What Happens When Basketball Practice Starts Looking Like a Video Game?
Shoot 360 began with a problem many parents and coaches understand.
Young athletes love basketball, but traditional repetition can struggle to compete with the instant feedback, scores and constant stimulation offered by video games.
Founder Craig Moody saw an opportunity to bring some of those same engagement principles onto the basketball court.
That idea eventually became Shoot 360, a technology-powered basketball training business founded in 2012 that has since expanded internationally through franchising and strategic partnerships.
Now the company is entering another chapter.
Shoot 360 has received $7 million in growth funding led by COPA Innovation Laboratories and COPA Venture Capital, giving the company additional resources to expand its network and develop its technology.
But the investment also highlights something bigger happening within sports.
Training is becoming measurable.
Turning Every Shot Into Information
Walk into a traditional basketball gym and improvement can be difficult to quantify.
A coach watches an athlete shoot and provides feedback. The athlete adjusts and tries again.
Shoot 360 adds another layer.
Its technology can capture information as athletes shoot, pass and work through drills, delivering feedback almost immediately.
Shooting arc, depth, alignment, accuracy and other performance measurements can become visible instead of subjective.
The same philosophy extends to passing, ball handling, reaction time and decision-making.
Human coaching remains central, but technology gives coaches and athletes more information to work with.
Shoot 360 has accumulated data from more than 600 million shots across its platform.
That scale matters because every additional training session contributes to a growing picture of how players perform and improve.
Technology That Encourages Players to Keep Training
One reason Shoot 360’s concept has gained attention is that the technology does not simply measure performance.
It turns training into an interactive experience.
Athletes receive scores and instant results. They can participate in challenges and compare performance through leaderboards.
The repetitive work required to develop basketball fundamentals starts to feel more like competition.
For younger athletes who have grown up with smartphones, games and real-time feedback, that can make training more engaging.
The model essentially connects three worlds that traditionally operated separately: coaching, sports science and entertainment.
That combination is now becoming the foundation of a growing franchise network.
From One Concept to an International Network
Shoot 360’s growth has accelerated during the past several years.
The brand opened 13 new locations during 2025 and finished the year with approximately 60 locations worldwide.
Expansion continued in 2026.
During the first half of the year, six franchise locations opened and another five franchise agreements were awarded.
Dozens of additional locations were also moving through the development pipeline.
New facilities have appeared in U.S. markets while Shoot 360 has continued building an international presence.
Oakville, Ontario, became part of its Canadian expansion, while a location in Saitama strengthened the company’s position in Japan.
The total system has since expanded beyond 65 locations, with the network approaching roughly 70 locations internationally.
Why COPA Saw an Opportunity
COPA Innovation Laboratories operates in many of the same areas Shoot 360 is trying to develop.
Its focus includes human performance, athlete assessment, sports science and data analytics.
That creates an interesting strategic fit.
Shoot 360 has a growing network where athletes are continuously training and generating performance data.
COPA brings additional expertise around measuring and evaluating athletic performance.
Instead of the relationship functioning strictly as an investor providing capital, the companies plan to explore collaboration around technology, athlete assessment, analytics, franchising and business development.
The partnership could help Shoot 360 improve both sides of the company: the technology experienced by athletes and the business infrastructure supporting franchise expansion.
Real Estate Is Part of the Equation
Sports businesses can be difficult to scale because they need space.
Basketball training facilities require more specialized real estate than a small retail or service franchise.
That makes another part of the COPA relationship notable.
COPA’s broader business ecosystem includes National SportsMall Realty, bringing sports-focused real estate experience into the partnership.
That could help Shoot 360 identify additional opportunities inside major sports developments or large athletic complexes.
As the company expands, those types of locations could provide access to families already visiting a property for sports and recreation.
LA Fitness Shows Another Possible Future
Shoot 360 is also experimenting with a completely different approach to expansion.
Instead of constructing a separate facility, why not bring the technology to basketball courts that already exist?
That is the idea behind the company’s pilot program with Fitness International.
Selected basketball courts inside LA Fitness and City Sports Club locations are being converted into Shoot 360 training environments.
The first location under the program opened in Hillsboro, Oregon.
Additional pilot sites have been planned across Washington and Northern California.
If the concept proves successful, it could create a new growth path.
Shoot 360 would no longer need to rely entirely on finding independent real estate for every location. Existing fitness facilities could potentially become hosts for the technology.
The Bigger Opportunity Is Beyond Basketball Courts
Shoot 360’s evolution offers an interesting example of where sports businesses may be heading.
For decades, athletic training was heavily dependent on the knowledge and observation of individual coaches.
That remains important.
But data is increasingly becoming part of the coaching conversation.
Young athletes can now see information that professional organizations once had far greater access to.
Parents can better understand whether training is producing measurable improvement.
Coaches can use technology to identify specific areas that need attention.
And businesses can make that process engaging enough that athletes actually want to return and continue practicing.
A $7 Million Investment in a Much Larger Idea
Shoot 360’s new funding will help the company pursue more locations and continue advancing its technology.
Yet viewing the deal purely as another franchise investment misses the more interesting part of the story.
Shoot 360 is attempting to turn basketball development into an interconnected platform.
Physical facilities provide the training environment.
Coaches provide expertise.
Technology measures what happens.
Gamification creates engagement.
Data records improvement.
Franchising allows the system to move into more communities.
Strategic partnerships could now help it enter new types of facilities and larger sports developments.
There is still considerable execution ahead as Shoot 360 expands, but the direction is becoming clear.
The basketball gym of the future may be less about simply having a hoop and a ball and more about creating an environment where every repetition produces information.
Shoot 360’s $7 million investment is another step toward building that future.
Learn more about Shoot 360 Franchise opportunities.
