Do you want to learn how to shoot a basketball?Only a small fraction…well less than 1% of the earth’s population throughout all of human history…has been able to shoot a basketball. Doubt me? Think about it…most guys are under 5’10″…that means only guys who are tall or fly high have a good chance of dunking. Dunking is next to impossible for almost all women. women… there are fewer than 10 women who have EVER immersed themselves in a game at the college or professional level!

First, how realistic is it for you to be able to learn to nail? If you’re a woman, it’s going to be pretty tough unless you’re an elite athlete. For men, you have your best chance if you are between the ages of 15 and 30, as this is the physical peak for men. Dunking is no walk in the park, so trying to do this when you’re ‘slightly over the hill’ may be more than you want to try. Likewise, if you’re young, you can give it a try… but just understand that you may need a few more years to mature before you peak and can knock one down; in other words… don’t get discouraged too soon!

Second, what does it take to shoot?Here are the pieces of the dunking puzzle:

1. Good gene pool. I’m going to put this first as it really helps. If your dad could nail, you have a real advantage over most people. Being tall of course helps, but “tall” is relative. Most dunk contest winners…including NBA dunk contests…are 6’2″ to 6’6″. That’s tall, of course, but not gigantic. If you’re under 6 feet tall, don’t be discouraged. Spud Webb and Nate Robinson both won the NBA Slam Dunk competition…and Spud is 5’6″ and Nate is 5’9″ (which I don’t think is true…he seems shorter than that!).

2. Get strong.Just like a rocket needs a big engine to take off, you need a big engine to take off and dive. If you don’t dip, get on a good weight training program that will help you progress. You can go to the website at the end of the article if you want recommendations for great programs. The important part to keep in mind is this: Strength is the easiest of all the pieces of the vertical jumping puzzle to train, but it’s the most often ignored.

3. Get bouncy. If you look at people who can nail, a lot of them are skinny. That may seem like it contradicts what I said in point #2 (Get strong) but it’s not really a contradiction. Jumping high is made up of not only strength, but also what is called reactive or plyometric ability. Think of a rubber band… when you pull it back, it shoots farther, right? Plyometric skill is what makes you throw your arm back if you want to throw a baseball…you throw the ball back and then you throw it the other way. Why do you return the ball in the opposite direction of where you want to throw it? Because you instinctively know that if you don’t, you won’t throw it very far. You’re like that rubber band, quickly reaching back so you can shoot that baseball. Your legs work the same way… you bow before you jump. How well you do this is a compilation of many factors, but generally falls under the heading of ‘reactive’ or plyometric skills. And the good news is that these skills can be trained… you can become more bouncy. How do you become more bouncy? There are many programs out there. I like some and some are just a waste of time in general. You can follow the web link at the end of this article if you want more resources to study this topic.

4. Practice jumping.This is pretty basic, but it matters. The training principle is called SAID (specific adaptation to imposed demands) and what it means in everyday language is that you get better at what you specifically practice. So if you want to run fast, you have to practice running fast. If you want to jump high, you should practice jumping high! I know this sounds like a lot of common sense, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to get sidetracked when you start looking at the millions of training programs out there. The more you practice something, the more neural pathways are created in your brain. This causes your muscles to fire faster and more powerfully since your brain knows exactly what you want it to do for practice.

One fun thing you can do is practice diving with different sized balls. Start by trying to sink a golf ball. Once you do, move on to dunking a tennis ball. Then go dunk a baseball. Achieve that goal and then try to score a volleyball. Once you can shoot a volleyball, your dream of shooting a basketball is within reach!