teach you can get up to
speed in a hurry. A good place to start is with my
product list at:

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

Note: This email 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

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

Just Win Today

You don't have to save the world.

You just have to win today.

It's no secret I listen to John Wood on matters
of strength and training. He is one of the most
diligent students of the strength game you'll
find on the planet. He's also a student of what
it takes to be a winner.

I hope he's still not mad the University of
Florida beat out his Wolverines for the right
to play Ohio State for the national title in
football back in January.

I met John at an explosive Matthew Furey
seminar in Tampa about a year and a half
ago and knew right off he had the goods.
John exuded a confident enthusiasm that
was well-grounded and solid as a rock.

And with John there's no hype. Just results,
and what you see is what you get. John's
gone and written something recently I think
you'll want to hear.

And rather than put it in my own words, I
want you to be able to get the full effect of
John's wisdom. If you want to be a winner
on the court and off pay attention to this:

'In NCAA Division I College football, The
University of Michigan is #1 in all time
winning percentage and overall wins --
and its not by accident.

Much of that success is unquestionably due
to talent, but lots of places have just as much,
if not more, talent. The thing is, the other
part is of that success is due to a specific
process, parts of which you can implement
into your own life and that's what I'm going
to let you in on today.

See, we used to have a saying 'Win today', and
it was always used when the going got really
tough - usually during summer 2-a-day practice
sessions, or after a tough loss, or late in the
season when the Big 10 Championship was on
the line, when we were all sore, tired and wanted
to be doing anything else but be there practicing
football.

Win today - It was an attitude thing. If you can
come out and practice with enthusiasm especially
when you dont feel like it, you'll be tough to beat
since every practice is an opportunity to improve.

And thats what its all about - improvement.

So, in order to 'Win The Day' we also had goals
for each practice. They were not particularly
difficult goals to reach, but if we could meet those,
day in and day out, we would win everything in
sight.

These were the little things that always made
the difference in big games like no false-start
penalties or getting at least 2 interceptions per
practice.

Again, very achievable, just have to do them day
in and day out.

As far as your training, or your life, you can do
the very same thing and it will make a
tremendous difference. Before you go to bed at
night, make a list of 3 things you want to
accomplish the next day.

Make them simple and very doable - take out
the trash, put the bills in the mail, etc. You can,
and should, accomplish more than that during
the course of the day, but just be sure those 3
things get done.

Plus, they carry over but don't increase, so if
you did 2 today, tomorrow you would still have
3 - the one you missed and 2 new ones.

You'll be surprised at just how much of a
challenge it can be to do 3 simple tasks each
day but that's why its so effective.

Over and over and over again - a few simple
things, done correctly, always make the
difference.'

So go figure out what will 'Win Today' in your
quest to become a great shooter then go out
and ...

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. John's forte is building hand, wrist, forearm
and grip strength. All things you need to control
a critical rebound, whip out an ankle breaking
crossover, and shoot with a relaxed, consistent
stroke. See what goodies John has to help you out
today at:

http://www.functionalhandstrength.com/

P.S.S. Your season is probably over unless you
play in the NBA, and now is the time to ramp up
your training and see gains in strength, stamina,
quickness, and speed.

I'm sure you're busy like me though and don't
have all day to train. You want to make the most
of your time, and believe it or not you can do
exactly that. And at the same time you can be
confident you are training right with Coach Tony
Alfonso's guide to basketball-specific training
and conditioning.

Don't waste any more of your time. Get Tony's
e-book ASAP at:

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


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

Video Killed The Radio Star

I like a good story on TV, DVD, or at the movies
as much as anybody, but we do pay a price for
media like that which does almost all the work
for us.

And worst of all I believe it speeds up the
process of our kids abandoning their own
precious imaginations.

In college I was program director of our
campus radio station for a couple of years.
While my first love and passion was
programming music we also ran classic radio
shows on Sunday night.

Now that's one place you can really grow an
imagination, following a good story on the
radio. And the same with reading books, of
course especially good fiction.

Unless you're a total newbie to this site you
know how much I believe in mental rehearsal,
visualization, and purposely using your
imagination to enpower yourself.

Most of the great players do it in practice,
game prep, warmups and even during games.

During games, you say Coach?

Yes. Where do you think creativity in a
dribble drive or in passing comes from?

Imagination. It can work split-seconds
ahead of the actual action you take.

Most coaches rely heavily on drills, and it's
great to do that, but I think coaches do a
disservice when they try to overprogram
their players.

