BASKETBALL SHOOTING COACH
THIS IS BRAIN TRAINING - TRAIN YOUR BRAIN TO SHOOT !!!
THE MOST INNOVATIVE AND CONTROVERSIAL APPROACH TO SHOOTING A BASKETBALL SINCE THE ONE-HANDED JUMP SHOT
- COURT VISION / PERIPHERAL VISION -
THIS IS BRAIN TRAINING!!! WE ARE TRAINING YOUR BRAIN TO SHOOT!!!
Open Your Mind To A Whole New World. Learn how to develop acute peripheral vision, or court vision. Peripheral Vision = a gateway into ‘The Zone.’
Remember when you first began dribbling a basketball? If you had been dribbling in the street and a semi-truck was bearing down on you, you’d never have seen or heard it coming because of your intense focus on that basketball. This is the opposite of peripheral vision. After awhile you learned to only look occasionally at the basketball while dribbling, then eventually not at all. When you’re not looking at the basketball you can be looking else where. But, this is not peripheral vision either, this is just getting used to the feel of how a basketball reacts and feels while you’re dribbling.
Peripheral vision is described by Webster’s as: “the area of vision just outside your line of sight.” Peripheral vision occurs naturally. However peripheral vision is unintentionally ignored by most of us. In order to develop your peripheral vision to a high degree you must first stop ignoring it. Once you’ve stopped ignoring peripheral vision you can begin enhancing your awareness of everything that’s ‘outside your line of sight’ and learn to appreciate and utilize this great asset, your peripheral vision.
Begin this awareness process right now by looking directly at something, anything (since you’re reading this, you might consider looking at this page). Without moving your eyes (you may blink) become aware of everything else you can see 'outside your direct line of sight; everything. It’s surprising at first. While looking straight ahead you can clearly see the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling of a room and everything in between because all of it lies within the field of your peripheral vision. If you forget to be aware of your peripheral vision these things obviously don’t disappear, you're just temporarily not conscious of them. When something enters your peripheral vision from the right or left and you notice it, you might say “I saw it out of the corner of my eye.” That’s an apt description.
Peripheral Vision Explained:
Honed peripheral vision is how highly developed speed readers ‘see’ and read entire pages at a time. It appears as if they’re just turning pages but in actuality they are taking mental pictures, as if seeing photographs, or a page of pictures. Speed readers transfer word pictures from book to brain by taking mental images of each page and storing each and every image (of each and every page) in their brain. Once the picture is stored the mind (sub-conscious, un-conscious or the place where one's imagination resides [different names for the same place} can then study [read the word pictures] at the speed of thought while the brain is snapping more word pictures or images to be studied. In order to be an effective speed reader, you need a highly developed imagination.
Your imagination can be described as: your mind exploring something which is outside your line of conscious thought. In the case of speed reading your line of sight [your line of conscious thought] is the middle of the page. Outside of your line of sight [outside your line of conscious thought] but inside your peripheral vision is the rest of the page. Your peripheral vision [your imagination] is taking in all the information on the page.
Your brain is physiologically split; the forebrain, the midbrain, the hindbrain and psychologically split; conscious and unconscious [subconscious]. Your conscious mind works, or thinks, linearly. That is to say - one thought at a time - one thought after another - ad infinitum - at the speed of light. Your unconscious mind or your imagination uses images to think in entire scenarios and even explores multiple scenarios simultaneously - ad infinitum - but at the speed of thought. A conscious mind and an imagination acting congruently allow a reader to perform the art of speed reading.
A reader trusting in imagination to read enters into ‘the speed reading zone.’ An inventor, like Thomas Edison, trusting in imagination to roam the recesses of his mind enters into ‘the inventor's zone.’ Athletes trusting their imagination to ‘play’ their sport for them also enter into ‘The Zone.’
In ‘The Zone,’ and only in ‘The Zone,’ are you capable of altering space and time. Altering space and time? ??Altering space and time??
Stay with me now. First, of course, you must learn to access your imagination.
An example of imagination at work: You’re watching television and someone says to you “What did the announcer just say?” You answer, “No clue, I wasn’t paying attention.” You weren’t paying attention? Oh really? Then what in the world were you doing? You’ve been staring right at the television for over half an hour.
I’ll tell you what you were doing: While your conscious mind was focused on the television your imagination was running rampant exploring who knows what. Unlike night time dreaming (where thoughts follow a semblance of progression, albeit somewhat disjointed at times) when one is daydreaming [imagining] multiple scenarios can be, and usually are, happening simultaneously. In other words your mind, on it’s own – without intentional [conscious] direction, is creating and studying ‘moving pictures’ [images of it’s own creation, actually your own creation] at the speed of thought.
Speed reading can happen only because imagination operates outside of all time constraints. That sentence bears repeating.
Speed reading can happen only because imagination operates outside of all time constraints.
