7 Things I Learned In Pursuit of the 80% Free-Throw Average
Basketball has always been a passion of mine and really only until recently, by soccer, has it ever been rivaled. As I approach ending my 43rd year on this planet and beginning my 44th I have come to grips with the fact that the days are numbered where I will be able to shoot a basketball, or a soccer ball. It’s a sobering thought, and one that has me looking for ways to extend the amount of time I might be able to do those two things.
I am also a University of Kentucky alum and fan. I have been troubled by a couple of things I have seen in college basketball as of late. One is the lack of attention given to shooting mechanics. I can’t believe that some of these kids get D-I scholarships and yet can’t shoot 80% from the free-throw line or hit a 15 foot jump-shot. I have grown weary of Calipari’s poor free-throw shooting teams. Maybe he’ll even read this if I tag him in it.
So, in an effort of showing that it is possible to become a good foul shooter I have devoted 30 minutes a day to shooting 100 free-throws. I actually make it out about four days a week. If I miss less than 30 and hit number 100 then I keep shooting until I miss. At first I realized I was not nearly as good as I remembered. I shot less than 60% the first day. As the days have worn on I have also made some changes and tried to put those into my routine and now I am better than 70%.
Seven things I have learned include:
1. Taking a deep breath and blowing it out before taking the shot helps focus and relax and leads to greater success.
2. Focusing on the rim takes practice.
3. Hand placement and arm position are the two biggest reasons I miss. If they are wrong I tend to assist with my left, non-shooting, hand. That elbow needs to be tucked under the ball.
4. Maybe it’s because I am getting older, but I cannot stay crouched. I need to go down into my stance while I take a deep breath and blow it out, and then shoot. Otherwise I either lose focus or short arm the shot.
5. Arc and rotation really are important if you aren’t dead center every time. Both lead to a soft landing shot that has the chance to go in on the bounce.
6. My free-throw success translates into jump-shot success, but I’m convinced the reverse isn’t true from a mechanics perspective. Working on catching and shooting and dribbling into a jump shot need to be practiced in order to get feet placement and ball placement right, but mechanically I think the free-throw work is where kids need to do the work.
7. Routine is key. Doing the same thing every time creates muscle memory and psychological focus so that when the crowd is going nuts our God-designed and humanly trained biology does the right thing.
Us and Them
It’s so easy to think of us ministry insiders as Us and as everyone else as Them.
It’s easy to think that we don’t suffer from bouts of pride, self righteousness, self importance, victimization mentalities, and depression.
It’s easy to convince ourselves that we somehow worked hard enough on our spirituality to achieve such high positions within the Church…
and to ignore the fact that there isn’t much difference between me and the homeless ex-con who was forced into foster care as a boy because his parents would rather beat him then tell him they love him.
In fact, it is shamefully easy to ignore the reality that grace has far more to do with why I am the counselor and not the patient.
The reality is that there is no Us unless it means all of Us,
and there is no Them unless Them means Us.
Jesus said, “Why worry about the speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?” and he was speaking to the ones in ministry.
A week without
Fasting is a discipline that I try to participate in at least once a year, and typically during Lent, but this past week I have participated in a different kind of fast. I’ve fasted from having a wife.
Early on in my attempts to fast I would plan a huge Break-fast event and found that in reality I couldn’t eat that much. As my fasting matured I became more sensitive to the abundance and necessity of food.
I’ve been away from my wife before, and she’s even been away from me for four or five days. This; however, is the first time I’ve had to get kids to games, practices, and church. The first time to manage the chaos of after school homework. The first time to pack lunch, do hair, pick out clothes, bathe kids, and fix breakfast all at the same time. The first time to make sure that the food would be there for those activities. The first time to do mountains of laundry and to make sure chores are done.
I used to think fasting was about not doing, but in reality I have learned this week that it is about doing without.
My admiration, appreciation, and commitment to my wife and kids has grown tremendously. My sensitivity to the single parent scenario has reached a peak. My aversion to divorce has only grown stronger.
A week without…you should try it.