Posts Tagged ‘goal setting’

Off-Season Skills Training Part II, by Mike Lee

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Below is a compilation of 3 previous blogs that are relevant to off-season training.  If you haven’t read Part I of off-season skills training, please check it out here.  In order to know where you are going you need to figure out where you are at right now.  Watch some game film and do an honest evaluation of yourself or ask your coach to do one of you.  This will help you build your off-season skills workouts.

The Notebook

When you are working out it is crucial that you are organized before you get to the gym.  It’s not about how much time you put in the gym, it’s what you put into the time. What I mean by organization is this.  Get a notebook and write down your workouts before you get to the gym.  All great coaches make practice plans so why wouldn’t you do it with your individual workouts?

1.  This is a way to making a commitment to what is in writing, almost like a contract with yourself.

2.  You can use your notebook as a reference point to see what you have been working on.  This will give you the ability to vary your workouts and drills so that you are staying motivated.

3. You can look back on your notebook to see how much work you have been putting in.  Maybe you are in a shooting slump, but you can look back to your notebook and see that you have gotten up 10,000 shots in the last month.  That should give you confidence to keep shooting the basketball.

4.  Motivational Quotes:  Somewhere in your notebook mix in some motivational quotes.  It can be as simple as “Dream” or “I am passionate, I have a purpose, and I am unstoppable”.  Use something that empowers yourself.  Maybe you want to have a theme or quote for each week.  Be creative and make your notebook unique!

Example:

10 Minutes:  2 Ball Stationary or Tennis Ball

10 Minutes:  1 Ball Moving

10 Minutes:  Half Court Drives:  Dribble Attack Moves

10 Minutes:  Shooting off the Dribble

40 Minutes:  Shooting off the Catch

Challenge Yourself! But How?

As a trainer I am always looking for ways to challenge players during workouts to get them to understand that there is always another level that you can take your game to.  I meet a lot of players that are satisfied with where they are at because they don’t have someone pushing them, giving them goals to strive for or know what type of goals they should be setting for themselves.

So how do you get to that next level besides just “going hard”?  Like Alan Stein says, “Train Hard.  Train Smart!”.  One part of training that I see players get bored with easily is their ball handling.  Here is a great way to challenge yourself.  Let’s say you are working on the stationary 2 ball drill “2 Dribble Cross”.  In this drill you are taking 2 pound dribbles and then crossing one ball tight to your body and one ball out in front.  Have your partner or coach time you and see how many crossovers you can get in 30 seconds.  Let’s say you get 20.  This is now your record.  Perform this drill 2 times a week during your ball handling drills and try to beat your record each time.  If you practice this consistently you should see your record go up about every week.  If your record is going up I bet your crossover is getting better too!

You can do this with many different drills, especially your shooting workouts:

Goals for Shooting Workouts

  1. Certain # of Total Shots
  2. # of total makes
  3. # of total makes in a time period:  ie-10 makes in 1 minute
  4. Set a Record-Beat the Record
    1. Perform the drill 1 time and set a record of makes.  Let’s say the player makes 10.  They now repeat the drill and have to tie or beat 10.  If they don’t tie or beat their record they either have to repeat drill or do pushups, abs, etc.

5.  # of Makes before you miss 2 shots in a row.  10 Makes before you miss 2 in a row

1 on 1…Detrimental or Productive.  YOU CHOOSE!

The summer is a GREAT time to work on your 1 on 1 game, however, be careful how you play the games.  Make them realistic.  99% of the time I see players going 1 on 1 they are playing the game “incorrect”.

Incorrect:  Check the ball up at the top of the key, make a double between the legs, behind the back, double cross, repeat all that and then back your defender down into the paint, etc, etc…THAT IS NOT REALISTIC

Correct:  Check the ball up at the top of the key and you have 4 seconds and 3 dribbles to get a shot off.  You need to be able to quickly make correct and consistent reads to attack the defense.

Click here for a drill I picked up from Coach Frank Martin at Kansas State.  We are actually filming a 1 on 1 Drill DVD this weekend, which should be released in the Spring of 2010.

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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.

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Skill Development is Skill Specific, by Mike Lee

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

I spent last Wednesday working out a player in Eau Claire, WI.  We worked on freeze dribbles into pull-ups, creating space off the dribble, a bounce off move series, and separating into pull-ups. Normally this is a description of a workout I would do with a high level high school player who is trying to play in college or has even received scholarship offers.

She is in 5th grade.  She is a girl.  And she has PASSION.  I can see love in her eyes.

My point is this. Skill Development is not gender specific or even age specific; It’s SKILL specific. What a player works on should be determined by how skilled they are, not how old or whether or not they are a boy or a girl.  I have seen several middle school/high school girls that can handle the basketball better than men’s college basketball players, which is not any exaggeration at all!

I really wish I would have had someone film the workout so you can see what can be done with love, passion and a purpose.  It’s unbelievable what some people could accomplish if they would just believe and work.

If you haven’t seen this already, check out the video of Lexi Hanley getting 46 2 Ball Skips in 30 Seconds.  I got 63 and I hope she beats me some day.

