The December Salem Hoops Project youth clinic has been scheduled for December 23rd. This clinic is free to all boys and girls in grades K-5. To register, send an email to salemhoopsproject@gmail.com and provide your child's name, grade, and school. We are looking forward to a great clinic! There will be a raffle for Nike Elite socks after the clinic.
I recently had the opportunity to listen to Ohlone College head coach John Peterson speak about shooting. Peterson has been at Ohlone for 13 seasons, including 5 conference championships and 10 twenty-win seasons. He was previously an assistant for Mike Dunlap at Metro State (Dunlap later became an NBA head coach). He dropped a lot of knowledge in about an hour of speaking and player demos. Here are 3 things I feel are applicable for players who want to become better shooters. 1) If your head moves, you're a streaky shooter
When it comes to shooting, the less movement, the better. Watch great shooters and notice how relaxed they are and how little movement there is additional to the shooting motion. Peterson said that the easiest way to keep your head still is to focus on the back of the rim from the time you begin your shot until the ball reaches the rim. If you watch the ball during the shot, your head has to move. "Ball watchers are streaky shooters."
2) Be ambidextrous with your feet
Great shooters can shoot in multiple ways, not only by spotting up. It is important to be able to shoot the ball 3 ways: stepping left-right, stepping right-left, and off of a jump stop. You want to be able to do all 3 of these both off of a catch and off the dribble.
3) Practice bank shots to improve your touch
If you find that your misses are consistently hard and fire off the rim, you need improvement on your shooting touch. Coaches often speak of having a soft touch. Peterson recommended using bank shots in practice to develop a soft touch. If you fire the ball with a hard touch while shooting a bank shot, you will see the negative effect and the need for a soft shooting touch.
Send me an email at salemhoopsproject@gmail.com to register!
List all of the characteristics of a leader that you can think of.
Done? I bet you missed the 2 most important ones.
Humility and pain tolerance.
We all have ambitions to achieve great things. Some of us want to change the world. But for what purpose? It could be argued that most of our "leaders" are not working to benefit their cause, but rather to benefit their ego. They do their best to hold themselves higher than others.
However, great leaders must be willing to humble themselves and tolerate pain in order to achieve the best results for their team. A leader who wants to do the work by him/herself is arrogant, not selfless and not a good teammate. A leader who can not tolerate discomfort will crumble under pressure and find ways to blame other people for their mistakes rather than owning up to them.
It's important for a leader to build their teammates up and trust that they can perform at a high level. One person can not do a job better than a team built of members with many talents.
I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the Stronger Team Huddle this past weekend at the Nike World Headquarters. This was a clinic that taught the latest in basketball specific athleticism. The Stronger Team is headlined by Alan Stein, but also featured Blair O’Donovan, Matt Johnson, and Henry Barrera (who I have the privilege of working side by side with on a consistent basis). There was plenty of useful information during the 3-day event. Here are three key takeaways I wanted to share:
Tests should not be used as a predictor of success
In basketball, we value things like vertical leap. If a player is in high school and can dunk, it is a common assumption among some people that he must be good at basketball. However, using tests such as the vertical leap, max bench press, or measured speed are not a great way to compare players and determine who will be successful. These tests are great to compare players with themselves and measure athleticism growth. Comparing players with each other should rely on categories such as attendance and effort.
What should be done everyday, is not done everyday
And by consequence, what shouldn’t be done every day, is done everyday. Players always want to play, lift and get in the gym to work on their skills. However, doing these things everyday can lead to physical and mental fatigue. Everyday activities should include mobility and flexibility work. This is easy to do and not time consuming, yet even easier to overlook. Be disciplined and take the time to perform corrective exercises and flexibility routines.
Focus on quality work and build up slow
Everybody is in a hurry. Players are constantly pushed into training programs they are not physically ready for. Stein uses the term “brick by brick approach.” A perfectly built brick building is not put together instantaneously. Somebody has taken the time to meticulously lay each brick with precision and detail. Focus on doing little things well, and they will add up to tremendous growth.
It has been a while since my last post. My summer has been filled with coaching for McKay HS, helping to run the Willamette Pro Hoop Camp, and training kids at Shoot 360. Most importantly, the start of my new organization took form. The Salem Hoops Project was initiated in July, and has provided nearly 50 kids in the Salem area with free basketball training.
Basketball training should not be such a luxury that only a limited number of kids have the chance to participate. Camps can cost anywhere between $300-400 for one week. For some families, that is a month of rent. The Salem Hoops Project was formed with those kids in mind. Basketball is a game, and more importantly, can be an avenue for growth and development for youth. It does not always have to be a business.
I am excited for the future of this. My vision is constantly being updated. I will still be open for one-on-one training session at my normal rate of $30 per 30-minute workout. But I will first point people to the free group workouts. High school workouts will resume in September. The elementary and middle school programs will begin in November. Stay updated on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out this clip from one of our summer workout sessions! http://youtu.be/DO9jBMaJ350
http://youtu.be/HIVNnp2kwcU
http://youtu.be/NUs29mp3150
I'm excited to be running a camp again! This camp will be for boys who are entering the 6th-8th grade next school year. It will be from June 17-20, 9 AM-Noon each day. We will only be accepting 60 participants total. The cost is $50 for the week, but scholarships are available. Click here for the brochure and registration form!
I spend a lot of time thinking about developing mental toughness. The thought of a players mentality holding them back from playing up to their full potential bothers me, especially when that player does all of the right things to improve but simply cannot break through mental barriers.
Players will miss shots. They will turn the ball over. Defensive responsibilities will be neglected. Careless fouls will be committed.
The important thing for players to think about is not that they made a mistake, but instead what they will do next time to be successful.
The players who struggle with mental toughness often dwell on their mistakes. One missed shot can start a chain reaction of multiple errors that spark a run for the other team.
Rather than thinking about missing a shot, coach yourself on what will make it a successful shot next time. (Maybe you were off balance, and if you get your feet set next time, it will go in)
Instead of trying to find an excuse as to why you missed a defensive rotation, produce a solution to help you be in the right position on the next defensive possession.
The key to playing with mental toughness is doing the right things on the next play instead thinking about the wrong things on the last play.
#LiftAsYouClimb