How Tracking Shots Leads to Player and Team Success
by Jefferson Mason, on Jun 24, 2020 7:16:06 AM
Our high tech basketball shooting machines at Dr. Dish continue to be leading innovative products for basketball training. Over the years, we have helped players achieve their goals by providing purposeful and efficient training techniques. A key to training efficiently is through establishing accountability. Championship teams are made up of players who hold each other accountable. Accountability helps build a great team culture that allows each player to contribute to the success of their team. In this blog we will breakdown the importance of creating accountability through tracking shots during workouts and the benefits of doing so.
Allows players to set and achieve goals
An essential element of individual and team success is accountability. When players are held accountable for their actions and training, there is a great opportunity for success in situations on and off the court. Many basketball players, at some point in their career, have received off-season packets with basketball drills and workouts to carry out and record for the summer. During this time, coaches aren't seeing each workout be carried out and place trust in their athletes to be honest when they do or don’t do the work.
I was one of those kids who received summer training packets and found myself not doing all the workouts exactly how I was instructed and would sometimes not record all of the honest statistics. I trained harder and more than other players but does not excuse the fact that I did not realize the importance of the specific training coaches gave me and how my actual statistics would truly help develop me the most as a player and person.
An obstacle that many coaches face today is receiving inaccurate or dishonest information about a player’s training. Here at Dr. Dish, we want training to be as efficient as possible and our Training Management System is set up to assist coaches in the best ways possible. With our system, coaches, players, and parents now have the opportunity to track each and every rep. This gives players an extra sense of urgency and accountability with their training. Having goals is great, and with our system players can see their progress towards those goals. Working towards goals helps players build the confidence they need to contribute to team success.
Seeing progress motivates players to keep working
Progress fuels how players feel and perform. That being said, there is an immense power in progress and the motivational drive that is built and maintained through it.
I started playing basketball at a young age, mostly in my driveway or a local park. This was well before the time of shooting machines and the popularity of receiving personal training. I had to learn a lot on my own, without much direction. One thing I knew for sure was my love for competing. When I was a young player, we had pickup game scores go until 100 or see who could win the most games of 21. Having these competitive based goals kept me motivated and excited to play every day.
Fast forward to 2020 and players have so many tools at their disposal to, as we say at Dr. Dish, “Be Better Every Day”. The Dr. Dish shooting machines allow for players to complete challenges and programs over time, keeping them working hard while having fun. One of the great features of our Training Management System is the ability to track progress over periods of time. Each and every rep can be saved, allowing players to track and celebrate their progress. Sometimes when players are working towards a goal, they are so focused on the big picture that they lose focus of the details and are less motivated/disinterested in the everyday work needed to put in. Our workouts and drills provide players with the structure and challenge needed to get and keep them engaged while training until their goals are achieved.
Highlights players strengths and weaknesses
A hard thing for players to practice and accept is self-awareness and receiving critical feedback. Self-awareness is important to enhance a player’s understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Feedback helps players understand and grow from the analysis of their performance.
I can recall my shooting workouts from my rookie year in Germany and the stress that came with it. Up until that point, I hadn't done a good job of tracking my shots consistently, so I was unclear of my shooting weaknesses and where they were on the court. So naturally, I always went to the spots where I felt the most confident. This was hindering my growth as a player, and it was exposed the very first shooting workout. I was stressed anytime my shots were being tracked. As a professional, you never want to look weak in any particular area. My weakness at the time was shooting 3-point shots, more specifically, in the corners. When we did partner drills, our shots were counted. I recall many times trying to get my partner to say I made more than I did. I was embarrassed that I had not worked on that part of my game enough. Having my shots tracked forced me to hold myself accountable and grew my self-awareness of my strengths and weaknesses. This allowed me to work on my areas of weakness more to be successful in any position on the court, it was a game changer!
Forces players to focus on every rep
An important piece to the game of basketball, is having fun. Players hear this from me all the time but the message can be overshadowed by the idea of working hard in training. For the player’s who love to compete it is easier for them to have fun while working hard. For some players, it is not as easy to have fun while training hard. A way to balance out these two types of players is by tracking shots and letting them be held to a higher standard when they begin training or practice.
I remember my coaches tracking shots during practice in college and I remember all my teammates wondering what their rankings were each and every week. This forced us to compete and train harder, and analyze each and every rep we took. The old saying about habits sticking is true, so practicing good habits will ensure personal growth.
With our Training Management System, coaches are able to hold players accountable in each and every drill by tracking shots and giving their players the results. This will help teams succeed and gives coaches the ammo to challenge their players each and every day.
Players have trouble improving what they can’t measure
A tough element of any sport is that there are skills that are easily measurable and others that are not. For example, in basketball, ball-handling skills are more difficult to accurately measure. An easier skill to measure is shooting, through tracking shots. We have perfected the ability to do this with our shooting machines through our Training Management System. We provide powerful analytical tools for the coaches to use and share with players. Coaches are empowered to better help their athletes reach their personal and team goals. Tracking practice shots, training shots, and game shots, gives players the best opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential.
Tracking players shot statistics at home, in practice, and games is a key and powerful tool for basketball programs.
Here at Dr. Dish, we provide an easy way for coaches and players to utilize this tool with our shooting machines and Training Management System. Take a look at our shooting machine lineup below to see how our equipment can help enhance your training today!
This blog post was inspired by the Instagram post below. Give us a follow for more content and basketball drills daily!
View this post on InstagramTrack your shots this summer!! 🏀 Of course, we’re here to help at Dr. Dish 💯
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