Yes, you want them reacting instinctively.
That's the whole purpose of the drills, but
remember you don't want them pigeon-
holed, mechanical, and lacking creativity.
It is a delicate balance.

The answer is to use drills have options,
decision making, and flexibility built in.
Look for those. Even with simple rote drills
though you can encourage players to
imagine defenders coming at them, and how
they would react and adapt.

There's a big difference between a static
shooting drill, and full speed drills where
imaginarydefenders can come flying at
you trying to steal the ball, deflect passes,
etc.

Learn to use your imagination fluently, and
it will become a powerful tool for you.
Remember not to let it dwell on the dark
side though through worries and fears like
missing shots at the free throw line.

That can become self-fulfilling prophecy, and
you will end up rehearsing and planning how
you will fail instead of how you can succeed.

Coach Dean - Shoot For the Stars

P.S. There's an art to putting up big scoring
numbers, and Patrick Chylinski can teach you
the inside scoop on increasing your scoring
average.

What would it be worth to you to add 4, 6, or
even 10 points a game to your scoring stats?

Get your copy of his best-selling e-book any
time of day or night at:

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

Note: This email 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

It's All In His Head

Let me publicly add my condolences to all the
good people associated with Virginia Tech this
week. My prayers are with you.

There's a little section in 'Pistol' a book about
Pete Maravich by Mark Kriegel that jumped
out at me recently.

Here's how it reads:

Every so often, Pete would do something he
had never done before. On those occasions,
Bud would ask,

'Hey, Pete, how come I never saw you
practice that one?'

'Oh yes I have,' Pete would say. 'Many
times.'

'When?', Bud would retort.

'In my head.', Pete answered.

In his head. All in his head.

Think about it. Imagination can be the
laboratory where new skills are
developed.

I'll show you a practical way to experiment
with your imagination next time, but you
don't have to wait for me. Create your own
future today.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. The more you learn the basics of doing
something the easier it is to picture yourself
pulling it off.

Like how when Roger Bannister broke the
4 minute mile barrier in track, 20 or 30
people also broke the mark the next year
or so.

The same thing can happen when you let
Coach Patrick Chylinski guide you through
how to score 20 points a game (without
being a ball-hog, BTW.) When you
understand how to do it you'll be able to
see yourself doing it, and pretty soon you
will be doing it.

Get started today at:

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

Note: This email 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

What's The Buzz

What's the buzz,
Tell me what's a happenin'
What's the buzz,
Tell me what's a happenin'

- Jesus Christ Superstar

If you are a fitness trainer, or are being
trained, or just have a membership at
the local chrome and fern gym you could
probably tell me the training buzzword
of the 21st century.

Functional.

As in functional training, functional
exercise, functional strength, and even
in my friend John Wood's website -
www.functionalhandstrength.com

And functional means the movement
you are training is something you will
actually use in real life or in sport. I'm
sorry but it doesn't mean doing situps
on a stability ball or whatever other
new age apparatus the gimmick gods
come up with.

Too many trainers though still use the
body building approach which isolates
and builds up individual body parts.

That may be good for standing in front
of a mirror, but it doesn't help much on
the basketball floor.

How many times playing hoops are you
asked to lay on your stomach and curl
your legs slowly up to your butt? Or
how often are you called on to sit down,
prop your elbows on a pad, and slowly
curl your arms up to your shoulders?

Never. The muscles built that way are
mostly for show. And there's no way
training like that will give you any
greater coordination and body control.

In his book 'Movement That Matters'
Paul Chek points out 6 basic movements
you need to do your work and be athletic.

The squat, lunge, bend, twist, push and
pull.

Any exercise that trains these movements,
especially in combinations involving major
muscle groups is functional.

For playing hoops and shooting those could
be movements like a lunge and medicine
ball throw (lunge, twist), a clean and jerk
(bend, pull, push) and a front squat (squat).

Most of these develop explosiveness and
core strength, balance, and the ability to
transfer force from the lower to the upper
body.

If you're getting your workout
information from a trainer who
emphasizes bodybuilding you are short
changing yourself and probably limiting
your athletic ability.

And this is especially true the younger
you are.

So please find yourself an athletic trainer
who knows his stuff and/or order Coach
Tony Alfonso's ebook for real basketball
training:

The Complete Basketball Strength and
Speed Training Program - 1st Edition

It's available for your convenience now at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. They aren't very sexy, but bodyweight
exercises are probably the most functional
movements you can do with your body.

