Shooting-Grade by Grade Development

When learning the game of basketball the first thing kids learn is how to dribble and bounce the ball. The second is how to shoot. I have gone over the grade by grade development on dribbling here. Now I will go through the shooting development by grade level. These are my opinions and my opinions alone. I am open to discussions and have had some fellow coaches look over these as to where each skill should be taught. Again these are merely suggestions and you as a coach or player can rearrange these to fit better into your program or development.

1st Grade

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. 8 foot rims
3. 2-5 Foot Shots
4. Strong Arm Layups

The proper shooting form will be its own post and once I have it posted I will have it linked to this page. I think rims should be lowered because the strength of kids are not at a level to be able to shoot on a 10 foot rim. By lowering the rims, the kids can keep proper shooting form. At a 10 foot rim, the kids start to use different muscles and techniques in order to get enough height on the ball to make shots. If 8 foot is too high then you might lower the rim farther. Due to strength, shooting should focus on proper technique and not on makes and misses. Shooting should be within 5 feet until each kid shows the strength to move farther back. The kids should start to learn shooting strong hand layups.

2nd Grade

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. 8 foot rims
3. Build strength towards 10 feet

Again focus should be on proper shooting form. Rims again should be lowered to 8 feet. This will keep the focus on form over result. Strong hand layups should continued to be worked on at this grade level even though it is not listed. The skills of basketball builds on previous skills. At each grade level, the skills of previous grades should not be ignored or forgotten. Those previous skills should be worked on and improved on each year. So for 2nd grade, there is not a lot of new skills being introduced because the development of 1st grade should still be the focus. At this stage in life, the proper shooting form should be the singular focus in every shooting drill that is done. The result of shooting does not matter at this age. Some kids are not going to have the strength to shoot so we want their technique to be good some when they hit their growth spurt and get stronger then they do not have to unlearn bad form due to improper form.

3rd Grade

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. 8 or 9 foot rims
3. 5-10 foot shots
4. One dribble pullups
5. Right handed pickups
6. Left handed pickups

Again proper shooting form is first and foremost. Rims should stay at 8 feet or raised up to 9 feet. Again in my experience kids in 3rd and 4th grade do not have the strength for a full 10 foot rim. At the full 10 foot range this will take each kid out to the free throw line. Extend the free throw line around the wings and baseline to get the area where shooting should be taken place at this age.

The kids could move farther away only if good shooting form is able to take place. If the kid starts to bring the ball from their hip or taking a false step to initiate their shot then they are too far away. Again focus on shooting form and not on the results of the shots.

The body control and coordination should be developed enough at this age to start shooting off the dribble. Start small with one dribble pullups. These dribbles should go in both directions. Right handed dribbles should use a right handed pickup. Left handed dribbles should use a left handed pickup. The pickups are nothing more then use each hand to catch the ball off the bounce and move it into the shooting pocket.

Players must be able to use both hands to get the ball into the shooting pocket. I have seen high school players not be able to use a left handed pickup which means the ball has to get put into their right hand before they move the ball into the shooting pocket. They are easy to defend because the defender can stay on their right hip no matter where they are on the court to keep them from getting the ball into the shooting pocket. Being able to use both hands on the pickup will help develop a player’s offensive skill set early and set them up for the rest of their careers.

4th Grade

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. 8 or 9 foot rims
3. 10-15 foot shots
4. Crossover to Shots-Go both directions-Use both hands on the pickups

At this age, I see some kids having the strength and development to shoot with proper form on 10 foot rims. However, there are still kids that are not able to shoot on a 10 foot rim with proper form. Shooting should be able to move back into the 15 foot range. The 3 point line is still a little bit too far for kids to have proper form and shoot from that far away. While the distance will come with age, the focus should still be on proper shooting form and the little types of improvements that can be done at this age that will carry on throughout their basketball career.

In 3rd grade we worked on one dribble pullups. In 4th grade we should build on that to use the crossover dribble to a shot. This will give the players the ability to make a move to create space in order to shoot the ball. Offense is about creating space or using the space of the floor. The crossover is going to give players the ability to create their own shots. The crossover should be learned starting with either hand and picking up the dribble with either hand. This gives the player the ability to use the crossover dribble going in both directions. The more unpredictable the player can be in creating their shots, the harder they become to guard.

