The cookie jar is the follow-through. Hand finishes relaxed with fingers pointing at the rim, like you’re putting your hand in a cookie jar on a high shelf. This is the hardest part of the shot to teach and the most important.
What you need: No ball needed first. Just the shooting motion.
Setup: Kids stand in pairs facing each other 3 feet apart.
How to run it:
- Show them the cookie jar position: hand relaxed, wrist bent forward, fingers pointing at their partner’s face (which is at rim height).
- Have them practice just the hand position. No ball. Do 20 reps.
- Now add a ball. Do the full shooting motion (Set, Bend, Lift, Cookie) and hold the finish for 2 seconds.
- Do 2 rounds of 10 shots. Partner watches the follow-through.
What to watch: After they release, does their hand stay relaxed in the cookie jar or do they flip it or retract it? The hand must stay out and relaxed for 1 second after release.
If they’re struggling: Don’t add the ball yet. Practice the hand position only. Do 30 repetitions of just the follow-through motion before introducing a shot.
If they’ve got it: They shoot at the basket and hold the follow-through until the ball goes through the net. Trains them to stay in the shot.