Owen and the art of the jump shot

Owen loves playing catch with the football. He likes swimming. He enjoys the occasional game of soccer. But lately he's been all about basketball. This morning we went to the gym to practice our shots. While shooting around Owen said, "I think I know what sport I want to play when I grow up. I want to play basketball."

One problem he has been having lately is letting a few misses get into his head, which affects his next shot, and if missed affects his next shot, etc. It's a common problem for athletes, and the best players have the worst memory on the court. The old adage for good shooters is if you're hot, shoot. If you're not hot, shoot until you get hot. This was a bit too subtle for Owen, so the advice I gave him is, "Do you know what Kobe Bryant (Owen's favorite player) says when he misses a shot? He says to himself, 'I'll make the next one.'" Owen thought a bit and said, "Oh. Okay." Next I said, "Do you know what he says when he makes his shot? He says, 'I'm gonna make the next one.'" Owen then smiled and went back to shooting. It was very satisfying to here him whispering to himself, "I'm gonna make the next one" after each one.

The funny thing is that he shoots better than 60-70% on a 10-foot hoop. I'm usually happy with making half of my shots! Here are a couple videos of Owen in action.

Comments

Anonymous said…

"I'll make the next one." Brilliant parenting, John! :)

Owen's already a star.

March 27, 2011 at 9:43 PM

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