Even strongman afficianado John Wood
himself and 5-time national bench press
champion Brooks Kubik extol the virtues
of bodyweight exercise for.

And you can't help become a better shooter
when your body and mind are developing
together.

You have to learn how to do them right
and control your breathing though so for
that I recommend any and all of the
following:

http://www.mattfurey.com/
http://www.bodyweightbasics.com/
http://www.brookskubik.com/
http://www.eddiebaran.com/ (for lady shooters)

Make Every Shot Count

Tag You're It

How long has it been since you played tag?

In an interview recently Boston Celtics
Strength Coach Walter Norton, Jr. talked
about how many kids these days work on
their individual skills, their technical
abilities, but they sorely lack general
movement skills.

What is the hoops mantra?

'He's got skills (or skillz).'

Norton though distinguishes between kids
who have 'drill skills', and those who can
get past defenders because they have the
ability to evade. They have agility and
quickness. They are mobile.

And one reason many kids can't do that is
they don't play games like tag anymore.

If you're a coach stopping practice to play
tag may seem like a waste of time or too
much fun and games and not enough work,
but is it?

Isn't evading a defender a critical skill in
basketball? Isn't it a prelude to almost
every shot? No matter how good your
stroke you're not going to be a very
effective scorer without it.

And is there a better way to teach the raw
skill than by playing tag?

Try it and let me know.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. You can learn at least 50 more ways
to make yourself a better scorer from
Coach Patrick Chylinski in his special
insider report on

'How To Average 20 Points A Game'.

Don't spin your wheels practicing. Learn
what to focus on to produce results today
at:

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

P.S.S. Also if you want to find out how to
take your agility and quickness to new
levels while adding strength, flexibility
and endurance you can't afford not to
check out Coach Tony Alfonso's 137 page

'Complete Basketball Strength and Speed
Training Program'

It's available for immediate download
today at:

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

Note: This blog entry is protected by
copyright, but you 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

I Have A Dream

By midnight tonight we'll know whether
my team of Gator Boys have fulfilled their
dream of a second straight national title or
not.

Last year they were a refreshing surprise
to the college basketball world. This year
with the starting five back so many expected
them to win. They've had the pressure and
that proverbial target on their back all season
so teams have given them their best shot.
Much harder to repeat than win the first one,
but not if you hold on to your dream.

Dreams are a wonderful things. They are
what inspires us to reach for the best. And
with apologies to Dr. Martin Luther King for
whom I have the tremendous respect,

I have a dream.

Dreams really, but the one I'm thinking of
is not political in the least. Neither is it one
of those big heroic 'Save the cheerleader,
save the world' kind of dreams.

I've had it for awhile in my heart, but didn't
know it until recently . As you might guess I
love to shoot baskets in my own driveway.
There's nothing more satisfying than sinking
shots, even if I'm just by myself.

It charges me up, gives me confidence, and
relieves stress, but I've discovered now I
want to feel like I'm shooting in Madison
Square Garden, the old Boston Gardens,
Rupp Arena, or tonight's Georgia Dome.

I want the look and feel and sound and
smell of a top quality backboard and rim.

What I have now works fine, and I do
appreciate it. It's much better than a rim
nailed to the side of a sagging barn, but
mine is one of those old ones with a sand-
filled base I bought from a neighbor who
was moving.

I know the rim is too forgiving though, and
it has this annoying feature that when you
swish a shot from the side the ball hits the
stupid base right on it's front curve and
bounces wildly out into the street.

A couple of weeks ago though a guy named
Ryan Tate from Pro Dunk Hoops found my
blog, and asked if I'd consider putting a link
to their website which carries basketball
goals.

My first, second, and third reactions were
no, no, and no - I don't do that.

But I was curious enough to look anyway.
What I found was, not basketball goals, but
dreams. Calling what they sell basketball
goals is like calling a tricked out Cadillac
Escalade, transportation.

Yeah, it's true, but sooo inadequate.

These guys create tempered glass, pier
mounted, premium, professional grade,
in-ground, adjustable basketball goal
systems for driveway and backyard court
use. Now I've got to have one. I don't know
how yet, but the desire has been planted,
and it's not going away anytime soon.

If you are serious about your hoops and
want to have the court that's the envy of
all your buddies this is your ticket to ride.
They are not cheap, but they are worth
every penny, and you can find a way to
afford them.

