Shadowing Practice: The Ultimate Guide for Shooting the Basketball [PERFECT SHOOTING FORM] - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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What's up guys, this is Ryan Jones of I Love Basketball TV,
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What's up guys, this is Ryan Jones of I Love Basketball TV,
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the number one YouTube channel to help you guys improve your game.
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And today we're going to give you a complete beginner's guide to become an elite shooter.
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So this video is both for young hoopers who are learning how to shoot for the very first time,
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as well as older hoopers who are looking to just improve their shot form and become an elite shooter.
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So I am a lefty,
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but this video is going to be flipped so it makes sense for the right-handed player.
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So to start off, I'm going to talk about probably the most overlooked,
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but the most important part of your shot,
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which is going to be your base and your feet.
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In order to be a great shooter,
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we got to have really good balance.
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So we're going to start about shoulder width apart with our base.
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And then whenever your strong hand is,
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you want that foot and that toe slightly in front of the other foot.
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And that leads me to the first big mistake that I see with really young players.
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Instead of having their strong foot in front,
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they bring it back here.
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And now they turn and throw that ball and twist those shoulders,
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which is a big no-no.
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So that base is going to control whether or not you're square with your shoulder.
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So you can be a 10-toe shooter where all 10 toes are toward the rim.
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I'm pretty square here.
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Or you could be slightly tilted.
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But the way you want to tilt is you want your
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shooting strong hand shoulder to be a little more angled toward the rim.
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Not completely, but straight on or just a little bit.
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So the next key to being a great shooter
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that can't be overlooked is going to be your hand placement and having good control with that shooting hand.
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So a lot of people have heard about the fingertip shooting.
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We don't need to be here like this with the ball,
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but we definitely want to spread those fingers because if I'm too flat here and I got that ball on my palm,
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I don't have any control of that ball.
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So let's spread those fingers out,
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use those fingertips as well as these finger pads here.
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And now when I have it here,
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I have control of this ball and I can click it and push it where I want it to go.
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If you guys are enjoying this video so far,
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make sure you hit that like and subscribe button so you don't miss any of our I Love Basketball TV content.
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Now for our hand placement,
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we want the ball to come off of these two fingers,
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our middle and our index fingers.
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So in order to do that,
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I like to grab the ball here,
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find that needle hole, and we're either gonna split with those two fingers
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or you're going to put your pointer finger right on the middle of the ball.
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I like to do pointer fingers,
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so I'll demonstrate it that way.
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Now I spread my hand out,
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and as far as your guide hand,
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we don't want our hand directly on the side of the ball
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because then I'm a little more influenced to push with that thumb,
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and I don't have great control here.
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So I'm going to sneak it down just a little bit,
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not in front like this,
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but just enough where I have good control here,
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and then this is going to be my hand placement.
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The guide hand is going to be our second biggest and most common mistake for young players.
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So when you're really young and you're not strong enough yet,
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these hands creep closer together and then you're going to push
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that ball with two hands and
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that habit can stay with you even as you get older where you still have an excessive thumb flick
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and somewhat of a two-handed shot.
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So we don't want that many factors that could change the direction of the ball when it comes off our hand.
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We want to be very consistent.
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This guide hand is supposed to truly be a guide for the ball.
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So what I mean by that is when I bring the ball up here,
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it's really just helping me keep this ball centered and nice
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and stable for my shooting hand until it could take over and finish that shot with the flick of my wrist.
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So I don't wanna take this hand off too early where I'm pushing really solely one-handed,
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but I definitely don't to have influence with my offhand changing my shot.
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So I get my nice offhand placement here
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and as I bring the ball up I keep it on all the way until
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that wrist starts to fall through and those fingers peel off
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and then when you go ahead
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and fall through you should end up with the nice hand in the cookie jar here with your shooting hand
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and your offhand should stay right here not opening up toward the basket nice and centered.
