Posts Tagged ‘basktball skills training’

Off Season Skills Training-Part I: Where do You Stand? by Mike Lee

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010

This series is a combination of posts that I have used in the past, but they are time relevant with the season ending for most programs. Even though they have been posted before they are updated with new thoughts and quotes.

The first part deals with year-end evaluations and how to handle them.  Later in the week I’ll talk about how to build your own workouts and address areas from your evaluation.

With the end of the season right around the corner for many high school teams I thought I should touch on the subject of player evaluations.  When I was coaching we used to do them at the beginning and end of each season with individual player meetings throughout the year.  If your coach doesn’t provide you with an evaluation, ask him or her for one.*

When I played one thing I always looked forward to was being evaluated at the end of the season or at a camp.  I think the reason why can be summed up in two sentences I picked up from a book, Winning, by Jack Welch, the former CEO of GE – I haven’t asked him why yet, but for some reason Alan was not too thrilled about this book J – I thought it was great!

“Maybe some information is hard to swallow at first and yes, “bad” news often hurts, but soon enough, like all knowledge-it’s power-in fact, it’s liberating.  When you know where you stand you can control your own destiny, and what is more fair than that?”

So the question is, “What are you going to do now?”  Are you going to sit around and feel sorry for yourself because the coach said you needed to work on your jumper or get in the weight room? Or are you going to form your organized plan of attack and get to work?

In order for you reach your goals you need to define your VISION.  You need learn and in order to learn you need to seek wisdom of those who came before you.  Search for the truth.  Great players want the TRUTH.  Kobe wants the truth – Kevin Garnett wants the truth.  Michael Jordan wanted the truth.

Without the truth you really don’t know where you stand or where you can improve.  Bill Parcells said the first thing you need to do in order to start winning is to figure out why you are losing.  Figure out what is wrong with your game in order to improve it.

*click here to view a sample evaluation form that I have used in the past.  Be sure that your players know what you are basing their evaluation on.  We used a scale of 1-5.  “1” being a low skill level and “5” being close to, or at the level of, the best in country for their age level.  That’s what our kids strived for so that’s what we compared them to.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Mike Lee's Thoughts | No Comments »

Can You Beat Me Skills Contest

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

454NJUZYPVME

We will be holding a monthly skills contest with prizes such as FREE DVDs, subscriptions to our Elite Skills Membership Program, NIKE apparel and more.  Coaches and parents:  This is a great opportunity to get your kids excited about skill development!  Check out the video below for our first contest:  2 Ball Skips in 30 Seconds.  Can you Beat Me?! If you beat my score you need to film it and upload a video response on our YouTube page here. Good luck!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Can You Beat Me Skills Contests, Videos | No Comments »

Maximizing Your Time, by Mike Lee

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

I received this question in an email from a parent the other day.  “How do you maximize your time when it’s getting cold out and dark early?”.

I really believe it is crucial to continue to work on your skills during the season.  Most coaches focus on their offensive and defensive systems during practice so it is up to you to find time to work on your individual skills.

1.  Knock Out Before School: When I was younger I would knock out some ball handling drills before I went to school in the morning.  I would either do these out in the driveway or in the basement.  See if your coach or phy ed teacher will let you into the gym so you can get a workout in before school.

2.  Get to Practice Early or stay late: If no one is practicing before you get to the gym early or stay after.  Ask your coach or better yet, a teammate, to stay after and get up a 200-300 threes after practice.  You can get up 300 threes in 20-30 minutes if you have someone rebounding for you!
3.  Use your basement or garage (yeah it might be cold, wear gloves!)

4.  Before games:  Before games in high school I would almost always get shots up.  I think this is a great way to get prepared for a game.  Go early to an NBA game and you will see guys working out, sweating and getting shots up before their game.
Last year when I was working out Sam Price, from Eau Claire North, we used to go shoot about 500 shots before her games.  Is that too much?  I don’t know, she is now on a full ride at Kent State.  You tell me!