I might even be able to help, but first
see what you think for yourself at:

http://www.produnkhoops.com/

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. One way you can justify the cost of a
beast like this is to realize it can be a great
home improvement. These units are so nice
they're going to add value to your home,
and for sure that's what you want to tell
your wife.

P.S.S. This reminds me I've had a number
of people say they'd like to buy more of my
stuff too, but they don't have the budget for
it.

Believe me I know tight budgets. Some of
you are volunteer coaches like I've been, or
work more for the love of the game and the
kids than for the money. That's one of the
biggest draws of amateur sports.

Maybe I can help with that, and you can
even work up to buying a Pro Dunk top of
the line goal system for your home. Living
in abundance is something you can grow
and develop in no matter where you are
starting. And for you to win, somebody
else doesn't have to lose. You just have to
learn the rules of the game and practice
the fundamentals.

Would you be interested in me writing
more about how to win the money game
in this blog? It's a big part of success and
character in general, and there are
specific laws of abundance and prosperity
God has laid out for all.

I'm not talking about being greedy or
idolizing the big green, but having enough
to provide well for your family, fulfill the
wholesome dreams in your heart, and to
be able to bless other people.

Let me know.

Note: This blog entry is protected by
copyright, but you 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
http://www.deandelker.com/

How To Beat A Bully

Round 3 of the NCAA tournament resumes
tonight, and I'm chompin' at the bit. That's
the Gator chomp by the way even through
Florida doesn't play till tomorrow night.

I felt like Florida was standing up to a bully
in their 2nd round game against Purdue.
Nothing wrong with that style of play. The
Boilermakers did a super job of almost
pulling it off. Hats off to a valiant opponent.

It took Florida 2/3rds of the game, but
they eventually showed enough toughness
to catch up to and pass the engineers from
West Lafayette with Al Horford in the post
and their secret weapon.

Free throw shooting.

Even though the Gators season free throw
percentage isn't all that great this year
(Low 70's I think) they knocked in around
85% for the Purdue game, and Purdue was
fouling a lot.

I'm not sure what Florida did to be that
much better. Probably just made the
decision to concentrate and make free
throws a priority because they knew
they'd need them.

Winners find a way.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. One thing that will help your free
throw shooting is to cultivate a ritual
and do it the same way every single
time.

Remember how Kyle Macy of Kentucky
used to always touch his socks. Other
people dribble a certain way, the same
number of times, spin the ball, etc.
Whatever helps you focus and get into
your confidence groove.

If you don't have a ritual yet come up
with one that works for you, and start
knocking down more and more free
throws.

P.S.S. Free throws are also critical to
you becoming a double digit scorer.
Coach Patrick Chylinski explains it all
in his powerful ebook 'How To Average
20 Points A Game' available now at:

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

Note: This blog entry is protected by
copyright, but you 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

When Does Your Practice Stop

When do you stop practicing?

When you die?

I bet by now you're getting conditioned to
think this is a trick question. It's not.

There is a time when more practice gives
you fewer results. In economics it's called
the law of diminishing returns. It's that
place where more and more work yields
less and less productivity.

As an example from the NCAA tournament
look at John Calipari's Memphis Tigers.
This season they shot 61% from the free
throw line. Not so great. And I don't have
to tell you that can be a big Achilles heal in
a one-and-done tournament.

All you need is a big physical team that
forces a deliberate half-court game and is
deep enough to foul you often, and you
can be in trouble.

Undoubtedly Coach C. has worked on free
throw shooting till everybody was blue in
the face, but it didn't seem to make a
difference.

Fortunately though he took the crazy
advice of a sports psychologist and had
his team stop practicing free throws,
period. Instead he had every one of them
go home and visualize making ten straight
or more every night with feeling.

Do you want to guess what they shot their
last game? It didn't always look pretty,
but 82%.

Coincidence. I think not. They just needed
to believe and visualization helped. I'm not
saying to quit practicing free throws, but
you might need to if you're frustrated, and
I'd at least try adding in the visualizations
if I were you.

Shoot For The Stars,

P.S. This whole idea was floated to me by
my friend Coach Tim Kauppinen in his
daily email newsletter.

Tim specializes in training athletes to run
their fastest and be their quickest. He also
teaches the average joe and ex-athletes
how to stay fit without slaving away for
hours. Isn't science great.

