How to Shoot a Basketball: 5 Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Shooting is the most visible skill in basketball and the most commonly taught badly. Most young players do not have a shooting problem so much as five small technical problems stacked on top of each other. Here are the mistakes we correct most often at MYP Academy, how to fix each one, and the single environmental factor that causes more bad shooting form than anything else.

Mistake 1: The Ring Is Too High

This is the big one, and it is not the player’s fault. A child who cannot reach the ring without heaving the ball will develop a two-handed, hip-launched shot to generate power — and that habit can take years to undo. As a rough guide: around 8 feet for ages 7 to 8, 9 feet for ages 9 to 11, and a full 10-foot ring from about age 12. If your home ring is adjustable, lower it. Correct form on a lower ring beats bad form on a high one, every time.

Mistake 2: The Guide Hand Interferes

The off hand should support the ball and then do nothing. Most young players push with it, which sends the ball spinning sideways and makes accuracy inconsistent. Fix it with one-handed form shooting from close range: shoot fifty shots from a metre out with the guide hand behind the back, then reintroduce it as a passenger only.

Mistake 3: No Legs in the Shot

Power should come from the ground up — legs, then core, then arm — in one continuous motion. Players who shoot with arms alone lose range, and they lose their form entirely when tired. Fix it by shooting from a dip: bend, rise and release as the legs extend, so the shot finishes on the way up rather than at the peak of a jump.

Mistake 4: Inconsistent Release Point

If the ball leaves from a slightly different spot every attempt, the shot cannot be repeatable. The release should be high and in front of the shooting-side shoulder, with the elbow tracking under the ball rather than flaring out. Wall form shooting and lying-down form shooting both build this — two drills we cover in our guide to basketball drills kids can do at home.

Mistake 5: No Follow-Through

The snap of the wrist creates backspin, and backspin is what gives a shot a soft, forgiving bounce on the rim. Players who drop their hand immediately lose that margin for error. Coach the hold: fingers pointing into the ring, wrist relaxed, hand held until the ball lands. It also gives you a visual cue you can correct from across the court.

How to Practise So It Actually Sticks

• Close before far. Perfect form from one metre, then step back gradually. Never let a player shoot from beyond where their form breaks down.

• Quality over quantity. Fifty focused shots beat three hundred careless ones. Careless reps teach bad habits just as efficiently as good reps teach good ones.

• Game speed eventually. Once form is solid, shoot off the catch, off the dribble, and under fatigue — because that is how shots come in games.

• Track it. Make ten from a spot before moving. Measurable targets keep young players engaged.

Why Shooting Improves Fastest With a Coach

Shooting is the hardest skill to self-correct, because players cannot see themselves shoot. A player can practise a flaw a thousand times and simply get better at the flaw. An experienced eye spots what is actually happening in the first few minutes — which is why private 1-on-1 coaching delivers such rapid results for shooting specifically, and why our weekly Academy sessions build shooting mechanics into every week rather than leaving it to chance.

If your child’s shot has plateaued, an hour with the right eye on it changes more than a month of solo practice.

Book a session at mypacademy.com.au/book-online or contact Coach Juilu on 0403 312 624.

Train with purpose. Build confidence. Meet Your Peak.