When the game of basketball was invented, one of the original rules was that you were not allowed to impede a person's progress by hitting or grabbing. This would be termed a personal foul, and the penalty for committing a foul would be that you get to shoot a free-throw. This would be an easy shot from only 15 feet away from the basket, with no defense allowed. And to  increase the penalty for committing a foul in the act of shooting, you would get to take two free throws. This system was proposed so that committing a foul became an act with a severe penalty, especially if committed while shooting. This was supposed to decrease the number of the fouls so the game would flow with continuous movement. In the game of basketball today, the free throw penalty seems much less significant, due to the fact that there are so many missed attempts from the free-throw line. This not only changes the strategy of the game, but also severely decreases the fan appeal when games get bogged down with multiple fouls in a row at the end of the game. Coaches use this strategy because it’s not a very big risk considering that so many players miss the free throws. Think how in control of the game your team would be if every player on your team shot 75% or better from the free-throw line. What about 80%?

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Most every basketball game at any level of competition, from middle school to professional, has the same thing in common. They may not always be won at the free throw line, but they surely are lost many times at the free-throw line. In almost every non-blowout loss (single digit differential), the losing team will have missed more free throws than the point differential of the loss. That means, that if all other aspects of the game would have stayed exactly the same, that if they would just have made a few more free throws, they would have won.

Every coach knows that defense wins games, but a great defensive effort can be wasted by poor free-throw shooting either throughout the game, or especially at the end of the game. As a coach, think about how many more wins your team would have if you could raise the team free-throw shooting percentage by only 2%, 3%, or 5%…10%? As an individual player wouldn't you like to help your team win more games, and become the hero that wins the game from the free-throw line with time expiring?

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There is nothing more frustrating as a coach, a teammate, or a fan, as watching players miss free throws time after time. Watching big men get hacked at the end of the game just to put them at the free-throw line knowing that they will probably miss is a common strategy. Think of how you will have the strategic upper hand at the end of every game when you know that your players can make free throws. And there is absolutely nothing worse than watching a great outside shooter be reduced to an average free-throw shooter at the end of games because the pressure is on. Using the principles of my program, all your players will make more free throws and you will win more games.