In order for me to explain that last sentence let’s return to the television you were watching. A scene from the program triggered a memory about an experience you had last year with your best friend. While recalling that entire experience another scene reminded you of a chapter in a research book you recently studied in the library. That recollection reminded you about an overdue book which reminded you about that hairy mole on the librarian’s face. And speaking of moles, your lawn not only needs mowing, it also needs that organic fertilizer you just stumbled upon while surfing the internet. What’s the name of that website? Website... I need to tell my basketball coach to check out BasketballShootingCoach.com.
As your imagination was simultaneously recalling the entire experience you had with your best friend, the complete chapter in that research book, the wonderful story line of the overdue book, the many different times you stared at and contemplated the librarians hairy mole, the name of the organic fertilizer and all it’s organic ingredients, the organic fertilizer’s web site, the BasketballShootingCoach.com website, the face of your basketball coach and the reason you needed to tell him about BasketballShootingCoach.com... ...only 11 seconds of real time ticked off the clock while you, your conscious mind (ego), were 'watching’ television.
No wonder you had ‘no clue’ what the television announcer just said.
Literally, you had ‘lost’ your [conscious] mind! Do you see now what I mean when I say your imagination is unencumbered by all constraints of time? What in the world am I talking about? And what does any of this have to do with shooting a basketball? Stay with me.
The following quotes are all from famous professional athletes:
“The pitcher’s fast ball looked like a beach ball floating toward me in slow motion.” - “The basket looked like it was 6 feet across and the other 9 basketball players were all moving in slow motion” - “I knew the race cars in front of me were spinning at 200 mph but because they were all sliding in slow motion I could see a clear path opening up in between them for me to drive through.” I can go on and on and on with quotes like these.
What was the perception of space and time to these athletes? It certainly did not reflect reality. We’re they operating outside all constraints of space and time? You bettcha! Had they ‘lost’ their [conscious] minds? You bettcha! Were they each ‘In The Zone?’ You b-e-t-t-c-h-a!!!
Right now - RIGHT NOW - you should be asking “how do I get ‘In The Zone?”
The answer: e x p a n d your awareness of your field of peripheral vision. Begin this p r o c e s s by taking a basketball out on a basketball court. Stand on one free throw line looking directly at the rim at the other end of the court. This is your ‘line of sight.’ Without taking your eyes off that basketball hoop [you may blink] what can you actually see that is outside your ‘line of sight?’ Become aware of everything; bleachers, walls, floor, lights, scoreboard, your basketball coach, lines on the court, etc. Keeping your eyes on that basketball hoop slowly dribble towards it staying keenly aware of everything in the gymnasium that is within your peripheral vision, especially everything within the confines of the basketball court. While dribbling and walking what’s your perception of what you’re seeing? Does it appear as though the basketball hoop is slowly growing larger and the lines on the court are moving to meet you then disappearing beneath your basketball shoes? (Hint; if your own face is blocking out your basketball shoes from your peripheral vision, tilt your forehead forward a little until your basketball shoes enter your peripheral vision and do not lower your forehead any further than that.)
You should be moving forward very slowly taking notice of everything within your field of peripheral vision, while maintaining your original ‘line of sight.’ Upon reaching the free throw line of the basket you’ve been focusing on, slowly turn around until your line of vision is the rim back at the other end. Looking directly at that hoop and without taking your eyes off of it, this is now your new ‘line of sight,’ begin slowly dribbling towards it all the while being keenly aware of everything within your field of peripheral vision until you reach the foul line.
What’s your perception of what you’re seeing? Is the basketball hoop slowly growing larger, are the lines on the court moving to meet you then disappearing beneath your basketball shoes and then behind you out of sight? (There are two ways for your mind to perceive what you are seeing. One perception is that you are moving and everything you see is stationary. The other perception is that even though your feet are moving, you appear to be stationary and everything you see is moving toward you; kind of like you’re playing a video game while walking on a treadmill.) You want to develop the perception that you are stationary and everything is moving toward and past you.
This is your first basketball peripheral vision training exercise and is designed to make your mind aware of the vast amount of information your eyes are providing your brain. This is critical information for a basketball player. Information you have been ignoring. Information that is extremely valuable to you during a game. Do this exercise a minimum of 15 minutes per day for at least 7 consecutive days, all the while becoming more and more aware of how clearly you can actually see objects within your peripheral vision.
Those of you interested in speeding up the process of developing your peripheral vision can do this basketball court vision training exercise all throughout your day in school, or while shopping, or reading, watching television, or eating, etc., all of these without dribbling a basketball of course. Do this basketball court vision training exercise until you’ve developed it into a habit. It can become habit within 7 days, or if you’re doing this throughout your entire day maybe within 5 days or less. Continue this basketball court vision exercise until it becomes habit, EVEN IF IT TAKES YOU A YEAR. When this becomes a habit you need not practice it further for it has become a way of life. That’s a good thing. This habit is good for you on so many levels of living.
