How to shoot free throws and other life lessons

Shooting a free throw might seem easy, but anyone who’s stood on that line during a game knows that it’s not.

Many variables go into shooting a foul shot, from fatigue to the pressure of a comeback, and many things can affect a player’s performance from the line.

Average free-throw percentages are lower than one may think, with high school hoopers making 50 percent to 60 percent of shots from the stripe, college players 68 percent and NBA players about 75 percent.

Douglas Berrian thinks he has a solution to the missed shots.

Berrian, a special-education teacher and professor as well as a former high school and college basketball player, looks at shooting free throws through a psychological lens.

“Make Them Pay!: How to Improve Your Foul-Shooting Percentage (FT%) in Two Months” is his latest book, which details his strategy and includes anecdotes from his life.

He has created a mat to be placed on the floor. It has 12 lines separated by three feet up to the free throw line.

“Get on my mat, use Tom Amberry’s seven steps for shooting the foul shot. Shoot 100 to 150 shots, but not in a row, use distributed practice. Break it up into groups of 10.”

The method is meant to help with a player’s consistency and to prevent burnout and fatigue.

“It’s repetition, it’s doing the right routine that’s important in any sport and having a passion. If you wanna be a good foul shooter, it’s gotta be done 365 days a year. You can’t drop the ball after the season is over and expect to be phenomenal.”

Beyond basketball, “Make Them Pay!” incorporates stories and lessons from Berrian’s life as an approach to teaching people and young players about what to do if they lose their love for the game.

“It’s about my life when I lost my love for basketball ... what are the alternatives you can do,” he said.

At one point, Berrian thought he was going to be a professional basketball player, but that didn’t work out.

“I write in the book about how I was a big fish in a small pond. It’s disconcerting when you’re a kid like that. But it’s a life story about dealing with change and dealing with frustration.”

He thinks his book can help not just basketball players but anyone who has tried hard and failed.

“I’m not the only one who’s wished he made it into the NBA when you put in so much time and effort and find out you’re not as good as you thought you were.”