Every coach in the world is looking for
speed these days so I recommend you
get on his email list to be the best you
can be. You can get started 24/7 at:

http://www.makesyoufast.com/

Note: This email 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

When Does Your Practice Start

Something my violinist friend Clayton said
recently sparked a question for you.

When does your practice start?

Before you go thinking I'm weird, just
remember I prefer the term eccentric.

I'm serious though. The vast majority
would say practice begins when they step
out on the court. Duh.

Makes perfect sense.

But if that's your answer you're missing
something.

Before organized practice your coaching
staff leads you through warmups, right?
And if your body needs that, do you think
your mind might too?

Of course it does.

You can prime your mind to be more
alert and focused, and one of the best
ways to do that is through visualizing
what you expect to get out of your
practice (or out of a game, for that
matter.)

So before you go out and practice
shooting take a few minutes of deep,
controlled breathing, relax your body,
relax your mind, and decide what you
want to accomplish.

Then see yourself doing every bit of
that with ease. Don't be discouraged if
your visualizing isn't so well developed.
You may not see clearly at all at first,
or be able to hold it long. I couldn't, but
it got better. Like most things in life do
your best and just aim to improve
every day.

Don't forget to include as much detail
and emotion in your projection as you
can. Then when you step on the court
you'll be primed to get more out of your
practice time, and get better faster.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. You can use this method to do anything
better. Mental warmup and planting the flag
of your expectation like this will help you do
better in class, on tests, in interviews, in
making a speech, and even on a big date.

P.S.S. I learned from Patrick Chylinski one
of the things you want to do to become a
dominant scorer is to start off your game
with a bang. Try to take the opening tip and
score or get a big assist. Let your defender
know he's in for a rough night.

You can spend time visualizing a start like
that before every game, and you'll find
yourself acting it out in your games.

I don't know how that works. Maybe the
neurons that create the imagination burn
some kind of a 'groove' in your brain.
Then when a similar situation arises you'll
play like it's old hat to you.

First though get Patrick's report so you'll
know what to aim for in your mental
warmups.

And you're in luck. You can have it in
minutes today at:

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

Note: This blog entry is protected by
copyright 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

True Meaning of March Madness

Do they call it March Madness because
that's the one month out of the year my
loving and lovely wife goes almost
bonkers?

I suppose not, but don't think I'm judging
or criticizing her. It's all my fault.

No matter how much I try to prepare her
and explain it, I know she can't even
conceive of a universe where anybody
wants to watch as much basketball on Tee
Vee as I'm going to do in the next couple
of weeks.

But she still loves me, and she knows the
rest of they year I'll do everything in my
power to make up for neglecting her this
month.

And how ironic March Madness looks
like it's derived from 'mad as a March
hare'.

In other words the way I feel is very
similar to how a male rabbit feels
during the height of breeding season.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

And March is also the time shooters come
out and get their due on a big national
stage.

Last year if University of Florida shooting
guard and Clark Kent clone Lee Humphrey
isn't deadly from 3-point range when
opponents are trying to claw back into
several games, I don't think the Gators
walk away with that big national trophy.

One of the most meaningful things you can
do this month is get inspired. See yourself
playing on CBS in front of millions and
hitting a game winning shot or two. See
yourself and your team cutting down nets
to the tune of 'One Shining Moment'

Maybe it won't happen quite that way, but
if you let your faith and your dreams
inspire and guide you I guarantee you'll
have a bunch of shining moments to look
forward to.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. I don't have to say how much I want
the Gators to repeat. It will be tough but if
they play like they did in the SEC tourney
I like their chances.

And since we're dreaming how 'bout getting
to knock off Ohio State again in another title
game.

If that happens I'm going to have to start
calling Gainesville TitleTown.

P.S.S. Make sure you still get out and put
in your time shooting though. Get your
attitude right and it will pay big dividends.

The best stuff I've ever read on having the
attitude of a scorer is in Patrick Chylinski's
downloadable report on 'How To Average
20 Points A Game'.

Get yours today at:

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

Can I Buy A Free Throw

Free throws are anything but free.

They cost you the player time, work, and
concentration.

And they can also be very expensive.

They can flat out cost you games. Let that
happen often enough, and it can cost your
coach their job.

I'm just not confident too many kids today
think free throws are all that important.
Not you because I know you want to be a
better shooter, but in general.

And coaches if your players don't get it
on their own I believe it's up to you to
stress free throw shooting and shooting,
period. It's you who could pay the
bigger price.

