Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times. Silverman holds a Master of Science in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism.
There are many things an athlete can do to get better at basketball. Coaches often emphasize conditioning, defensive play, rebounding and seeing the court. However, the bottom line is putting the ball in the basket and shooting is a learned skill that a basketball player can work on and improve at every point in her playing career.
Footwork
Put the foot on the same side as the shooting hand slightly in front of the other foot. Keep your knees slightly bent so that you are in a good position to start your jump.
Ball positioning
Keep the ball close to your body and bring your elbows in to your ribcage. Put the ball on your fingertips and not the palms of your hands. Think about the way a waiter carries a tray--on his finger tips. That should be similar to the way the ball rests on your finger tips. The back of your hand should be right in front of your face and your finger tips should be facing the rim of the basket.
Release
When taking a jump shot, release the ball just as you reach the peak of your jump. You need to release the ball with backspin. This is done by keeping the ball on your fingertips and snapping your wrist as you follow through.
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