Foul Shots : It’s All Mental
by
The subject of free throw shooting
came up in several of the Trail Blazer
interviews this season. As some of the
players gave some insight into what
was going on inside their heads as they
stood at the charity stripe, it reminded
me of a study that was carried out at
Brown University back in the sixties.
A professor in the psychology de
partment at Brown wanted to conduct
an experiment on free throw shooting
with three different control groups of
12 students. The first group played on
the college's basketball team. The sec
ond group had played basketball in high
school, but were not talented enough to
have played on the college level. The
third group had never played basketball
before in their life.
• The professor addressed all three
groups on the first day of the experi
m ent "Group 1 (Brown's Basketball
Team) will shoot 10 free throws after a
two hour practice every day for five
days. Group 2 (people who had played
in high school) will shoot 30 free throws
a day after a 1 hour scrimmage for five
days. Group 3 (people who had never
played) will not be able to shoot at the
basketball net for the first hour. They
were allowed to watch and take notes
on Group 1 and Group 2 when they
practiced free throws. They were al
lowed to stand at the free throw line and
they were allowed to hold a ball, but
they couldn't attempt a shoot. Group 3
was instructed by the professor to imag
ine a visual motion picture o f them
selves making a foul shot. They were
told to concentrate on their foot place
ment at the line, their body posture,
making one smooth and fluid motion as
they released the ball and let it roll off
their finger tips. They were further in
structed to "watch" the ball mentally as
its flightarched threw the air and slipped
over the front of the hoop and gently fell
threw the cords. The professor reem
phasized that Group 3 should concen
trate on the mental picture of the pro-
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Buck Williams at the free throw line shows his concentration before taking
the shot.
cess. Only after that intense hour of
concentration would they be allowed 10
shots from the free throw line. Fivedays
later he brought the Groups together
and each person in each group shot 10
free throws. Group 1 shot .702% after a
two hour scrimmage. Group 2 shot .665
after a one hour scrimmage, even though
they had practiced foul shooting three
times as much as the other two groups.
After taking an hour to mentally prepare
themselves, Group 3 made .878 % of
their free throws even though they had
never played the game before!
Granted when you’re playing in the
NBA the pace is a mile a minute. The
question I was asking the Portland Trail
P O R T L A N D
Blazer players was how do you make
the transition from the lightning fast
break pace to the dead still concentra
tion of the free throw?
"Gotta make two," Alla Abdelnaby
started. "I try to be as positive as
possible out there. I tell myself 'these
are both going down.' I try to visualize
(making the shot)... It’s a lot of visual
ization in free throws because it’s a
stand still thing and you’re on your
own. I try to visualize my stroke, my
whole routine, from the dribble to the
follow through. I like keeping my arm
up there, because if you pull your arm
down. It often ends up short, or it isn't
as soft and maybe it won't roll around
up there if it’s a little off target. Half of
being a good shooter is confidence. If
you think it is going to go in, it will go
in.”
Cliff Robinson takes a little more
technical approach when he steps to the
line. "I concentrate on getting good lift
on the ball, and making sure it’s one
motion, instead of bouncing the ball,
putting it in shooting position, and mak
ing it more mechanical. I just come with
a rhythm. Its just the same motion each
time."
Clyde Drexler had some advice for
kids. "You have got to concentrate. Con
centrate on your free throws, the shot
itself and remember every motion has to
be the same. It’s a learned behavior.
The more you do it, the better you
should become at it. Any thing above 75
percent is pretty good." Drexler also
admitted "It probably took me two or
three years to get a shot I was comfort
able with. Just like anything else, the
more you work at it the better you
become."
Terry Porter still makes adjustments.
"The main thing is to get a routine that
you feel comfortable with. I think about
making my shot before I shoot I think
about my routine. I concentrate on my
stance, the flight of the ball, I can see the
ball going in before I shot it."
What about the rookie Robert Pack?
He has hi 175 out of 92 (.815) free throws
in his first year in the NBA. "When I step
up to the line I tell myself :Tm the
greatest free throw shooter in the world.'
I always say that when I walk up to the
line.
“I just try to picture the same rou
tine, I have a certain spot where I place
my foot, and I try to maintain the same
consistent stroke every time I shoot. In
my mind I can see the same shot time
after time."
Maybe the professorat Brown Uni
versity could have save himself some
time if he had just interviewed the Blaz
ers.
Space Limited for Third “Hoop
Heaven” Basketball Camp
Entries are going fast for “Rick
Adelman’s Trai 1Blazer Hoop Heaven
Basketball Camp.” The third-year
clinic, sponsored by Bank of America,
isopen to boys and girls, age 8-18, and
will take place in June and July at
Lewis and Clark College and Tuality
Junior High School.
Campers will receive personal
instruction from Trail Blazer head
coach Rick Adelman, who will be
assisted throughout the camp by lead
ing college and high school basketball
coaches. In addition, current Blazer
players are expected to be on hand to
discuss and answer questions about
the fundamentals of basketball and
specific game situations.
