I'll Take Those Odds Any Day

I hope you're having a blessed Christmas and
spending time loving those closest to you. My
daughter just reminded me a few minutes ago
the word holiday comes from holy day. And
every day is a holy day if love dwells in your
heart.

In my mailbox this morning was another story
from my friend Coach Tim Kauppinen about his
daughter who's playing 6th grade hoops this
year. I think it has a message for all of us.

'My daughter's 6th grade basketball season is in
full swing - her team is undefeated so far but she
has been unhappy with her play.

The reason? To me, it looks like she's simply
been afraid to shoot the ball.

So, the two of us had a little chat about it - because
I want her to enjoy bball as much as she has in the
past.

"Why aren't you taking shots in the games?" I
asked after a Saturday tournament.

"Because, if I miss, my team will be mad at me,"
she answered.

Now, I know this wasn't true but try to tell that
to your 11 year old... no way she was going to buy
what I had to say. No matter how many athletes
I had coached. So I had to try a different
approach.

"Tell me what can happen when you take a shot"

"Well, I could make the basket. Or my teammates
could get the rebound. Or I could get fouled and
get to shoot free throws. Or I could miss and turn
the ball over."

"So," I continued, "3 good things could happen if
you take a shot, and only one bad thing (which
really isn't all that bad anyway)... sounds like
pretty good odds to me. How about this - next
game, you take at least 5 shots when you are
open and see what happens."

"And," I continued, " What will happen if you
don't take any shots?"

"Nothing."

She didn't promise me anything at the end of our
little talk but I guess she took it to heart.

Next game, she took a couple of early shots. She
missed the first one, but the center from her team
rebounded and put in an easy bunny shot. Then
she made the next three shots she took.

And guess what?

She started having fun again. She started getting
more steals and rebounds herself. She made some
great passes which turned into assists when her
teammates scored. She looked faster and more
explosive the whole time she was on the court -
and she was kept out there a lot because she was
hustling her buht off. All because she started
taking shots.

Of course, she only took 4 since I told her to take
at least 5... hey, she doesn't want to let her Dad
tell her what to do, does she?

After the game I congratulated her (they won
big) and reminded her of a very important fact.

"You'll miss every shot you never take."

Same goes for you. What "shots" have you taken
lately.

Don't let fear of failure paralyze you. The only
way to truly fail is to do nothing.

And heck, you can make something positive
out of most the shots you take, and in so doing
you'll improve your health, your life, and your
wealth like never before.'

Those are words anybody can live by. Thank
you Tim.

Make Every Shot Count,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. If you want to to run like a cheetah, be quick
as a cat, and explode out of your stance like a
pouncing lion, Coach Tim is your man. I've told
you about his uphill sprinting program many
times, but you can check out all his speed secrets
today at:

http://www.makesyoufast.com/

Shalom on Earth

Full Speed Ahead

I'm sure you all know there's more to being a
scoring machine than being a good shooter.
You have to have a scorer's mentality, and you
have to be a superior ballhandler, for instance
or you'll hardly ever get off a shot.

Something else you need to do is duplicate
game speeds and intensity in your practices.
Too many people practice at half-speed trying
to conserve their energy. That's a big mistake.

You are what you practice in many ways. When
you're working on your shot make sure you go
all out. Even if you're by yourself always
work at full speed and work against imaginary
fierce defenders. Then when you get in a real
game you won't have so much speed-shock.

Coach Hal Wissel goes thoroughly into shooting
under game conditions on his 2nd Better
Shooting DVD. If you want a leg up on your
competition get those puppies pumping now and
zip over to:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Hal's 1st DVD will teach you confidence,
consistency, and control while you are
developing a quick-release jump shot. Then
when you fly around at full-speed you're shot
will be under control. Get on your horse and
make a quick visit to:

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

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Go Lateral Young Man

As Coach Tim Kauppinen pointed out to me the other
day, in basketball you don't run in a straight line very
often. To set yourself up for the best looks at the
basket you really need lightning quick lateral speed.

Tim says the key to sideways quickness and speed is
to lift the foot in the direction you want to go and
always be pushing off the opposite foot. If you're
trying to plant your lead foot and pull, you're slowing
yourself down.

Here are a 3 simple ways to train to be a bolt of
lightning on the hardwood.

1. Run laterally through agility ladders. If you're
doing it wrong you'll be dragging that ladder
behind you before you get very far.

2. Run laterally up steps. If you do this one wrong
you'd better be on carpeted stairs 'cause you're
probably going down.

3. Run laterally up hills. Much harder if you've got
the technique wrong.

Don't forget Coach Tim has a killer hill and step sprinting
program that will get you superior conditioning results in
far less time than traditional methods. With the time you
save, you can probably shoot 100 extra shots a day. If
you're ready to add uphill training to your bag of tricks
now's the time to zip right over to:

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

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. After a super-strenuous hill routine or regular
practice there's nothing quite as refreshing as the
energizing vibrations of enpowering music.
Find out how to recharge your energy field today at:

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

Make Every Shot Count