Life on the Line: A Basketball Story

By Brian E. O'Neill

This is a story which can help you become a 90% or better Free Throw Shooter using my method which I call "The Net Technique." The first time I tried shooting with this method my percentage was 86% which meant I had a 15% better average than in my High School days. I'm now shooting 97%. With 3 simple steps you too can expect to dramatically improve your Free Throw Shooting.

I invite you to come along in my journey in which I developed this technique and see how my love of Basketball as a boy eventually led me to shooting 97% at 73 years young. Success in achieving any long term objective is often built upon many set backs and failures, I have found that to be true whether it is in sports or life in general.

After my back surgery in 2005 I could have condemned myself to the chair so to speak, a rocker or wheel chair, that is, but instead of focusing on the pain and the frustration of rehab, I focused on an annoyance I could do something about, a pet peeve of mine for years -poor Free Throw shooting in the sport I loved and played as a kid- Basketball.

Focusing on doing something, rather on the restrictions on me doing anything, had a remarkable therapeutic effect, and so I hope the readers of this book benefit from the 'underlining' lesson of this book, persistence in the face of adversity, as well learning how to sink over 90% of their Free Throws in life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian E. O'Neill
• Release date: Sep 7, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301324286

Brian E. O'Neill

Brian E. O'Neill is a retired Railroad worker who lives in Watervliet, New York. Husband, father and grandfather, he is a life long student and fan of basketball and other local sports in the Albany, New York area. Brian served in the US Army in the 50s, has been a long time member of the local Elks club and performed in a popular harmonica group around town for many years. He has taken a new calling in recent years, "reviving a lost art," the art of the perfect Free Throw.

Book preview

Preface

This is a basketball story. How I rediscovered the game of my youth while watching a High School basketball game while I was also trying to rehab from a recent back surgery more than 50 years later.

This story is about the art and technique of Free Throw Shooting and how I developed my own technique, years after I thought my Basketball playing days were over, which I call the Net Technique. ‘Nothing but net’ is an exhilarating experience for anyone who has ever had a basketball roll off their finger tips. When I first tried my new technique I immediately became a consistent 86% shooter, after a few years of honing and refining my technique I am now a consistent 97% shooter. I have been invited to teach clinics, instruct individual players and even been the subject of some modest media coverage. I am certain that anyone who takes the time to learn and work on the 3 simple steps in my technique will also experience a dramatic increase in their Free Throw Shooting percentage and the exhilaration of experiencing nothing but Net.

However, before I lay out my technique, I want to tell the story of how I came to ‘revive a lost art at the line,’ as Pete Iorizzo a local sports writer described it, in a finely written piece in the Albany Times Union. (1/20/13, Thanks Pete).

Inspired by watching a local High School Basketball game , coming off back surgery and having the good fortune of choosing a great local Fitness and Recreational Center, the Ciccotti Center in Colonie, NY at which to rehab , I would like to share some of my life stories which led me back to the line, shooting Free Throws and achieving a level of success in pursuing a goal which I hope can help others in their life, whether it is improving their Free Throw shooting or in pursuing some other positive, rewarding goal in their life.

Free Throw shooting may be a seemingly singular, individually centered activity, but as with much in life, success in pursuing a goal worth pursuing is seldom achieved without the help and support of others and so it has been, as the reader will see, with how I arrived at my Net Technique and 97% shooting. To all those who were part of my journey and lent support and encouragement along the way and thru the years, - thanks for the memories.

The Game

In my opinion, and sometimes it doesn’t always hold true, but watching two teams in their pre-game warm-ups is to me an indicator of which team would end up being the winner of a basketball game. While watching a match-up between two high school teams, I was pretty sure of the outcome. Team A seemed to be the more athletic and I thought their height along was going to control the boards. On this cold winter night in December in Albany, New York the contest began. It was obvious right away that Team B was having a problem with tough defense of A. The full court pressure became too much for the underdog Team B. On the other hand. Team B tried out different ways to defend the quicker opponent, settled on the Zone-Defense. So it then became fouling your adversary as a tactic for the weaker team. And did they ever commit to this strategy. Referring often to my program to try and get more of who the players were and who I thought in my mind were good ones is one of the things I do during the Time-Outs and Fouling. I know all the players by this time because the whistle was blown constantly by the referees. They appeared to be legitimate calls even though the coaches and fans protested.

