Coach Dave Love

Most coaches can see the ball spinning.

Very few know how to read it.

Almost nobody in the coaching world understands how much information is available in the spin of the ball.

Most coaches understand, at least at some level, that the spin of the basketball matters, but the spin is one of the most information-rich signals available in shooting evaluation.

The problem is that most coaches are either ignoring it, or doing something even more dangerous.

They are misreading it.

The seams of the ball can create an optical illusion, which means what you think you are seeing may not actually be what is happening.

The ball is essentially a record of the release. If you know how to read it, it can tell you a lot about the shot.

Players and coaches, be honest. When you watch a shooter, are you actually reading the spin of the ball, or are you mostly watching the result? Comment below with what you look for first.

Some drills work because they remove the easy option.

A 1-2 step is not wrong. In a game, if a player has time to take a 1-2 step, it is absolutely a viable option.

But in this drill, the constraint is different. You only get one step to get your balance.

That means you have to work harder. You may have to explore a new motor pattern. You have to figure how to stop your momentum in one step instead of using the extra time and rhythm of a 1-2 step.

This is why constraints matter in shooting development. They help expose the habits a player depends on, and they force the player to find balance under different conditions.

Players and coaches, where do you see shooters struggle more: getting balanced on a 1-2 step, or stopping their energy in one step? Comment below.

Most coaches are missing out on one of the most information-rich signals in shooting…

The spin of the ball.

Some coaches are starting to look at spin, but many are still misreading what it actually tells us.

In other sports, this type of information is already measured. We can measure the axis of rotation for a golf ball or a baseball, but basketball has lagged behind.

The reason is simple.

Most people have not been trained to understand what this information means, or why it has value for shooting development.

My research partner and I have created a way to measure the spin axis of the basketball. I believe we are among the only ones capable of measuring it this way right now.

Over time, that will change. This information will become more accessible, and our understanding of shooting will keep improving.

It just takes time.

Shooting is complex. Follow me for the nuances. ✅

Perfect shooting form is one of the biggest myths in basketball.

There are no correct ways of shooting a basketball that apply to every player, in every situation, on every shot they take.

But that does not mean every way a player shoots the ball works great either.

The goal is to figure out which habits help you, which habits hurt you, and why those habits are creating the results they are creating.

There is gray area in this.

Some habits might help a player stay comfortable, but those same habits might also be causing them to miss more shots.

The work is learning how to keep what helps, understand what hurts, and make better decisions around what needs to change.

Shooting is complex. Follow me for the nuances.

Practice should not easy.

And It should not be too hard. It should be just right.

That is the idea behind the Challenge Point. The Challenge Point Framework basically says we do not want practice to sit on either extreme.

If the task is too easy, the player is not being pushed enough to learn.
If the task is too hard, the player cannot get enough success to build the habit.

Both those slow down the learning of the player.

As a shooting coach, that means I am constantly judging and adjusting to that we can maximize how fast someone learns.

If practice is too easy, I need to make it a little bit harder.
If practice is too hard, I need to make it a little bit easier.

The goal is to keep players in that sweet spot where they are being challenged, but still capable of getting the habit right enough to learn.

That is where better practice happens.

Save this if you are a coach building better practice environments.

You can’t explain a player into every solution.

At some point, they have to learn how to solve the problem in real time.

𝑫𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, when the shooter is learning without even realizing they are learning, especially around the idea of balance.

There are certain habits that definitely help players be more balanced and controlled in hard contexts, but those habits need to be adjusted slightly for each individual situation.

How you get balanced moving right will be slightly different than how you get balanced moving backwards.

Rather than a coach having to explain all the different options through explicit instruction, they can create game-like problems for the player and allow the player to solve them.

That doesn’t mean I don’t coach or guide players towards what I think will be better solutions. It just means I allow them to explore, and I adjust the problem as they do.

Coaches, the goal is not to give players every answer. The goal is to create better problems so they can build better solutions.
Want more ideas for designing better shooting environments?
Follow for more basketball coaching and player development insights.

What motivates me as a coach?

This was an organic question someone asked at one of my grass-roots shooting clinics. I tried to give it an honest, thoughtful answer.

Coaching is easy to talk about.

It is a lot harder to keep showing up for.

The long hours.
The repeated conversations.
The player who needs to hear the same thing 12 different ways before it finally clicks.
The constant balance between teaching, challenging, encouraging, and holding a standard.

But that is also the work.

Real coaching is not about having the perfect drill or the loudest voice in the gym.

It is about helping players understand themselves better.
It is about giving them tools they can actually use.
It is about being patient enough to teach the habit, not just correct the mistake.

And when you care about the work, you keep finding reasons to show up for it.

Coaches, what part of coaching keeps you coming back?

Most coaches ask the wrong question in practice.

They ask: “How many shots should they get up?”

But the better question is: “How long can they stay in the Challenge Point?”

The important part of practice isn’t the sheer volume or amount. More isn’t always better.

The important part is how often the player is in the Challenge Point.

That means practice needs to be:
🔑Easy enough that they can explore around the habit they are trying to build fairly often
🔑Hard enough that it still challenges them
🔑Specific enough that it helps the skill transfer to the game

With my players, we aren’t focused on hitting a certain number of shots. We are focused on staying in the Challenge Point for as long as we can.

As they improve, the practice should start to look more like the game. Better practice is not about doing more. It is about designing the right level of challenge.

Want better transfer to games?

Stop chasing shot volume alone. Start building practice around the Challenge Point.
Shooting is complex, follow for the nuances