The Free-Throw Tree: A series of two-man free-throw shooting competitions at 10 baskets. (Basketball).

IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT basketball past, coaches taught the free throw by having their players shoot 25 or 50 foul shots in a row before or after practice. Repetition is a cardinal principle of teaching, but it can be made more effective by simulating game conditions. After all, in a game nobody shoots more than one, two, or three free throws at a time.

One way to simulate a competitive situation is by waiting until the end of practice or at the end of a strenuous drill when you can count on the players being fatigued as in a game. Have the players shoot once or twice, step away, and repeat: preferably with noisy, distracting conditions.

Before introducing any new practice devices, the coach should make sure the players know what they are doing by teaching the basics of free-throw shooting -- the stance, hand placement, and proper form.

At Jordan High School, our free-throw practice is built around a routine called a "Shooting Tree." It helps organize a series of two-man free-throw shooting competitions at each of our 10 baskets. It is simply a round-robin chart stratagem that creates a competitive atmosphere.

As you can see in the accompanying chart or "Tree," all of the players are organized in pairs. The coach can make these assignments selectively or at random. He will announce the pairings at the start of practice and each player will move up or down on the chart, depending on his win/loss record.

The players will climb to the next higher position if they win or fall to the top of the next pairing branches below if they lose. The player assigned to a position at the top of the "Tree" will hold that position as long as he/she keeps winning.

The coach sets the parameters for the match and is responsible for tracking all the pairings and recording the outcome on the "Tree." The entire team participates with each pair of players competing at their own basket.

One player shoots while the other rebounds. They then trade positions to complete the match. The winner may be the best out of 10 shots taken two at a time or all 10 consecutively.

As each match is completed, the scores are recorded and the new win/loss pairings are assigned for future matches. Several or more competitions can be held during practice without involving an excessive amount of practice time. Depending on the rules, the matches will take five to 10 minutes to complete.

Since the players have been taught all the basic techniques of shooting free throws, they are expected to apply those skills every time the "Tree" competition is implemented. The coach moves about, watching each match carefully, but does not make any corrections during the competition. The coach waits until later, during regular individual free-throw practice, to go over any mistakes and make corrections.

Check the accompanying chart to discern how the pairings are formed:

As you can see in round one in the first column, player A loses to B while player C beats D. That means B moves up to the top branch for the next round to meet C, while loser A drops a niche to meet E, who defeated F.

On all steps, except the top pairings and the bottom pairings, the winner from the pairing below competes against the loser from the pairing above.

All of this may appear complicated, but it is very simple after you set it up.

Note: There will always be two winners competing against each other on the top branches and two losers competing on the bottom branches because there are no higher branches to move up to or no lower branches to which a player can fall.

Procedural Points

1. Time constraints can also be used in the competition. For example, a time limit on the competition will force the players to increase their concentration and intensity.

2. This competitive technique can be used once or twice at every practice with a different set of guidelines each time. Five to 10 minutes should be adequate time to complete most matches.

3. The coach can make the rules easier or more difficult, depending on the caliber of the players - elementary school, junior high, high school, or college. By increasing the difficulty of the rules, we can, make this drill more realistic and improve the players' ability to handle pressure when the chips are down and a clutch free throw is desperately needed.

It is extremely advantageous for a coach to know who are his best free-throw shooters, especially when an opponent is fouling frantically in a desperate attempt to gain possession.

Many games will go down to the last few seconds when a final free throw can decide the winner.

The "Free-Throw Tree" has helped our players increase their overall free-throw shooting percentage - and help make us a better team.

SELLING POINTS 

Following are some of the advantages of the free-throw "Tree":

Easily incorporated into any practice schedule.

Takes as little or as much time to complete as you wish, based on specific guidelines.

Can be used several times or more during one practice period.

Can simulate game situations and pressures by having the competitive conditions mirror actual game rules; i.e., one-and-one or two or three shots in a row.

Involves everyone on the roster; no one stands around.

Players report scores to the coach, hydrate themselves if needed, and then resume practicing their free-throw routine until the coach is ready to implement the next practice drill.

By pre-assigning the players to their next pairings, the competition can be started immediately after a strenuous drill approximating the game situation.

Allows the coach to evaluate every player's foul-shooting routine while they are competing.

The coach can review previous "Tree" charts to determine the total number of free throws taken and made, as well as an individual player's movement up or down the "Tree."

After a few matches, the names of the best free-throw shooters on your team will appear on the top steps of the "Tree."