I’ve had several people try to convince me to buy a basketball shooting machine for our basketball program. My response is always, “One, we have no storage space. Two, what’s wrong with finding a partner, working together on good passing and catching the ball in motion like you would in a game? And three, we work hard for our money, let’s spend it on things ALL the girls will benefit from.”
Yesterday after my Women’s Rec-League basketball game, one of my teammates (who is also a high school coach) asked if we had a machine. I gave her my patent response.
She gave me her opinion. She explained how her machine tracks a person’s shooting and can be set to pass the ball in different areas. “I love it.” She said, “In fact, I’m going to pull it out and get some shots in before our next game.” She also admitted that a booster had donated the machine and that they had a place to store it.
After my teammates description, and my questionable shooting that night, I was ready to join her to work on my shot. But I still was not ready to buy a shooting machine for our team. I feel like the cost outweighs the benefits for us. I might be a little old school, but when I took over our girls basketball program we had $4 and 4 uniforms, we needed the basics. Four years later we have new JV and Varsity uniforms, new warmups, a score clock and new balls but we are still working on what I consider some of the basics and we are doing some fun things as well, like team building basketball road-trips. Something that I feel the majority of my high school athletes will benefit from much more than from a shooting machine.
What is your opinion on basketball shooting machines for high school programs?
