blowing layups

Question
my daughter is a very fast point guard.  The problem is when she steals the ball, she blows the lay up.  The ball hits the back board too hard.  Her coaches tell her to slow down, but I feel that they are a little bit off on that and need another opinion.  Do you think that she can keep her speed, but just has to think about the shot before hand and the process of the shot?>

Answer
Hi Beth,

Being an effective point guard means you have to make lay ups. The number one characteristic of a point guard is the ability to have the best ball control of any of the players on the court. This includes dribbling, stealing, passing, and making layups. It sounds like she has some talent, but lacks the ability to control herself when finishing the play. I'm not sure how old she is, but if she is young, as she gets older and matures, she will hopefully develop more control.  When she is dribbling fast down the court, tell her to slow down at that last second before she puts the ball up. Have someone stand in the lane pretending to be a defender. Have her go length of the court and drive all the way and practice slowing down at the last second and visualizing and concentrating on getting the ball in the basket. Either directly in the hoop or off the backboard. See how she responds to this drill over and over. She has to find a speed that still allows here to maintain control to the very end.