Break Out Shooting, Finding The Right Spot

When looking for a good lane to shoot off of the break, you need to look at all of the possible angles. The typical player looks from the back center, at a normal height, and just shoots paint from there. However, that is not always the best way to get the eliminations off of the break.

The trick is going outside of your comfort zone.

• For the center shooter, they may need to stand high, or off of the bunker to find the right lane.
• For your edgers, they may have a perfect “Blind Spot” (a position which you can stand away from a bunker, but still be concealed from the opposing player) just a few steps away from the gate.
• Test these positions and lanes by doing multiple breakout drills. 

This photo is a great example of all of these techniques. Bryan Smith steps off of the board and squats down to shoot across the field cutting off the center runner and shooting the Dside. Tim Shoots for the diver on the snake side from the back center. I rush out to the Dorito side and use the bunkers in front of me to blind out the shooters while shooting across the field to cross streams with Bryan Smith to catch the center runner and to potentially shoot runners on the other side. 

**So the next time you go out to play, take a good walk around the starting gate and look for key spots. Some spots may be specifically used to eliminate a certain bunker or to put paint through a gap that can contain players.