Here's a tip from Coach Duane Silver.
He's noticed many players who miss free
throws tend to FALL BACK toward the
half court line after releasing the ball.
Sometimes these shots go in, but there
is no earthly reason you should be shooting
a fade away shot from the charity stripe.

Nobody is guarding you.

His solution is to make hiswwwwwwwww players line up
and shoot free throws and purposely fall
a little bit forward after the release. Then
he can get them feeling the spot in
between where they are going straight up
and feeling balanced.

Try that for yourself.

Free throws are anything but free, so don't
let yourself be caught where you can't buy
a free throw.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Let me remind you again if you are
new you can see all my valuable tips saved
at:

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

Pick a month and go exploring.

P.S.S. Patrick Chylinski stresses free throws
in his user's guide to becoming a big-time
scorer. Don't let the other guy get the jump
on you. Find out how to become a 20 point
per game scorer today at:

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

Note: This blog entry is protected by copy
right 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

The Senator's Got Game

Bill Bradley was a hoops star long before
he was a Rhodes Scholar and became the
US Senator from New Jersey.

For instance, the one-time presidential
candidate still holds the Final Four record
for most points in a game playing for
Princeton in 1965.

You don't put up 58 points like that
against tournament competition without
having excellent shooting chops so when
Jeff D'Allesio of The SportingNews
interviewed Bradley recently my ears
perked up, and I thought you'd
appreciate it too.

'Q: You still hold the tournament record
for free-throw percentage in a game (16-
for-16 against St. Joseph's in '63).

What's the most free throws you ever
made in a row?

A: My freshman year, I think I hit 57 or
58.

Q: What made you so good at it?

A: Practice. Concentration. You have to
have the right stroke, the right rhythm,
concentration and confidence.

Q: So why can't anyone make free throws
anymore?

A: Well, I don't think anyone can shoot.
Forget free throws. It's because of what I
call the ESPN-ization of the game.

How do you get on ESPN highlights? You
make some giant move. They don't show a
guy hitting 8-of-10 shots from mid-range.

That's not news. What's news is the guy
that drives the middle, flips around in the
air and tosses it up or does a giant dunk.
That's what they put on TV. So kids are,
"Well, that's what I want to do."

And they don't put in time shooting.'

Now you have the chance to reverse that
trend.

Q: Are you going to put in the time?

A: ...

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Welcome to all the new subscribers
coming on-board, and thanks for all your
encouragement. The best thing you can
do for the whole group is spread the word.

Word of mouth is still king even in the
digital age. If you know how to bookmark
the main site:

http://www.deandelker.com/

or the blog:

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

on social networking and directory sites like
MySpace, facebook, Technorati, del.icio.us,
furl, digg, reddit, et. al. please do that. And
tell all your hoops friends, teammates, coaches,
etc. about us directly too.

Many, many, thanks.

P.S.S. A late season mini-slump had some
people doubting my Florida Gators, but
based on the SEC tournament they have
the fire and passion back. Scoring is so
balanced though none of them are
anywhere near averaging 20 points a
game even though on any given night
any of the starters might.

Having a team with that kind of talent
and balance is extremely rare though so
the odds of you being a 20 point scorer
on your team can be high as you want.

All you need is the right coaching and
putting in the time. Patrick Chylinski
wants you to be a top scorer and has put
together a special report on how to be an
offensive monster.

He averaged over 20ppg in college and
29 ppg playing professionally in Europe
so the man knows his stuff. Find out
Patrick's tricks of the tradetoday at:

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

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

Shoot Like A Horse

I can see it now. People already thinking about
writing me and telling me how I've messed up
again. And they have yet to read the email.

Dear Coach Dean,

Recently you titled your email 'Shoot Like A
Horse'. I assume you were talking about the
shooting game, 'Horse'.

Shouldn't you have entitled it 'Shooting Horse'
instead.

Yours,

Smart As Sam


To which I'd have to reply:

Dear Smart As,

Thank you. I have been known to make a few
typos, and I'll make more so it's good to know
you'll always there to correct me.

But, I'm sure you know from past Superbowl
commercials horses can, in fact, kick fieldgoals
and PAT's in football. What makes you think
they can't drain jumpers too?

I meant 'Shoot Like A Horse'.

Always,

Coach Dean


Horses often have to wear blinders to keep
them focused on the task at hand or the lane
they are racing in without getting distracted.

As a shooter concentration serves the same
purpose. It's how you block out distractions
and be fully aware of your body, the ball,
and the basket.