All of a sudden it came to me in the middle of the second quarter that something peculiar was going on. Team A had been missing a lot of free throws. They were having a hard time with it. Their method by the majority, besides the mechanics was horrendous. I thought that it could be an off night but then maybe not. They were missing at least half of their foul shots and I knew that when they faced tougher teams this would hurt them. I go to these games alone and usually do not favor one team over the other. Sometimes I do favor the underdog to win.

The second half was similar to the first with Team A leading. More of the same thing went on with the foul shots. At some point in the third quarter an odd thought came to me. I decided that I would look down the other end of the court every time a Team A player went to the free throw line. Whether anyone took notice of me doing this did not matter to me. My idea on this was most people ignore old people anyway and who the hell cares about an older man looking down the court. So the game continued on to its conclusion. Team A came out the winner of the game by a good number of points. I am sure the score could have been a larger difference but for Team A missing so much from the line.

As I drove home that night from the game thoughts about the poor free shooting weighed heavily on my mind. I flashed back to my days back in Junior High School at Bethlehem Central in Delmar, New York. My coach William F. O’Neill, (no relation) in the beginning of the basketball season wanted all the boys to shoot underhand. This did not work out well for the team because the only one that could shoot underhand well enough was my friend and fellow co-captain, Roger Clough, and even though we had a very successful, undefeated season, luckily neither a game nor the season ever depended on an awkward underhanded free throw attempt.

Camp Thatcher

The first time I ever played basketball was when I was seven years old and attended a Boy’s Club Camp. The camp was located in the Helderbergs 16 miles south-west of Albany, New York. Living in Elsmere, New York during this time I had to go into Albany by bus and meet at the Boy’s Club on Beaver Street, where the present Times Union Center is now located. Games for Siena are here and at this venue also is where the MACC College Basketball Tournament is contested. I was not a member of the Boy’s Club in 1947, however, my Mother being a Nurse and single parent contacted Mr. Bender, the Camp Director at the time, and he gave it the okay for me to go. The camp was supported by Community Funds and it was for underprivileged boys in the Capital District area. We took the bus up to the mountains passing thru Thatcher Park. My brother and I had a contest every year to see who could be the first one to spot the castle that you could see just before the winding turn to get there. The camp was on Ketchum Road about 3 miles past Thatcher Park. Thatcher Park still has a great overlook that you can see Albany, Schenectady and as far away as Massachusetts.

When we made our final destination at the camp the bus unloaded us campers along with our bags. Some kids had suitcases, others duffel bags. We sat on the grass opposite the mess had and waited to be assigned a cabin. Mr. Bender, Camp Director welcomed us boys to the camp then introduced Mr. Al Singleton who read off each name and told him where his cabin was and who would be his counselor. The cabins had Indian Tribe names. The Huron’s cabin was close to the mess hall where the youngest boys stayed. Next were the Mohave’s, then the Onondagas, the Ramapo and last was the Apache was the oldest boy’s cabin located across the road from the ball field. There were about 15 boys assigned to a cabin. I had attended this camp every year from 1947 thru 1953, or age 7 to 13. The first year was the hardest I would say as you are afraid somewhat as you do not know what to expect from the other kids, because they were all from the City of Albany. Being from the suburbs and not knowing these guys was something I had to get used to. One thing also was the sleeping assignments. There were bunk beds and there were decisions to be made as to whether you wanted a top bunk or bottom. If a boy was going to attend camp for a week or maybe more, it was imperative that he try to get along with the other kids. That was important to know. If you were a wise guy or a bully, you soon learned that this was not what camping was about. Though there were a few bully’s from time to time I never had a problem. It might have been that way for me because of my older brother Michael. He was different. He would not take any guff from any kid. One camping season he had a boxing match with 2 brothers on the same night. He won both matches. That is the way disputes were settled at Camp Thatcher. If you had a problem with another camper or you thought you were being picked on or bullied, that was the way it was done. I would like to think that all those boxing matches Michael and I had on Elsmere Avenue in the cellar next to the coal bin helped him to prepare for something as this. I really think that he had a liking to just box. We both watched the professional boxing matches on television in the 1950’s that were called The Friday Night Fights, sponsored by the Gillette Blue Blades Company. These days I