Now, after you have developed this habit it’s time to e x p a n d your peripheral vision even f u r t h e r . Do the following exercise for five minutes at least twice a day for the rest of your life (the more often you can do this training exercise on a basketball court the better). Doing this peripheral vision exercise before a basketball game and during half-time is a really good idea, not only to improve your peripheral vision but this exercise is unbelievably relaxing.
Stand with your feet approximately shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent. Lift your arms to shoulder height extend them out to the side parallel to the floor as far as you can spread them, as if showing someone how long a 10 foot shark is. You’re in perfect position when your arms are spread and your hands are back far enough to be just inside the edge of your peripheral vision field. Now slowly rotate, from the waist, to the left and then back to the right and back to the left again and repeat rotating only as far as is comfortable. This is not a stretch, you are not stretching. This is a peripheral vision sports movement. Your neck does not pivot, your head moves with the rest of your upper body, your eyeballs are fixed in their sockets, you can see both hands just inside the limits of your peripheral vision, your eyes are locked straight ahead. You know you’re doing it right when the room, or scenery, appears to be swinging back and forth, although your body is what’s actually swinging back and forth.
Your focus is straight out, aiming straight ahead, looking neither left, right, up, or down. While looking straight out you must always be able to peripherally see both your outstretched hands; that’s how wide your field of vision is! Swing your body slowly so everything passing by your eyes is clear and nothing is blurred. Blurring means you are rotating too fast. The object of this exercise is getting your mind to notice and recognize everything within your moving field of peripheral vision.
What’s happening is your brain is actually snapping thousands of pictures of the scenery as it swings by your eyes and stores these pictures for future reference. You are training your mind to study the entire 'moving' field of your peripheral vision. It may take some time to master this, but after you’ve become accustomed to this movement, very slowly increase the speed of your upper body rotation, day by day, month by month, year to year. Can you imagine how incredible your peripheral vision will become after years of practicing this invaluable basketball court vision training exercise? You will see things on the basketball court during a basketball game that will surprise and even astound you.
This exercise will develop your sense of court vision to the extent of cementing your reputation as a basketball player with eyes in the back of your head. This exercise will allow you to develop the skill of knowing where the other 9 basketball players and the referees (which is extremely valuable information) are on the basketball court at all times. This is the exercise that will allow you to develop the skill of deadly accurate no look passes. You are training your mind to study the entire moving field of your peripheral vision at the speed of thought.
You are training your mind to speed read the basketball court.
What's actually happening here is you're giving your conscious mind a job. What’s that job exactly? Paying attention to the act of utilizing your peripheral field of vision. Remember, your conscious mind is only capable of performing one task at a time. Now that your conscious mind is occupied, your unconscious mind can sort through those thousands of pictures your brain is taking and ‘speed read’ the basketball court. When that happens you are running on instinct, you are 100% in your imagination; you are ‘In The Zone.’
An acutely developed field of peripheral vision/basketball court vision is a free pass into your imagination which = a free pass into ‘The Zone.’
An advanced basketball exercise you can do to open your mind to utilizing your peripheral vision involves dribbling two basketballs:
Dribble both basketballs simultaneously, one with each hand, walking from one end of the court to the other and back again, etc. As you're dribbling these two basketballs, rotate your head from side to side, with your eyeballs locked looking straight out. When you're doing this properly it appears as if the gym is swinging back and forth. If your vision is blurring you're rotating your head too quickly. When you believe you're getting good at this basketball dribbling drill, and you'll know it when you're not stumbling around the court like a drunk anymore, pick up the pace. Eventually you'll be running flat out with your head swiveling about wildly on your shoulders. Remember to swivel your head only as fast as your vision is clear and not blurred.
When you become proficient at this basketball dribbling drill, set yourself up an obstacle course to dribble through and continually raise the level of difficulty of your obstacle course, you can also increase the difficulty of dribbling by substituting one basketball with a tennis ball or one basketball with a ‘heavy’ basketball, or both.
These peripheral vision/basketball dribbling/basketball court vision drills not only make you a better dribbler, in quick order I might add, they simultaneously teach you how to see the entire court, which in turn allows you to know where everyone is on the court at all times. Knowing where everyone is all the time, good court vision, made Larry Bird
Your mind, the mind of an athlete, after experiencing ‘The Zone,’ will want to stay ‘In The Zone’ and play from the perspective of ‘The Zone.’
Using your peripheral vision to enter and stay ‘In The Zone’ during a game makes it easier to segue into ‘The Shooting Zone’ when you’re taking a shot. It’s just another scenario as far as your imagination is concerned.
Do you now realize how entering into ‘The Zone’ using acute basketball court vision is another path to DEADLY SHOOTING ACCURACY?