The bottom line is that all of these options require you to make a choice.  You have a choice to sleep or get up before school to workout.  You have a choice to get to practice early or play video games.  Great players find a way!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Mike Lee's Thoughts | 1 Comment »

Is 1 on 1 a waste of time?, by Mike Lee

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

I was speaking with a friend the other day about how much time he should spend in practice focusing on individual instruction in practice for his high school team.  One aspect that came up was playing 1 on 1.  I really believe that playing 1 on1, the correct way, is one of the most overlooked ways to improve your game both offensively and defensively.  Think about it.  How hard should it really be to defend someone when he has the entire floor to use?

1.  If you can defend your own player, keep them in front and contest the face on the shot your team defense will be much better.

2.  If you can beat your defender off the dribble, make the defense help and closeout, how much better will that make your offense?

If you can get players to defend with the same mindset as they should when they play 1 on 1 I think that can benefit your team defense tremendously.  Playing 1 on 1 there is an increased sense of accountability because “it’s all on me”.

I got this drill from Ganon Baker, Nike Skills Academy Drirector, at a clinic a couple years ago.  Check out the KOBE 1 on 1 drill below.

Kobe 1 on 1

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Mike Lee's Thoughts | 3 Comments »

What’s A Good Shot, by Alan Stein

Friday, October 9th, 2009

With pre-season in full effect your players are probably playing organized pick-up during open gym several times a week… our players at Montrose sure are.  And while you can’t really add too much structure, now is the best time to start reiterating and reinforcing what a “good” shot is versus a “bad” shot.  No sense in having players consistently shooting bad shots between now and when practice starts!  If you aren’t allowed to be there because of pre-season coaching restrictions, I suggest you review this with your captains and have them inforce!

Here is a list of what constitutes a good shot.  We give this list to our players in their team handbook as well as discuss it as often as necessary.  The most important concept for players to understand is the definition of a good shot varies from player to player.  A good shot for your point guard might not be a good shot for your 4-man.

1)    A good shot is one that is expected by your teammates.

2)    A good shot is one that you are ready to shoot (on balance, square to the basket, etc.).

3)    A good shot is one that you shoot a high percentage on in drills and practice (in your range)

4)    A good shot is one that can be rebounded by at least two of your teammates.

5)    A good shot is one that you can recover and play defense from if it is missed.

6)    A good shot is one that is appropriate given the time and the score.

7)    A good shot is one that is taken when you are not closely guarded (except for shots around the basket).

Along the lines of pick-up games and open gym, here are three things we do at Montrose to make our games as productive as possible:

1)    All 10 players must be in the front court when a basket is scored (to encourage running the floor, getting back on defense, and eliminate “cherry picking.”).  If an offensive player is not over the half court line when a basket is scored; the basket doesn’t count and it is a turnover.  If a defensive player isn’t back over half court when the basket is scored, the point counts and the offensive teams keeps possession.

2)    With the exception of an intentional foul (which we don’t allow and highly discourage), our players do not call any fouls during pick-up. They must play through it and learn to play hard and maintain composure during brutal contact.  This keeps the game moving and eliminates arguing about fouls.  This is not done to promote fouling or cause chaos… so implement appropriately.  It takes mature and responsible players to do this.

3)    We keep record of wins and losses of every pick-up game.  We change the teams every day but each player gets one point when they win.  You will start to see which players are winners regardless of what team they are on.  These are the players you will want playing this winter!

If you have questions about the Montrose program, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible!

Train hard.  Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Alan Stein's Thoughts | No Comments »

Dinner With A Legend, by Alan Stein

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

This past weekend I had the pleasure of speaking at a Nike Championship Basketball Clinic in St. Louis, Missouri.  I have been speaking on the Nike circuit for four years now and really enjoy the opportunity to share info, meet new coaches, travel the country, and learn from some of the top basketball minds in the game.  Each event is a unique and exciting experience.  The clinics are held Friday through Sunday and I am usually one of the first speakers on Saturday morning. My normal routine is to fly in Friday night, speak Saturday morning, and then fly home Saturday afternoon.  However, this time I chose to stay through Sunday because I wanted to see the legendary Hubie Brown speak Saturday night.  Per his usual, he did a tremendous job, and combined his extensive basketball wisdom with several hilarious stories and anecdotes.

