What IS a Free Noah Basketball Shooting Clinic?
Before I was a distributor for Noah, I asked the same question. Sure I was skeptical. As a coach and athletic director at an Oregon High School, these emails hit my inbox on an daily basis. It's nearly impossible to know what is worth a second look. What caught my eye, admittedly, was "FREE" I figured it was worth a look as I had nothing to lose. To say I was blown away by the technology that the Noah provides would be an understatement.
The Noah Basketball Clinics provide answers to some key questions. What makes a great shooter? Why does every aspect of the game continue to improve and develop, but basketball shooting over the years continues to remain unchanged? Why do records in all sports continue to get broken, but in the game of basketball shooting percentages haven't shown much, if any improvement? Where is the bullseye of the basket? How can we hit the bullseye of the basket if we can't see it from the floor? Are we to aim at the front of the rim or the back?
Rick Turk, National Sales Director for Noah, answered those questions and more when we hosted a NFSC at our high school gym in April of 2011.
Here is what I learned. #Shoot45and11
Perhaps I should take you back to the beginning. The clinic begins with kids taking a "No Feedback" session on the Noah system. That would show us their natural shot on a colored arc plot that would show the path of the ball in a 10 shot session. This was printed out for the kids and was theirs to keep. These kids had never had their shots assessed before. They were thrilled to have something tangible in their hands that showed their natural shots and graded them, using the science behind the Noah. It was pretty incredible and as you know, kids may argue with us as coaches, but they don't argue with and they don't doubt technology.
Following that, we had the opportunity to see the PowerPoint presentation further proving the Noah's effectiveness. It made complete sense. Having that information to go on, we then had opportunity to shoot on the Noah, this time hearing instant feedback so we could adjust our shots accordingly. Roger Hildebrandt, father to "Superhandles" Jon Hildebrandt was in the gymnasium with me that evening, put it best when he said, "This is the slickest thing I have EVER seen."
The bullseye of the basket can be found at 45/11. Well now he's got me curious. How do you know when you've hit the bullseye?
Rick showed us the results of a 40,000 shot study done by the collaborative efforts of Auburn and Gonzaga Universities with the assistance of Jerry Krause, assistant coach at Gonzaga. Research proved that the greatest percentages of shots are made with an entry angle of 45 degrees and a shot depth of 11 inches. I have always been a pretty good shooter and the results of my colored arc plot supported that information. I was a believer.
The second thing that was reinforced was: Rebranding of Muscle Memory.
As coaches, we understand the power of muscle memory. It can work to a player's advantage or disadvantage, depending on where that memory is locked in at. When players consistently shoot on the Noah, adjusting to the instant feedback, they can re-brand that muscle memory to adjust to the "bull's eye" and once that is locked in; they take that muscle memory into games. My boys’ varsity team uses the Noah at every practice for at least 20 minutes. But, because it is mounted on the wall and always on, they can shoot on it anytime they are in the gym....and they do.
Last year as a team, we shot over 80% from the free throw line in 5 games. Every game impacts your power ranking and league standing. That shooting percentage from the line was a difference maker in the outcome of at least 1 critical league game where we shot 23 for 25 from the line. As a team, I have never seen that kind of shooting percentage in my 30+ years of coaching. This year, after 4 games under our belts, I had the gentleman who has been keeping stats for me for nearly 20 years tell me that this team has the highest shooting percentage overall of any team of ours since he started keeping those stats. How do you argue with that.
Prior to the clinic, Rick encouraged me to invite parents/boosters to attend as well as the players. As he informed me, he has yet to show the system to a coach who doesn't want it and yet not every school budget would allow for such a purchase - parents and boosters, nearly 90% of the time, are the catalyst in making that purchase happen because they want to see their kids succeed. I had several parents that night tell me to let them know what they could do to help get this system up on our wall. Just 6 months later it became a reality!
My hope and desire for the athletes in Oregon and Washington is that they have the same opportunities to compete for the privilege of playing at the next level in colleges around the country. That's why I became a distributor here in the Northwest. I love what it has done for my players and would love to see every kid up here have the same advantages as others around the country. The Noah is gaining popularity and respect around the country from the high school level up through the NBA. Coaches are looking for shooters. There is no other tool so effective to create those great shooters than the Noah.
If you’re wondering why it's called Noah - Simply because it is helping players "Build the perfect arc".
Written by:
Gary Hull
Noah Distributor
503-302-3389
Ghull@noahbasketball.com