Driveway

I have had the pleasure and honor of watching three children begin to grow up. None of them are yet teenagers, but my son is getting close. A common thread with each of them has been practicing basketball at our driveway hoop.

I can't recall how much we paid for that hoop - it was one of those Lifetime kits you put together - but I am confident that, dollar-for-dollar, it has been one of the best investments we have made in terms of time together, joy received, and confidence instilled. We do have a neighborhood park with lighted basketball courts, and we have used them - in fact, that was where my son made his first shot - but nothing beats the proximity of your driveway.

Speaking of basketball:  all of my kids know my four-step process for shooting a basketball. Of course, you can't think of four separate steps in game situations with an opponent defending you, but it is still helpful to conceptually understand what you are trying to do, before you go practice it 10,000 times so that shots become more automatic.

I will go through the four steps in a separate post. However, as a preview, the first step is always the same, it is one you can think of in a game situation, and it is the most important...

Believe that the shot will go in.