Man, let me tell you how I finally figured out this whole Laron Profit training thing. Seriously, it was a mess before I got my hands dirty with what the big-time coaches are actually using now.
The Starting Point: My Kid Couldn’t Shoot Straight
Look, my oldest kid, Jake? He loves hooping, loves the game. But his shooting form? Absolute garbage. Arms flailing everywhere, no leg power, brick after brick. Saw a video mention Laron Profit’s approach – coaches love it, apparently. Figured, why not try it out with Jake, see what the hype was about?
Phase One: Fixing the “Wrist Thing” (Coach Called it Release)
Started simple, way simpler than I thought. Forget the basket for now.
- Step 1: The Towel Flick: Just me and Jake in the driveway. Had him kneel down, hold a small hand towel like it was a basketball. All he had to do was flick that towel forward with just his wrist and fingers. Like snapping a towel at his brother. Sounds dumb, right? But it forced him to use only his wrist. Did this 10 minutes a day, every day. His hand started pointing straight down naturally after a week. Boom.
- Step 2: One-Handed Kneeling Shots: Moved him a few feet from the basket, still kneeling. Ball in his shooting hand only, elbow tucked in. His only job was to push the ball up using his legs and shoulder, then let the wrist flick it like the towel drill. Zero guide hand. Just pure form on that shooting arm. Oh man, the bricks early on! But sticking to it? You could see the arc start to happen, like actually curve properly instead of line-driving the backboard.
Phase Two: Putting the Pieces Together & The Grind
Okay, the wrist and arm were looking better. Time to build the whole shot. This is where the Laron Profit stuff gets real.
- “The Dip and Push”: Standing close to the rim now. Made Jake start every shot with the ball already near his shooting pocket, kinda waist-high. From there, he had to bend his knees deep (the Dip) and then explode upwards (the Push), powering the shot with his legs. Coach Profit drills this constantly – no lazy arm shots. Felt it too – his shot started having actual force behind it.
- Guide Hand Jail: That non-shooting hand was still messing him up, pushing the ball sideways. So I got ridiculous. Taped a sock around his guide hand’s thumb and index finger. Not tight, just enough of a feeling. The rule? Guide hand sits still. Only touches the ball lightly on the side, no pushing. If the sock moved weird, he knew he was pushing. Took the sock off after a few days. Habit mostly broke.
The Month-Long Test
Coaches using Profit’s methods swear by repetition. Not just practicing, but perfect rep practice. So we committed. Every single day for one month:
- ~100 reps of the Towel Flick.
- ~100 reps of the Kneeling One-Armed shots.
- ~200 reps of the Dip and Push form shots from 5 feet.
- Started mixing in free throws only after the close shots felt smooth.
Kept a notebook. Tracked his makes at 5 feet. Started around 20%. Brutal. By week 3, over 65%. By month end, he was knocking down 8 out of 10 consistently. Confidence shot way, way up.
The Proof: Coach’s Scrimmage Test
His travel team coach runs monthly scrimmages for parents. Jake walks in after our month of grind. Takes his first jumper from the wing, perfect Profit form – dip, push, clean release. Swish. Takes another baseline pull-up. Swish. Missed one later, but the shot looked smooth, even under pressure. Coach looked over at me, gave the nod. Said, “Kid’s been working. That form looks solid.” Felt amazing. Jake was pumped. Not just about making shots, but about how he was making them.
So, What Actually Works? The Coach-Level Takeaways
Forget flashy stuff. It’s back to the boring basics:
- Break the shot DOWN: Profit methods work because they isolate each piece – legs, arm path, wrist release.
- Start STUPID CLOSE: Seriously. Kneeling shots worked wonders for arm mechanics.
- Reps matter, PERFECT reps matter more: It’s not just shooting hundreds. It’s shooting hundreds with deliberate focus on the form.
- Patience is not optional: Took a solid month of daily grind to see real game translation.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Seeing that transformation from flailing arms to a confident, repeatable stroke? Worth every towel snap and every taped-up thumb. Jake’s still grinding, probably on his millionth rep by now. That’s the “secret” they swear by: consistent, mindful work on the fundamentals. Ain’t glamorous, but dang, it gets results.
