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.

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

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

It's A No-Brainer

Fantasies are more than substitutes for unpleasant
reality; they are also dress rehearsals, plans. All
acts performed in the world begin in the imagination.

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, American writer
(1934-2002)

If you're having trouble using your imagination to
turbocharge your performance, maybe it's because
you have some hangups about it. Perhaps you're
equating it with fantasy and daydreaming, both
of which we've all been warned about.

I don't want you to use your imagination as a crutch
though. And I don't want you to try to deny or avoid
your reality. All I want you to do is learn how to
affect your reality positively, and using your
imagination on purpose is one of your most
powerful tools.

If you want to be a great shooter, or a public
speaker, or a heart surgeon you'll get there faster if
you learn to use your imagination.

Do you have a shooter or two you really admire?
Someone who's your hero. Mine would be Larry
Bird, for instance.

Great, then you can use the 'no-brainer' technique
I learned from Mike Brescia.

What you do is this: When you need to shoot well
use your imagination to replace your brain, (or
mind, or head) with theirs. Visualize their head on
your body. Got the picture?

Good. Let that sink in, then start asking yourself
questions about your hero.

- How would they stand
- What expression would they have on their
face
- What would be their confidence level
- How would they walk
- How would they talk
- What would be running through their mind
- What would they be picturing
- What would they do next
- How would they be feeling, etc.

Become that person. Watch them on video. Read
biographies of them.

Note: This isn't a magic pill or a one-time deal. Take
a few minutes and repeat it as often as you think
about it and can focus inwardly. It will get easier and
be more effective over time, and before you know it
people will be calling you an 'overachiever'.

Coach Stan Kellner has a similar technique in his bag
of tricks called 'Modeling The Best'. Don't forget
about his book, 'Beyond The Absolute Limit'. It is
chocked full of more than 50 mental techniques for
improving all facets of your game. Included are 3
chapters just on shooting.

This book has more usable information than any
basketball book I've ever seen. It is a super steal
at $14.95. Buy one for all the hoops fans in your life
today at:

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

Shoot For The Stars,

The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Stan's shooting DVD is also unique in the
shooting world in it's concentration on the inner
game of shooting. Other shooting coaches touch on
the mental aspects of shooting in various degrees,
but Stan goes all the way.

See what a difference it can make in your shooting
by scarfing it up today at:

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

Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

How To See Your Future

In his book 'Sacred Hoops' Phil Jackson relates how
B.J. Armstrong would use visualizations before
games.

'I believe if I can take twenty or thirty minutes
before each game and visualize what's going to
happen I'll be able to react to it without thinking
because I will already have seen it in my mind. I
can see myself making a shot or boxing out or
getting a loose ball.

And then when I see that come up during the game
I don't think about it. I do it. There are no second
thoughts. No hesitation.'

If it's that important for professionals to use their
imagination in preparing for a game how much
more so for the rest of us.

Sometimes it's not easy though. It comes naturally
to some. Others struggle with it. That's why I
recommend Stan Kellner's materials on basketball
cybernetics. He will teach you dozens and dozens of
ways to turbo-charge your game through learning
to use your imagination positively.

I know you can do it. You already use your mind
negatively when you worry about anything. You
run a 'what if' scenerio in your imagination, don't
you?

So why can't you use your imagination positively
for your own good?

You might just need a little help first. Then you'll
be taking off like a Saturn rocket. Isn't that what
coaches are for.

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. The help you need is only a click away. Don't
be too proud to ask for help, or lollygag around and
miss out on your super-future.

Get your motor running over to:

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

Copyright, Delker Enterprises, Inc. 2006