After he spoke, he stayed around for another 45 minutes answering additional questions, signing autographs, and taking pictures.  While I am sure he was tired and despite the fact it was getting late and he had a 5:30am flight the next morning, he was a true class act and patiently hung around until the last coach left.  I was so impressed with how genuine and humble he was.  Afterwards I got to have dinner with him, Ed Janka (the man who runs the Nike Clinics) and a few of his friends.  It was an incredible experience.

Hubie Brown is 76 years old and has been involved in high level basketball for over 50 years.  He, literally, has seen and done everything in this game.  He told story after story and was fascinating.  It was incredible to hear how the game has changed, how the players have changed, and how the money has changed over that span.  Ever since I was young I have been a bit of basketball historian and have enjoyed studying and learning from players and teams from before my time.  Even now I am currently reading Pistol Pete’s biography. So to get an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts from a living basketball legend was a real honor.  He told stories ranging from a brilliant way to defend an out of bounds play at the end of the game to a former player who bought a $30,000 Cadillac (despite the fact his yearly salary was only $35,000) to the first night he coached Kareem (with the Milwaukee Bucks) and saw him eat an extra large pizza in the locker room 6 minutes before warm-ups! NOTE: Kareem had 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 8 blocked shots that night.

That night, before I went to bed, I reflected on how truly fortunate I have been in my career to have had experiences like that.  I have met and rubbed elbows with many of the best coaches and players to have ever played the game – from John Wooden and Dean Smith to Coach K and Roy Williams to MJ to Dr. J to LeBron to Kobe.  I really do feel like Will Ferrell in the movie Wedding Crashers… “I’m just livin’ the dream!”

There is only one basketball icon I am yet to meet; and that is the General Bob Knight. However, I just got word I will get to meet him this spring! He will be speaking at the same Nike Clinics I will be speaking at in New York and Wisconsin.  I have always been a huge Coach Knight fan. As entertaining as my dinner with Hubie was; can you even imagine dinner with Coach Knight?! I can’t wait!

I try to never take these opportunities for granted and am so thankful for each and every experience.  I have been doing this professionally for 10 years now… and wow… it has been quite the journey!  In a future blog I plan to count down my top 10 moments/experiences.

If I can ever help you or your program or if I can in any way add to your own journey; don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible!

Train hard.  Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Alan Stein's Thoughts | No Comments »

What Winners Do, by Alan Stein

Friday, September 25th, 2009

Montrose-ism #3: What Winners Do

Winning is a habit.  Unfortunately so is losing.

Winners are confident. Losers have doubt.

Winners hustle. Losers loaf.

Winners praise others. Losers complain.

Winners listen. Losers talk.

Winners are accountable. Losers point the finger.

Winners are enthusiastic. Lowers lack passion.

Winners are great teammates. Losers are selfish.

Winners never quit.  Losers give up.

Winners have focus. Losers are disheveled.

Winners have discipline. Losers are weak.

Winners are loyal. Losers are self centered.

Winners have urgency. Losers put things off.

Winners have pride. Losers don’t care.

Winners are coachable. Losers already know it all.

Winners prepare their minds and bodies to win on a daily basis.  Winners do what losers don’t want to do. At Montrose we work hard to create a winning culture.  We only want winners in our program.

Are you a winner?

If you have questions about the Montrose program, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible!

Train hard.  Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Alan Stein's Thoughts | No Comments »

Anything Is Possible with the Right Mind, by Mike Lee

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

I spent the last week working out Avery Smith, standout player at UW-Milwaukee, who is heading over to Italy tomorrow for his rookie pro season.  One aspect of his game that pro scouts had questioned was his shot and after our first workout I could see why.  It was inconsistent, didn’t have much rotation and his guide hand often “thumbed” the ball.  After the workout he asked me what I thought he needed to work on and told him that his shot was what most people are going to question and rightfully so.  We proceeded to spend the week focusing on his release and he made strides I didn’t think were realistic.

