As one half of YouTube’s Goal Guys, Cam Jones regularly takes on physical challenges that test his strength and endurance, from intermittent fasting to grueling calisthenics workouts to attempting to prepare for a marathon in just two months. For his most recent video, Jones decided to try hone his skills in basketball, specifically shooting
“I’m a decent dribbler, but I’m actually terrible at shooting,” says Jones. So he signs up for the Masterclass series by Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, who is frequently described as one of the best players in the NBA, and follows the athlete’s training regime for a period of 50 days, in the hopes that he will become a star shooter as well.
Jones spends 2 hours every day practicing Curry’s five key principles for strong shooting mechanics, which are: shoot from the ground up, with all 10 toes pointing towards the net; lead with the lower body, so the bulk of the power comes from your legs; let the ball rest on the pads of your fingertips, creating a straight line with the arm and the ball; aim by locking your eyes onto the hooks of the net; and when releasing, finish the shot with your elbow over your eye.
“If I can put all that technique together, and get it so that it’s automatic and comfortable, my mechanics should be in great shape to start moving further and further away from the basket, and eventually out to the 3-point line,” he says.
Once the stationary shooting mechanics have become second nature, Jones moves onto dynamic catching and shooting drills which will help him in an actual game, and which involve different footwork. But this is where Jones’ progress begins to falter, and he begins to lose motivation.
“My catch and shoot struggles continue for over a week, making it feel like I’ve suddenly got drastically worse at shooting,” he says. “And with more and more misses, it becomes more and more frustrating… It feels like any positive momentum I had with this shooting challenge is long gone.”
At the start of the challenge, Jones carries out a 50 shot test, and lands a total of 9 in the net. He does the same thing after 50 days of training, and finds that his shooting performance has dramatically improved, with a new hit rate of 31 in 50. Perhaps more importantly on a personal level, he is also able to beat his brother Brendan in a game of one-on-one.
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