Caitlin Clark Identifies Biggest Shooting Mistake Young Players Make
If there is one women's basketball player that young players should learn about shooting from, it's Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark.
In fact, the 23-year-old is among the best possible teachers for young shooters in both the men's and the women's game. While her 2025 stats don't necessarily reflect this (which can be blamed on her being unable to find a rhythm because she was out for so long with injuries), anybody who has witnessed No. 22 hooping during her college and professional career knows that she is qualified to discuss shooting form and technique.
Caitlin Clark Breaks Down Why Shooting Form Matters Early
Clark would probably say that she still has a long way to go before perfecting her own form. Yet, she addressed the biggest problem that she has noticed from young shooters and shared advice on how to fix that issue during her appearance on Travis and Jason Kelse's New Heights podcast, which was released on YouTube on December 31.
When Jason Kelce asked Clark how easy it is for somebody to learn how to shoot, Clark said, "Honestly, I feel like if you're willing to learn. That's the problem with a lot of young kids and young basketball players. Their form is so jacked up, but I feel like it's a pretty easy thing to pick up on at a young age.
"That's what I always tell kids, like, 'Make sure your form is always good.' Then you can kind of always work your way back. But that's what I would always say the most important [thing] is. I would always get mad at my dad when I was younger, because he wouldn't just let me launch threes. Because my elbows would be out like this," Clark continued while mimicking taking a shot with her elbows pointed outwards.
"I'd be throwing it like that because I wasn't strong enough, and that kind of ruins your form. And then you have those habits going on through the rest of your career. But I mean, I think if you're willing to learn [how to shoot properly], I think that would be easier than learning to dunk if you couldn't jump," she concluded.
Caitlin Clark on the biggest problem kids have when learning how to shoot pic.twitter.com/gegwLw29Vh
— Grant Young (@GrvntYoung) December 31, 2025
Clark is surely keen to showcase her form on the court during the 2026 WNBA season. And one would imagine that she'll provide good video footage of her shot for young hoopers to study and learn from.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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