Improve Your Basketball Shot With the Gannon Shooting Drill
To perfect your basketball shot, you have to regularly perform shooting drills that improve your technique and endurance. These drills can also be a fun way to compete with your teammates and develop your mental skills by imagining you are taking a clutch shot in a championship game.
I was introduced to the Gannon Shooting Drill when I was a player at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. It quickly became one of my favorite drills to improve my shot, and I still use it today as a coach at SPIRE Institute (Geneva, Ohio).
This drill will improve your footwork leading into a shot, quicken your release, and increase your agility and body control. It also improves endurance, so you can maintain your form even when fatigue begins to set in. Just like a game situation, the drill is timed, which forces you to make shots under pressure and fatigue. It can also involve a partner to add competition.
Work hard through this drill and you will see your shooting percentage go up as you improve technique and conditioning. Make sure to set goals before each round, and track how many shots you make so you can see your improvement.
Gannon Shooting Drill How-To
- Begin at center court while partner stands under basket with ball
- Sprint to free throw line and receive pass from partner
- Shoot and then backpedal as quickly as possible to center court
- Repeat sequence for 60 seconds
- Partner rebounds ball if shot is missed; prepares for another pass; and keeps track of your shots made and missed
- Return to free throw line and shoot two free throws
- Repeat drill for as many sets as desired
For an additional challenge, try to make more shots than your partner. Whoever makes fewer shots must perform 10 Push-Ups or Sit-Ups.
Photo: zachsanderson.com
Bobby Bossman is the director of basketball and head coach at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Before joining SPIRE, he co-founded and helped create the basketball academy at La Jolla Prep in San Diego. Prior to La Jolla, he was at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, where he served as head coach for their post-graduate program.
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Improve Your Basketball Shot With the Gannon Shooting Drill
To perfect your basketball shot, you have to regularly perform shooting drills that improve your technique and endurance. These drills can also be a fun way to compete with your teammates and develop your mental skills by imagining you are taking a clutch shot in a championship game.
I was introduced to the Gannon Shooting Drill when I was a player at Gannon University in Erie, Pa. It quickly became one of my favorite drills to improve my shot, and I still use it today as a coach at SPIRE Institute (Geneva, Ohio).
This drill will improve your footwork leading into a shot, quicken your release, and increase your agility and body control. It also improves endurance, so you can maintain your form even when fatigue begins to set in. Just like a game situation, the drill is timed, which forces you to make shots under pressure and fatigue. It can also involve a partner to add competition.
Work hard through this drill and you will see your shooting percentage go up as you improve technique and conditioning. Make sure to set goals before each round, and track how many shots you make so you can see your improvement.
Gannon Shooting Drill How-To
- Begin at center court while partner stands under basket with ball
- Sprint to free throw line and receive pass from partner
- Shoot and then backpedal as quickly as possible to center court
- Repeat sequence for 60 seconds
- Partner rebounds ball if shot is missed; prepares for another pass; and keeps track of your shots made and missed
- Return to free throw line and shoot two free throws
- Repeat drill for as many sets as desired
For an additional challenge, try to make more shots than your partner. Whoever makes fewer shots must perform 10 Push-Ups or Sit-Ups.
Photo: zachsanderson.com
Bobby Bossman is the director of basketball and head coach at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Before joining SPIRE, he co-founded and helped create the basketball academy at La Jolla Prep in San Diego. Prior to La Jolla, he was at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, where he served as head coach for their post-graduate program.