Method for teaching basketball shooting

Abstract

Methods are provided for increasing shots-made frequency by educating a player's eye and memory through repetitions at one or more specified distance locations from a basketball hoop. In one aspect, a shooter must make a first plurality of shots at a first location at a threshold success frequency in order to advance to a second location. Thresholds may be selected from previous success or other data input. Divergent thresholds or shot set total numbers may be provided for different shot locations. In one aspect, shooting locations are defined by a plurality of spaced markings applied to a court surface and are arrayed in radial lines. In one aspect, verification is provided with regard to meeting a shooting threshold.

1 . A method for improving basketball shooting success frequency comprising: 
 affixing a plurality of spaced markers to a basketball court playing surface within court boundaries, the affixed markers not interfering with use of the basketball court for basketball game play;    beginning a practice session;    associating a first shots-made frequency threshold with a first marker of the marker plurality;    positioning a shooter on the basketball floor at the first marker;    the shooter making a first plurality of attempts to shoot a basketball ball into a basketball court hoop from the first marker;    recording data indicative of the shooter and a first marker success frequency of shots made through the hoop relative to shots missed of the first marker attempt plurality into a result data contained in a data record; and    if the first marker success frequency is lower than the first marker threshold, ending the practice session; or    if the first marker success frequency is not lower than the first marker threshold, continuing the practice session by: 
 selecting a second marker of the marker plurality in response to result data in the data record, the second marker more distant from the hoop than the first marker;  
 associating a second shots-made frequency threshold with the second marker, the second threshold frequency lower than the first threshold frequency;  
 repositioning the shooter on the basketball floor at the second marker;  
 the shooter making a second plurality of attempts to shoot the ball into the hoop from the second marker;  
 recording data indicative of a second marker success frequency of shots made through the hoop relative to shots missed of the second marker attempt plurality into the data record result data; and  
 ending the practice session.  
   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first threshold frequency is one hundred percent (100%), comprising selecting the second threshold frequency in response to the result data.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein if the first marker success frequency is not lower than the first marker threshold, continuing the practice session comprises: 
 selecting a group of primary markers of the marker plurality and associated the first marker success frequency with each of the primary group markers;    iteratively selecting each of the primary group markers and performing the steps of positioning the shooter at the each marker, the shooter making a plurality of attempts each to shoot the ball into the hoop from the each marker, recording data indicative of the each marker success frequency into the result data; and    if any of the each marker success frequencies are lower than the first marker threshold, ending the practice session.    
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein iteratively selecting each of the primary group markers comprises selecting each of the primary group markers in a progression from a marker spaced nearer to the hoop to a marker spaced farther from the hoop.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , further comprising selecting, in response to the result data, at least of the group consisting of: 
 a one of the marker plurality as a subsequent first marker for a subsequent practice session;    a subsequent first shots-made frequency threshold for association with the subsequent first marker;    a one of the marker plurality as a subsequent second marker for the subsequent practice session; and    a subsequent second shots-made frequency threshold for association with the subsequent second marker.    
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising a verification entity verifying that the first marker success frequency is not lower than the first marker threshold and the second marker success frequency is not lower than the second marker threshold; 
 wherein the selecting of at least one of the subsequent first marker, the subsequent first shots-made frequency threshold, the subsequent second marker or the subsequent second shots-made frequency threshold is conditional upon said verifying.    
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein verifying comprises the verifying entity witnessing the shooter making a first verification plurality of attempts to shoot a basketball ball into a basketball court hoop from the first marker at a frequency not lower than the first marker threshold, a total of the first verification plurality of attempts lower than a total of the first plurality of attempts.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein recording the data indicative of the shooter and the first marker success frequency and the second marker success frequency comprises entering said data into a computer processing system, the computer processing system selecting the at least one of the subsequent first marker, the subsequent first shots-made frequency threshold, the subsequent second marker or the subsequent second shots-made frequency threshold in response to the result data.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein affixing the plurality of spaced markers comprises one of the group consisting of: 
 painting the markers onto the court playing surface;    attaching the markers to the court playing surface with an adhesive means; and    applying the markers to the court playing surface and covering the markers and the court playing surface with a protective transparent coating.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising: 
 configuring each of the markers to become visibly apparent to the shooter only upon an activating input to said each marker;    providing said activating input to the first and second markers during the practice session; and    removing the activating input after the ending of the practice session.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein affixing the plurality of spaced markers comprises arraying the markers spaced about one foot (1 ft.)/three-tenths meters (0.3 meters) from each other in a plurality of radial lines, each of the radial lines defined from a first center point defined on the basketball playing surface directly beneath a center of the basketball hoop, the plurality of radial lines comprising: 
 a center foul line defined from the first center point and including a second point located at about the center of a basketball court foul line;    a left 30° angle line oriented at a 30° angle left of the center foul line;    a right 30° angle line oriented at a 30° angle right of the center foul line;    a left 60° angle line oriented at a 60° angle left of the center foul line;    a right 60° angle line oriented at a 60° angle right of the center foul line;    a left 90° angle line oriented at a 90° angle left of the center foul line; and    a right 90° angle line oriented at a 90° angle right of the center foul line.