And in the shooting moment nothing else
matters.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Next time I'll show you how I clear my mind
of distractions and pump up my concentration
muscles.

Meanwhile don't forget you can find all my past
tips archived at:

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

Have fun poking around there.

P.S.S. Coach Patrick Chylinski wants to show
you how to focus on scoring and become an
offensive juggernaut. It's a mentality that can
be learned and developed. You just need
somebody to show you the way.

Put on your blinders now and race over to:

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

Note: This blog entry is protected by copyright
with all rights reserved, but you 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

It's A Miracle

I have a friend from Charlotte, Clayton Haslop,
who is a world-class violinist. I'm sure his freakin'
violin costs more than the median home does in
Gainesville, Florida these days. Clayton has been
concertmaster on a couple of dozen big Hollywood
soundtracks ranging from 'Titanic' to 'The
Incredibles'.

And the man is as gracious and personable as he
is talented.

Yesterday Clayton emailed me about a crisis he'd
been battling for awhile, and I couldn't help notice
how concentration helped carry him through to
new uncharted waters of success.

Read it and imagine what focusing better would
do for you and your shooting.

But rather than put words in his mouth I'll let
him tell you himself:

'A couple weeks ago ... I was alarmed by a rapid
worsening of the 'focal dystonia' afflicting my left
hand.

As most of you know, I had hitherto been quite
successful managing the condition with the
techniques I teach in my instructional courses.

Suddenly, nothing I did seemed to arrest the
downward spiral.

Whereas before it was mostly a matter of
controlling the moments of the fingers, now I
was having great difficulty lifting the 2nd and
3rd fingers at all.

In any case, I managed to stay 'up and running'
to the point of finishing the DVD instructional
material. Then the slide seemed to become free-
fall as we traveled to Arizona and Washington for
[his wife] Tania's concerts.

Well, yesterday something incredible took place.

In fact, I would say it was only a cat's whisker
from being a bona fide miracle.

I'm serious.

I had come to the point of thinking my playing
career was over. An hour into a nightmare of a
practice session found me contemplating the
calls I would make to the concert presenters to
whom I'm committed by signed contract. It's not
a place I'd want anybody in this world to be.

Well, as tears literally welled in my eyes, my
resolve to 'punch through' the wall before me
suddenly became ferocious. No, I didn't just
throw myself at the violin.

I willed my brain to create razor sharp images
of how I wanted my fingers to behave.

I breathed in and out like a dragon in heat.

I barked out my counts like a Roman oar master
shouting strokes to rowing slaves in the middle
of battle.

I also bounced back and forth from Paganini to
Kreutzer to the Mendelssohn Concerto I'm
scheduled to perform soon relentlessly searching
for the key to unlock my neural pathways.

Suddenly something seemed to release. I felt
strength return to my left arm. Control rushed
into fingers of my left hand. How I played the
24th Caprice a few weeks ago at our friend's
home wouldn't have held a candle to the clarity
and velocity bursting forth from my Storioni.

Tania and [our daughter] Clara were in an
adjacent room as all of this went down. After
the session I walked in to join them.

Tania said, 'Something happened in there.'

'Yep,' I said, 'I think I just experienced the
closest thing to a miracle that I have ever felt'.

And I meant it.

I'm sharing this with you today to open your
eyes to possibilities.

Focal dystonia results in the 'smearing' of neural
maps in the brain that control movement.
Seemingly it all takes place beyond the reach of
the conscious mind - unwanted muscles fire,
wanted muscles don't fire, chaos rules the roost.
Or does it.

What I learned yesterday, and brought forward
to today's practice, is that focus, combined with
visualization, combined with energy, creates
intention. Throw your very survival behind those
three ingredients and your intention will blast
through any blockage in front of it.'

If you're in a slump or something is blocking you
from becoming the shooter you want to be try
concentration, visualization, and counting like
Clayton did and see if your firm intention doesn't
produce breakthroughs for you too.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. One of the beauties of concentration is as
you learn to direct and focus your attention your
body and mind both benefit. What you do in your
mind reflects in your body, and what you do to
build up your body, affects your mind.

Train for quickness in your body, and your mind
loses it's sluggishness too. Train for flexibility, and
your mind reacts to changes better and becomes
more open to ideas and creativity, etc.

That's one reason I'm so high on Coach Tony
Alfonso's new comprehensive basketball training
guide. Apply what you're learning about focus
while you're moving your body under Tony's
expert direction, and you will be strengthening
your mental game as well.

