You want to train on your own: a ball, a basket and limited time. But a hundred shots from one spot is not a plan. Good practice has an order: you start with form, then move around, then get closer to game conditions.
In this article we suggest a solo session in 5 stages, built on two drills from well-known coaches. We adapted it to fit a single session, so the order and the numbers are our own suggestion.
Worked example
The session in 5 stages (about 100 shots):
- Close one-handed form shots: 20 shots.
- Five spots, near: 25 shots.
- Five spots, farther: 25 shots.
- Free throws: 10 shots.
- One dribble, then shoot: 20 shots.
The session path on the half court, and the number of shots in each stage.
01Why stages instead of one shot after another?
A 2025 study in the European Journal of Sport Science compared ways of ordering practice on a jump shot. It involved 84 novice female students with an average age of about 16, who practiced for three days and were tested three days later.
The group that repeated the same distance in blocks scored highest during practice. But it was among the lowest on the retention test, when the test was repeated days later. Most of the other groups, including those that varied the distance or the body position, held on to their level better.
Key point
The study is small, it lasted only three days, and its sample was novice female students, so we don't generalize its result to every player. The researchers themselves acknowledged that the training period may have been too short. What we take from it is a practical idea only: don't judge your practice by its results during practice alone, and change the shooting spot from one stage to the next.
02Stage one: close one-handed shots (20 shots)
This is a warm-up for your form. Breakthrough Basketball describes the drill like this: stand about 2 feet (roughly 60 centimeters) from the basket. Hold the ball palm up in your shooting hand, with your other hand out to the side. Bring the ball up slowly, with your elbow at about a right angle. Look at the front of the rim, drive with your legs, hold your follow-through for a moment, then catch the ball and repeat.
The site says each player should do at least 20 reps, but that 50 or 100 would be better, and it warns against sacrificing form for speed. We covered the basics of the motion in the basic steps of a sound shot.
Hoop Coach also says this kind of drill is useful when your shot breaks down, because it takes you back to the basics.
03Stages two and three: five spots at two distances (25 + 25 shots)
This part builds on James Gels's drill at Coach's Clipboard. The drill spreads the shots over five spots around the basket: two low spots on either side of the basket, one straight on, and two 45-degree spots where you use the backboard. Then it repeats the same pattern from farther out.
In our plan:
Stage two: 5 shots from each of the five spots, about 5 feet (1.5 meters) out, for 25 shots.
Stage three: 5 shots from each of the five spots, 8 to 10 feet (2.4 to 3 meters) out, for 25 shots.
The original drill's rules apply: shoot game-style jump shots, not flat-footed ones, focus on form and balance with no drifting sideways, and rebound every shot yourself.
04Stage four: free throws (10 shots)
Gels's drill places free throws between its stages. In our plan you shoot 10 free throws in one go, each with your full routine, as we explained in the free-throw routine.
05Stage five: one dribble, then shoot (20 shots)
This part gets closer to game conditions. In Gels's drill you catch the returned ball, take one dribble to the right, then take a jump shot from the free-throw area, and then repeat to the left, continuing until you make 10 in each direction. In our plan the number of attempts is fixed instead: 10 attempts to the right and 10 to the left, so it's easier to compare your percentage.
06Rules that make the session work
Form before numbers. Don't rush for a make.
Always start with stage one. It's a warm-up for the motion, not a source for your percentage.
Change the order of the spots from one session to the next. This is our suggestion, based on the idea of variation that the study discussed.
Respect your age and strength. If you feel tired or sore, shorten the session or use a shorter distance.
Don't be surprised if your percentage drops when you're tired. A 2025 meta-analysis in Frontiers in Physiology found that moderate physical fatigue lowers two-point accuracy, and severe fatigue lowers both two-point and three-point accuracy. If your shooting dips late in a session, fatigue may be the reason, not necessarily a worse shot.
Estimate the time. We estimate the session takes about 30 minutes, depending on your pace.
07How do you log it and track progress?
Coach's Clipboard recommends logging your shots daily, and notes that shooting percentage is shots made divided by shots taken. If you see no improvement after a few weeks, a shooting coach should look at your form.
Log the shots from stages two to five in ShootingStat, where you can analyze them by court zone. Don't log stage one. Keep your attempts fixed: in 25 attempts, a single shot moves your percentage by 4 percentage points. And compare across several sessions, not two. To understand the percentages the app shows, read the difference between the three percentages.
The session has 5 stages: close form, near spots, farther spots, free throws, then a dribble and a shot.
Change the spot between stages, and don't judge a session by its results alone.
Log your shots with fixed attempt counts, and compare several sessions.
The numbers and the order are our suggestion, so adjust them to your time and strength.
Start with one session this week, log it, and repeat it.
FAQ
How many shots do I need in a session?
There is no single right number. Breakthrough Basketball recommends at least 20 reps of its close-range form drill, and says 50 or 100 would be better. The full workout on Coach's Clipboard requires 140 makes, so the actual number of attempts is higher. Our plan is about 100 shots.
Should I use the backboard?
Coach's Clipboard uses the backboard on the two 45-degree spots at the closer distances and makes it optional at about 12 feet. The other spots are straight shots.
How often should I train?
There is no fixed number. Coach's Clipboard suggests logging your shots daily. We suggest starting with a number of sessions you can keep up every week, then building up gradually.
What if I don't improve?
Coach's Clipboard says that if you see no improvement after a few weeks, a shooting coach should look at your form. You can also review the common shooting mistakes.