5th Grade

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. 15-18 foot shots
3. Weak Hand Layups
4. Behind the back to Shooting-Both Hands and both directions
5. 2 Dribble Pullups

Now we are starting to increase the amount of skills each player can learn. Body control and maturity will help to increase the ability of each player to learn these skills. If a player is still uncoordinated in their movement then they will struggle until that coordination catches up with their body.

At this grade the rims should be up to 10 feet. Shooting should still be within the 3 point line. Very few players are going to be able to go outside the 3 point line but there will be the desire of the players to move outside that line. Most players will not be strong enough to keep proper shooting form from the 3 point line at this age. Instead the focus should be on introducing new skills to keep their focus and attention rather then distance. The weak hand should be strong enough to start using the weak hand to shoot layups. Adding in the ability to finish with both hands around the rim will create more scoring opportunities for each player.

Also the player should work on the next change of direction move to create space to get shots. So now the player can use the crossover and should learn how to shoot off a behind the back dribble. Being able to shoot right after a change of direction move makes the job of the defender almost impossible.

As well as using the behind the back dribble, players should start to develop shooting off of two dribbles. As they get into junior high and high school the two dribble pullup can make a true shooter impossible to guard. A 3 point shooter that has a two dribble pullup is a nightmare as an opposing coach.

What this does is if the defender rushes the 3 point line then a 2 dribble pullup is used to go right around the rush. If the defender does not rush then the player can shoot the 3. A 2 dribble pullup makes every player that much more dangerous of an offensive player. The two dribble pullup is the shot that makes a good offensive player into a great offensive player.

6th Grade

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. Free Throw
3. Spin Move in both directions-Used to help finish around the rim

The players should now be able to shoot free throws without making it a jump shot. The biggest skill to introduce and learn is the ability to finish with both hands around the rim. This will help to introduce the spin move around the basket.

The spin move gives the player the ability to move around tight places and around standing players. It also helps to develop post moves for those players that are looking like they are going to have to play with their backs to the basket as they keep growing older. Now as the players move into junior high they should be able to finish with either hand around the basket. They should be able to shoot off the dribble and off of moves going in either direction and picking up the ball with either hand. Offensively each player should be skilled within 15 feet.

Junior High

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. 18+ shots
3. Reverse layups
4. 2+ dribble pullups
5. Between the legs to shooting

At the junior high level, the high school program will have some influence on how the junior high plays. In creating these developments, I am trying to removing the type of offense the team might be running and instead focusing on the skills that can be used no matter the type of offense a player might find themselves in.

I do not believe in shooting 3 point shots before jr high. Most players are not strong enough before this age and will develop some bad habits if allowed to do so. Now at the junior high level, 3 pointers can be shot but it is still not a very high percentage shot at this level. That now opens the entire offensive court for a player to use.

Around the basket reverse layups should be learned. This is the first time where proper shooting form is not being used. That is why I think reverse layups should not be taught beforehand. At this age the shooting form should be almost perfected so things that go against the form can now be introduced. You will see that more at the high school level but those little things can be introduced here.

The in-between area of the floor should be practiced as well. 2+ dribble pullups should be practiced. That could mean introducing double moves to get open for a shot. Normally if a player is dribbling more then 5 dribbles then they should probably pass the ball but having the ability to shoot even in that situation makes each player difficult to guard because they can shoot at any moment. The last change of direction move of between the legs can be learned and mastered at this age. This gives each player a great foundation of offensive shooting moves going into high school.

Freshman/JV

1. Proper Shooting Form
2. Double/Triple Moves to Shooting
3. Turn around Jumper
4. Shooting out of Balance
5. Runner/Floater

Now at the Freshman and JV level, the shooting techniques are the additional ones that go away from proper form. Here it is about making shots when everything is not going as planned. If things are going well then the shooting form should take over. When things are not going well then these little variations should still give the player the ability to shoot and score. Double and Triple moves can be used to get shots. Again this will also depend on how much the high school coaches allow the players to do these different moves.

The turn around jumper adds to the ability to shoot around the basket. This can include the baby hook for post players. These moves puts the player into bad shooting form positions. However, at this level good shooting form may not always be used. The good players are able to score when the form is not exactly right. This is being able to be shot while out of balance. Players should learn how to shoot with their upper body out of rhythm with their lower body. Good scorers are able to shoot at a high percentage when their body is getting bumped or pushed.

Along with this is developing a runner or floater. Shorter players should develop a runner or floater to give them a good shot when they go into the lane against taller players. This gives a smaller player the ability to still be an offensive threat even if their physical attributes are putting them at a disadvantage.