Who taught you how to shoot?

I walked into the gym the other day and saw Colin Walsh, an 8th grade Next Player, was working on his shot. 

He had no rebounder… and no trainer.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

The arc of his shot and ball rotation …. flawless. 

I see Colin in the gym often. Today, I decided to ask him, “Who taught you how to shoot?”

His response, “You.”

We have a lot of great shooters in our program, and Colin is arguably the best.

Back up a few years, Colin had been cut from several basketball teams.  He even was cut from the same team multiple times.

Through sheer work ethic, Colin has become a star.

He played this past year for St Gen’s CYO, Springfield Travel’s top team in the ICBA, and is a fixture on Next Play’s top 8th grade team.

This past winter, Colin was selected as a CYO All-Star in Region 11 and was recognized as the Player of the Game at the St. Helena’s Tournament. 

Again, here’s a kid that was cut several times and is now a star at his age.

What’s interesting is that we haven’t worked with Colin on his shooting form for several years. 

He simply loves working on his shot.

In the old days, there were no trainers or shooting coaches. The ball and the basket would be the teacher, and getting beat in pick up games was the motivation.

Yes, it helps to learn proper hand placement and footwork, but every kid shoots the ball differently. Every kid’s body type is different and that changes as they grow.

At Next Play, we offer shooting camps and clinics that teach the fundamentals and give each player individual instruction that you won’t find at many basketball camps.

The lesson here is that Colin took what he learned from us and made it work for him. He mastered the lesson through repetition and likely a desire to beat his older brother, Nate.