Get started on your 2 for 1 training today at:

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

Note: This 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

The Key To Concentration

I believe concentration is a crucial key to unlocking
the door to massive success. We all know that,
intuitively. And nature teaches it over and over
again. We've probably all said something like, 'I
need to concentrate to finish this job', for instance.

That's what I'm talking about.

Through learning to focus your mind you can
develop any of the behaviors, skill sets, or
personality traits you need to succeed, including
confidence which is so critical to great shooting.

But if you are scattering your attention and your
mental energy all over the place it's almost
impossible to build much positive momentum.
Your power is being dissipated.

It's like a plane taking off, or like Marty McFly
driving the Delorean time machine in 'Back To
The Future'. There's a threshold speed at which
lift (or time travel) begins to happen. Stay under
that speed and you're just cruising along on the
ground. If you want to fly you have to get up to
speed, and concentration is the way.

Luckily for you though there is a key to the key.

That's right. There is a key to concentration and
it's right under your nose. Someone once said the
human being has an almost unlimited capacity to
take things for granted, and this is one of those
times.

O.K. O.K. I won't hold you in suspense any longer.

The key to concentration is breathing.

Well not just breathing, because we all do that,
but controlled, deliberate breathing.

Breathing is unique in that it is normally done by
the automatic part of our mind and body. We
don't have to think about it. It is controlled by the
subconscious.

But we CAN think about it and do it on purpose.
Breathing can be a conscious, deliberate activity.
We can hold our breath, slow the inhale and
exhale, visualize and feel things when we do it,
etc. The breath is a wonderfully powerful tool
most people don't have a clue how to use.

I'll tell you more in coming days, but for today
work on not taking your breathing for granted.
Start being being more greatful for the breath
of life, and you'll start opening the door to
experience more of that very life.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. I am working on an book on how to use your
breath to feed your power of concentration and
achieve greater success.

Till that's done, much of what I know about
purposeful breathing from Karen Van Ness. With
a background in college hoops and martial arts
Karen teaches her clients how to breathe right
and see daily results in mind and body. She even
has a program that has helped many overcome
asthma with little or no medication.

You can learn a ton from this inspirational gal.
See what she has to say today at:

http://www.bestbreathingexercises.com/dynamic_energy2.html

P.S.S My oldest boy's high school team lost in the
state-tournament finals last night. You'd like to
win that game, but they left it all on the court and
had a great season.

That reminds me though how many of your
seasons are winding down or over. And soon the
magic of March Madness will be in full swing at
the college level.

It's time for you to start thinking about getting
better, and Coach Tony Alfonso with his
experience as a hoops player, coach, teacher, and
strength and conditioning guy has written a book
recently that covers getting more fit for basketball.
It covers strength, explosiveness, agility, quickness,
speed, flexibility, and endurance and it's called:

'The Complete Basketball Strength And Speed
Program'

And it covers everything, and I mean everything.

Find out why you should be in active rest right
now and be restarting your base phase in a matter
of weeks today at:

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

Note: This blog is protected by copyright with all
rights reserved, but you 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

Concentration Is ...

If Forest Gump had read my blog from yesterday
he might have said:

'Concentration is, as concentration does.'

The fact is concentration is not something we think
very much about. I know I didn't anyway. It's
been easier, in fact, for me to figure out up front
what it isn't.

It isn't tensing up and trying to force your mind to
perform. It's quite the opposite. It involves your
will, but it's not sheer willpower.

Concentration is a state of mental quiet, where
there is peace of mind and singleness of thought
and purpose. Concentration simply is the ability
to direct your thinking, and we all have the ability
to concentrate -- sometimes.

Think of the times you were 'lost' in something
you really enjoyed like playing hoops, enjoying
music, even watching good game, or a
blockbuster movie. In those times you achieved
almost total concentration.

Next time we'll talk about how to concentrate on
purpose. It's not as hard as you think.

Shoot For The Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Another way to explain concentration is as
what we athletes call being 'In the zone'. It is
both physical and mental. Many athletes have
experienced it before, but most couldn't tell you
how they got there or how to get back.

Don't worry though Coach Patrick Chylinski
teaches three ways you can get in the zone on
purpose in his e-book on becoming a big-time
scorer. And that's just two pages of a 41 page
report.

What would it be worth you to know just that
though?

Find out how to average 20 Points Per Game
today at:

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

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