For example, the first night we worked out he never made it past the 7th spot in “Celtics 3’s”.  Of the 8 times we did the drill only made it half way most of the time.  5 days and thousands of shots later he consistently made it to the last spot.  Although Avery never beat the drill, my point is that he made huge strides in just a few days because he committed to shooting thousands of shots and believed in what he was doing.

Good luck to Avery and all the rookies striving with passion and purpose to keep their professional basketball dreams alive!

See Celtics Threes below, an excerpt of the Three Ball Threat download, available at the store here.

–

The founder of Mike Lee Basketball Services (formerly Playmakers Basketball), Mike is known throughout the country for individual player skill development.  He has been a speaker at several events and has also recently authored several instructional workout DVDs, which will be released over the next year.  Titles out right now include, 25 Killer Scoring Moves, Secrets of Unstoppable Guard Play and Secrets of Unstoppable Shooting.  Since 2006 Mike Lee Basketball has trained over 3,600 boys and girls through their skill development programs. Dozens of  players that Mike has worked with have gone on to play collegiate basketball, some at the NCAA DI level.  In addition to his own basketball services, Mike is a Nike Girls Skills Trainer and a member of the Nike sponsored, Ganon Baker Basketball.

From 2001-2006, Mike participated as a player and assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. During the fall of 2006 he was awarded a scholarship to attend the Coach K and Duke University Leadership Conference in Durham, NC.  In December of 2006 he graduated from the University of Wiconsin-Stout with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a self-planned concentration in Basketball Entrepreneurship.

mike@mikeleebasketball.com

Check Out More Videos, Add me as a friend on Facebook or Get Updates on Twitter!

www.mikeleebasketball.com

http://www.youtube.com/mikeleebasketball

http://www.facebook.com/mikeleebasketball

http://www.twitter.com/mikeleehoops

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Mike Lee's Thoughts | No Comments »

Do You Qualify? by Alan Stein

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Here is a standard questionnaire we give our players before every season to see if they have what it takes to be a part of our program.

Montrose-ism #2: Do You Qualify?

1)    Are you a good person?

2)    Are you an intelligent person?

3)    Are you a student-athlete?

4)    Are you a team player?

5)    Do you take care of your body?

6)    Do you listen with your eyes and ears?

7)    Do you ask questions?

8)    Are you a leader?

9)    Can you accept criticism and discipline?

10)  Do you truly care about your school, your coaches, and your teammates?

11)  Do you do the little things to be successful (both on and off the court)?

12)  Can you play through minor aches and pains?

13)  Are you mentally tough (comfortable being uncomfortable)?

14)  Are you committed to being the absolute best player (and person) you can be?

15)  Are you truly thankful for everything you have?

If you answered “YES” to all of these questions then you qualify to be a part of one of the best high school basketball programs in the country.  You qualify to be a part of Montrose Basketball.  Don’t take this for granted.  The journey starts now; let’s get to work.

If you have questions about the Montrose program, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible!

Train hard.  Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Alan Stein's Thoughts | No Comments »

Create Space and Avoid Fouls, by Luke Meier

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

The college football season is now officially underway.  ESPN kicked off its coverage with a match up between South Carolina and NC State.  During the middle of the first quarter South Carolina threw a deep ball into the endzone.  As the ball hung in the air the receiver extended his arms, pushing off of the cornerback, creating space to make the catch.  The pass was completed, but the receiver was flagged for offensive pass interference. After the play, the cameras cut to the sideline where Coach Spurrier was “coaching up”  the receiver who committed the penalty.  Even though the there was no audio, you could clearly see Coach Spurrier telling the player to use his body to create that space, rather than extending his arms.

The play got me thinking about creating space in basketball.  In particular, getting open without a screen.  How many times have you seen a player get whistled for a foul because they pushed their defender to create space?  It happens all the time!  Anytime a referee sees a player extend their arm(s) to push off, they will blow the whistle, even on flops.

When separating without the ball, use your lower body to improve positioning and create space.  A great way to do this is to step between the defenders legs.  This will either push the D back or put you in position to initiate contact and create space with your hips, not arms.  Never push off with your arms.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Luke Meier's Thoughts | No Comments »