Can a 5 step approach be done in 10 feet?

[Hammer]

Yes. Mine is only about that long. My first two steps are slow and short and then I start to build up spped with my third step. My starting point on the approach is where the ball return starts to come up out of the floor. When I am on the approach doing my setup I don't see anyone on the alleys next to me because everybody starts further back. I use to start further back on the approach but I noticed that when my slide finished I was about 3 feet from the foul line. YIKES! It took me a while to move closer because when I did I felt like I was going to slide over the foul line and right onto the alley. It took some getting used to. Now it doesn't bother me.

Do you start at the beginning of the approach or are you close to the foul line like I am?

[RobLV1]

I use a five step approach and start about 8-9' back from the foul line. I'm 6'3" tall. My coach first got me to move up that far to get me to shorten my first step. He's a very logical sort of guy: "Shorten the first step or foul, your choice!" I used to end up about two feet short of the foul line. Now I'm within about 3".

[Hammer]

I saw a tournament on my computer between Chris Barnes and Norm Duke. For as big as he is Chris was starting his approach where the ball return was coming out of the floor just a little back from there but not much. His first two steps on a 5 step approach are slow and short. He starts to build up momentum with his third step.

The way I got myself used to sliding close to the foul line was to move up a little at a time. After I did my slide I would look down to see how close I was to the foul line. Then I kept moving up a little at a time until I was 5 inches from the foul line. I didn't do it all at once because I tried that once and found that I was real conscious with my peripheral vision that made it seem like I would end up on the alley on my butt. It did take a little getting used to but now it doesn't bother me.