Six sessions are scheduled this
year, with “day camp” and “overnight
accommodations” offered at each ses
sion. Four boys camp sessions will run
June 29 through July 3 (day,) June 28
to July 3 (overnight), July 13 through
July 17 (day), and July 12 to July 17
(overnight). Two girls camp sessions
are scheduled for July 6 through July
10 (day) and July 5 to July 10 (over
night). The fee is $200 per person for
day camp and $310 per person for
overnight. Deposits of $100 for day
campers, or $150 for overnight par
ticipants, is required with their appli
cation.
All campers will receive a Hoop
Heaven sports bag, a camp handbook,
an official camp t-shirt and a camp
photo. Prizes will be awarded for
individual and team champions. Meals
will be provided for all campers with
overnight accommodations.
A p p licatio n s
fo r
“ R ick
Adelman’s Trail Blazer Hoop Heaven
Basketball Camp” are available at the
Trail B lazers o ffic e, 700 N.E.
Multnomah, Suite 600, Portland, Or
egon 97232. For more information,
please call (503) 234-9291, Ext. 694.
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Peninsula Little League Sign-Ups
Boys Tee-Ball - 6 to 8 years
Girls Tee-Ball - 6 to 9 years
Girls Softball - 10 to 15 years
Boys Baseball -- 6 to 15 years
S DAYS ONLY!
SIGN UPS
Saturday, February 8,1992 -- 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. -- Peninsula Park
Saturday, February 15,1992 -- 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. - Peninsula Park
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Saturday, February 29,1992 - 1 1 :00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. - Peninsula Park
TRY OUTS
Saturday, February 29,1992 - 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. - Peninsula Park
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Saturday, March 14,1992 - 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. - Irving Park
Saturday, March 21,1992 - 11:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. - Peninsula Park
You Must Attend At Least Two (2) Try Outs
Deadline for sign ups is March 28,1992 at 5:00 P.M. - Late
registrations forms must be delivered to 6204 No. Moore, Portland,
Oregon 97217. 284-4805 Keith Edwards, President; 287-7382
Chuck Washington, Vice-President; 289-8306 Corrine Porter, Vice-
President of Softball; 287-4400 Marilyn Britton, Secretary; and 289-
3406 Shirley Beers, Team Player Agent.
Registration Fees: $15:00 per child, $25.00 per family) These
registrations Fees are Donations and Tax Deductible.
■H
A Photocopy Of Your Child(ren)’s Birth Certificate Is Required.
We Need Your Help!!!!
Tax Programs For Seniors
Oregon offers two tax programs to
help low-income senior citizens: the
Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral
program and the Elderly Rental Assis
tance program.
“These programs are designed to
help senior citizens on a fixed income
stay in their homes," says Julie Clark,
spokeswoman for the Oregon Depart
ment of Revenue.
Seniors who are homeowners and
meet all other requirements may defer
paying property taxes on their resi
dences. The taxes must eventually be
paid, with interest, when the owner
dies, moves, or sells the property. The
deferred taxes are paid by the state.
The amount of taxes paid becomes a
lien on your property.
Applications for the property tax
deferral program should be filed with
county assessors by April 15.
To qualify you must:
Be 62 years old.
Have a recorded deed to the prop
erty or be purchasing the property un
der a recorded sales contract.
Live on the property (except for
someone required to be absent because
of health, in which case a doctor’s
statement is required.)
Have total household income less
than $19.500 for last year.
You can get more information or
an application from your county asses
sor. There is no charge to file for this
program.
To help low-income senior renters,
the Oregon Legislature expanded the
Elderly Rental Assistance program. You
must file with the Oregon Department
of Revenue to get a refund check. There
is no filing fee.
To qualify, you must:
Be age 58 or older.
Have total household income less
than $10,000.
Use at least 20 percent of your
household income to pay for rent, fuel
and utitilics.
Call the Oregon Department of
Revenue at 378-4988 for more infor
mation or an application.
.THE LITTLE
Formation Of A
Minority Business
Association
Nathan Probey has announced the
formation of a Minority Business Asso
ciation dedicated to obtaining work for
minority subcontractors in the construc
tion industry and assisting general con
tractors in achieving their minority con
tracting goals on their projects.
“The emphasis will be on qualified
minority subcontractors. This will in
clude experience and training as well as
liability insurance and workers’ com
pensation and anything else the general
contractor requires,” said Mr. Probey.
“In addition, all of the minority
businesses who belong to our assqcia-
tion will be signatory to a union labor
agreement. This will alleviate prob
lems for the general contractor as well
as providing a source of trained quali
fied employees to the minority contrac
tors.”
“Our association is fortunate to
have retained the services of Mr. J.D.
Hutchison, President of J D Hutchison
& Associates a management consulting
firm in Lake Oswego. Mr. Hutchison
will provide assistance on drug testing,
workers’ compensation, labor relations,
and EEO,” Mr. Probey said.
' *
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> J
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