Relationship between pre-shot routine and free-throw accuracy among university basketball players in Singapore

• Main Author: Hoo, Sean Kang
• Other Authors: Tan Shern Meng
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/73881
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Free-throws scored in basketball are sometimes the deciding factor of close games. Pre-shot routines have been found to have positive effects on the outcomes of successful free-throw shooting. The purpose of this study was to investigate the significance of pre-shot routines on improving successful free-throw shooting in university basketball players in Singapore. 20 subjects were recruited for the study, consisting of 10 males and 10 females, all of whom played at the varsity level. The subjects took part in groups of 4 at The Wave Sports Complex in Nanyang Technological University, and shot a total of 50 free throws alternating between 2 conditions: one where they could shoot the shots with their pre-shot routine, and one where no pre-shot routine was allowed. Their scores at the end of each set of 10 shots was read out loud to encourage accurate free-throw shooting. The first 10 shots were treated as their warm up, and the remaining 40 were used for data analysis. Statistical significance was set at alpha = 0.05. A significantly larger number of shots were made in the pre-shot routine condition compared to when shooting without pre-shot routines. These results support the notion that shooting free-throws with pre-shot routines improved free-throw percentage. These findings were similar to those reported in 1986 by Lobmeyer and Wasserman.