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This next tip is not talked about enough
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and it could be one of the main reasons that you're really struggling to shoot the ball.
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So that's going to be having a loaded wrist.
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Now explain what I mean.
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For all great shooters, you're going to get to this point here where you're ready to release the ball
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and your hand is nice underneath the ball so that way you could push through that elbow and keep that ball straight.
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So when I grab the ball here,
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I don't want to have a lazy wrist because now when I bring the ball up,
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I'm not going to be underneath it.
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So we want to go ahead and load that wrist.
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So I'll start the ball here, roll that ball up.
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Now I have a nice loaded wrist.
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I put my guide hand on it.
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And as I bring the ball up here,
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my wrist angle doesn't change at all.
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So now when I go up to release the ball,
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I'm perfectly underneath the ball and I can flick that ball straight.
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Before I get into the next tip for building that elite shot,
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make sure you go ahead and click
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that link in the pinned comment down below and we'll send you guys a free scoring workout.
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Now it's very important to understand what you're aiming for
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and having the proper arc so that ball goes in at a higher percentage.
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So some players want to shoot more bank shots.
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Now this is great if I'm off on the side here a little bit,
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but if I'm not in that perfect spot to go glass,
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especially if I'm in the front,
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I want to go all net as much as possible.
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So I'm not going to aim back rim.
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I'm not going to aim backboard.
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I'm actually going to do what my coach,
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Coach Scott, told me when I was little.
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We're going to try to go up and over the front of the rim from whatever angle I'm at.
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In order to have that good arc and be up and over the front rim,
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we really want to avoid just pushing the ball straight at the rim and having this low follow-through.
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So when I follow through here,
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I want that elbow to be above my eyebrow.
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If I'm too straight at the basket here,
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I'm going to have a very flat shot.
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and it's going to be very hard to make it without that ball hitting the back rim first.
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So let's be here, thinking up and over that front rim,
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high follow through, and hold that follow through until the ball goes through the basket.
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One thing that's going to allow you to shoot that ball straight a lot more consistent is having a consistent shot path.
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So your shot path is going to be where you gather the ball,
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so where your set point is,
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all the way until your follow through here.
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So this is my shot path.
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I don't want to bring that ball from across my body.
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it's going to be really inconsistent but the best shooters
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that you'll see they're either going to be centered with the ball
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and then when they come up it's going to get to their strong hand eyebrow
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or they can be already on this hip that way
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that ball moves straight up that path and that's what I would recommend
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because I think that's going to be the most consistent especially if you build it from a young age.
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So you can start with your rollout drill here
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that will help for both your loaded wrist but also for your shot pass.
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So I keep it on my strong hand side,
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put on my leg, roll it up here,
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put my guide hand on,
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and now when I go up to shoot,
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that ball is going to go from my hip to the chest to
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that eyebrow and then follow straight through with that consistent shot line.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will learn how to effectively practice your English speaking skills through shadowing techniques, using a basketball shooting tutorial as a reference. By mimicking the speaker’s rhythm, pronunciation, and intonation, you will not only grasp the content better but also improve English pronunciation. This engaging method allows you to refine your speaking abilities in a practical context, helping you feel more confident during IELTS speaking practice or any conversational setting.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Shooting form
  • Balance
  • Strong hand
  • Foot placement
  • Control
  • Hand placement
  • Square shoulders
  • Fingertip shooting

Practice Tips

To make the most of this shadowing exercise, follow these tips to match the speed and tone of the transcript closely:

  • Start Slow: Rewind the video and listen to short segments of the speaker explaining key concepts such as shooting form and balance. Pause the video and repeat each segment aloud, paying close attention to the pronunciation of specific terms.
  • Physical Mimicry: While practicing, try to incorporate the physical movements discussed in the video. This will help you synchronize body language with verbal skills, leading to a more natural English speaking practice.
  • Record Yourself: Use your device to record your repetitions. Compare your pronunciation and pace with the speaker's, ensuring you’re pronouncing words clearly and confidently.
  • Use Shadowspeak: As you gain confidence, increase the speed of your shadowing. This advanced technique, known as shadowspeak, challenges you to keep up with the speaker while maintaining clarity and proper pronunciation.
  • Focus on Intonation: Pay attention to the speaker's intonation when discussing technical aspects like foot placement and control. Mimicking their tone will enhance your overall communicative effectiveness.

Through these targeted practices, you will enhance your English speaking skills while also learning how to shoot a basketball with improved technique!

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

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