Free throws are shots that should be so simple, but they give so many players, even good ones, a hard time.   This difficulty increases exponentially in late game situations.  A perfect example of this was the same game the other night my opponent’s best player missed at least five free throws down the stretch.  Missing free throws in late game situations is not a physical mistake, it is a mental mistake.  It has nothing to do with him being a good or bad shooter (he had made his free throws up until that point).  Practicing free throws are a necessity especially when developing and training for basketball, but with late game free throw shooting, it becomes about consistency and focus.  It is about taking a deep breath and visualizing the basketball going in the net. It is about blocking out your surroundings and ensuring that your focus as a basketball player is on that rim and making that particular free throw. 

So why did my freshman basketball player make those two clutch free throws in such a crucial situation of the basketball game?  Simple, he was mentally focussed.  It was the same situation that he had been practicing for years at the park or in his driveway.  It was him, the rim, and no one else…swish.

As always, let us know your thoughts on free throw shooting and any other aspects of the game that you find players making mental mistakes by writing in the comments section below.

See you on the court.

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

When I was in college and in high school I spent a significant amount of time playing pick-up basketball at different parks or gyms in my area.  I could not get enough basketball in and if the games at one park were no longer any good or if people just stopped playing there, I would find a new park or gym to play at.  It was like a religion where guys would come to the parks in droves to play each and every day and sometimes the wait would be about five games deep (anywhere between 30 and 40 players).  It does not appear that this happens any more as it seems that playground basketball has disappeared somewhat, at least in my area.  Maybe disappeared is too strong of a word, but it has definitely reduced.  I cannot remember the last time I drove by a park and saw that many people waiting for a game of basketball, and that is unfortunate.  It is inexplicable exactly why this has happened but there is no question that the reduced amount of playground basketball has hurt the level of play in recent years.  There are many aspects of playground basketball that are missed in today’s game not the least of which is making your free throws. 

When we played, to even get on the court, you had to make a free throw and if you missed, you did not play until the next game (at the earliest).  That is the pressure that comes along with playing basketball at the playground.  No one wanted to sit and watch so you worked on your free throws and made them in order to get in the game.  As a coach, I see many players miss free throws on a nightly basis particularly in pressure situations like a close game in the fourth quarter.  It is difficult to replicate this type of pressure in practices because what are you really losing in a practice if you miss?  However, at the playground, you are losing valuable time on the court and that can only hurt.  So ultimately, you learned to make your free throws under the guise that if you missed you sat out.  Nowadays, if there are not enough players to play at the park the pressure of making a free throw to get on the court does not even come in to play and perhaps that is why players time and again choke at the line under the pressure of the game. 

In part two of The Effects of a Lack of Playground Basketball I will take a look at how playground basketball helps players develop better basketball skills.