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Have you heard of the F.O.R.E.S.T way of shooting yet? I hadn't until
2009, but when I did it changed the way I coach shooting forever!!
Growing up I was always taught to shoot a basketball using the B.E.E.F.
acronym as I am sure a lot of you were, for those that don’t know B.E.E.F. stands for Balance, Elbow, Eyes, Follow trough.
Now coaches tend to adapt B.E.E.F. to suit their coaching style and terminology but the basic message stays the same. I came to find that the B.E.E.F. acronym was to vague for young players, they needed something with some more detail about their technique to enable them to make adjustments easily.
I also noticed that the best shooters in the world didn’t shoot the way I was taught, they DON’T have 10 toes to the basket, they DON’T jump straight up and down, and their shoulders are NEVER square to the basket.
AS a coach this puzzled me, I wanted to make sure I was teaching shooting the best way possible to allow my played to improve. So I started digging around online when I came across the Pro Shot System. Coach Paul Hoover had developed the Pro Shot System and seemed to have noticed the same trends I had noticed in terms of how the best were shooting and how coaches were teaching. After spending a few days learning about their system I knew I had found what I was looking for, that’s when I was welcomed to the F.O.R.E.S.T way of shooting, and since then the results have been amazing for 100's of athletes around the world.
When I first introduce players/coaches/parents to the F.O.R.E.S.T many have strong reservations about it. People don’t normally like change, however they soon came around when they started seeing the improvements in the players.
The main areas of controversy come from the Rhythm . Sway . Turn, mainly because players have always been taught;
DON’T dip the ball,
Jump straight up and down,
10 toes to the basket,
and now we are going to encourage a dip for RHYTHM, have a slight forward jump with our SWAY, and with a TURN that aligns their shooting side to the basket, not their chest.
I found the easiest way is to challenge people to do their own research. Go and pay attention to how the best shooters shoot, look at the technique from catch/dribble to landing. Here's a link to some slow motion of Steph Curry here
Almost every time they come in for the next session and say something along the lines of "Coach you were right about how the pro's shoot" once they accept this we can get to work.
Now over the years I have adapted to my style of coaching, but the Pro Shot System and the F.O.R.E.S.T acronym have helped me teach players of all ages and abilities how to be a better shooter.
I have a YouTube series on the FOREST, here, go a check it out, and improve your game