–

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

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No Guarantee, by Alan Stein

Friday, January 15th, 2010

The word on the street is Mark McGuire read the second half of my blog post from last week (“Random Thoughts”) and finally decided to admit he took steroids.  Thanks Big Red, it only took you 10 years.  And it wasn’t the slightest bit obvious (insert sarcasm). All joking aside, the year he broke the home run record, the measured circumference of his right forearm was an inch and half bigger than my neck! How in the hell could that be natural?!

OK, back on topic.

One of the toughest things to deal with as an adult is the concept that nothing in life is guaranteed.  Except for death and taxes.  And while I certainly despise paying taxes, my gut feeling is I would like death even less.

This concept of “nothing being guaranteed” is so evident in sports. Jim Valvano, the late coach of NC State and one of my favorite motivational speakers, once said something to the effect of:

“Just because you work hard doesn’t guarantee you will be successful.  But not working hard guarantees you won’t be.”

Reigning NCAA National Champion coach Roy Williams said something similar:

“Working hard doesn’t guarantee success, but without it, you have no chance.”

Have you ever spent hours upon hours studying for a test… and still gotten a poor grade? Has your team ever spent hours upon hours practicing all week… and still lost the big game?

Of course you have; it happens to the best of us. Working hard and not achieving success is a tough pill to swallow.  It is hard in basketball and it is hard in life. But it is fact.  And it is something every player and coach needs to come to terms with… because no one is immune.  And when a minor setback (or failure) occurs, you have to learn from it, move past it, and get back to working hard again!

A young lady I had been working with for over a year, and who is a very accomplished high school player, tore her ACL a few weeks ago in a holiday tournament.  She was having a phenomenal season (team was 7-2) and a stellar game (had already hit five 3’s) up to that point. Then, early in the second half on a drive to the basket, she landed awkwardly while being fouled.  BAM! Just like that, she tore her ACL and her season was over.

Her father called me to tell me the bad news and told me she was devastated. As a senior, she was being recruited by several Division I schools, but unfortunately was waiting until the spring to sign… and she was distraught with thoughts that “no one would want her now.”

Personally, I was crushed by the news.  I couldn’t sleep for two days.  I really care about all the kids I work with and I felt terrible she was going through this.  She is such an impressive young lady, both on and off the court.

Unable to sleep, all I kept thinking was, how could this have happened?  She worked so hard this pre-season.  She did everything I asked of her and did it to best of her ability. After a couple hours of staring at the ceiling, I went down to my office and reviewed my notes from our sessions. I took solace in knowing we did everything possible to try to reduce the occurrence of this happening.  We incorporated numerous exercises and drills, every single workout, to reduce the likelihood of an ACL injury. We worked on proper landing. We worked on proper cutting.  We properly strengthened every muscle and joint in her lower body.  Honestly, I wouldn’t have done anything different. So thankfully, I don’t have to live with the woulda, coulda, shoulda’s.  We worked hard all pre-season and literally did everything we could have done to prevent this. Yet unfortunately, it still occurred.

I went to one of her team’s games last week to say hello, offer my support, and to speak to her father.  We had a wonderful conversation and I promised him I would help her with every step of her recovery. I also told him I was confident she would still play college basketball. The road will be tough, and it is (obviously) not guaranteed, but my advice to her was to stay positive, get ready to get back to work… and things will work out for the best.

Now, I am a strength & conditioning coach… not a psychologist by any means.  But I really believe after her short grieving period is over, she will need to re-focus and get back to working as hard as possible. I understand she is entitled to a period of time of feeling disappointed and depressed… but what’s done is done.  She tore her ACL; it’s a fact. Nothing can be done to undo that now.  Just like an errant pass or a missed shot, it is time to move on to the next play!

The most influential factor in her future success on the court will be how she responds to this setback.  This will be a real test of her character. I have full confidence she will come back better than ever because she has a tremendous attitude, relentless work ethic, and the mindset of a champion.

I am proud and thankful to claim an exemplary record over the past 10 years, with a particularly high rate of success for both injury prevention and performance enhancement.  And even though I can say, with full confidence, we did everything “right” in regards to her pre-season preparation… an injury still occurred.  We worked hard… and as we learned… success was not guaranteed (at least success in this particular instance). Fortunately, this is not the final chapter in her playing career.

It is imperative you understand you can’t second guess the importance of working hard and of doing what is right just because things don’t turn out the way you want. You still need to make the conscious choice to consistently work hard in every aspect of your life (especially in your training).  While the possibility of not achieving success is always looming, it is nothing to be feared, and certainly nothing to give in too.  If you make a daily commitment to excellence… you will absolutely “win” more than you “lose.” And I am not talking about the scoreboard.

If you read my recent blog post, “What We Do”, you can see the lengths the Montrose Christian basketball program goes to in order to be successful.  And yet we still (occasionally) lose games.  Do you think losing a game causes us to second guess “What We Do?”  No way!  And when you have a setback it shouldn’t cause you to second guess yourself either.

If you have any questions about ACL injury prevention (or recovery), or if I can ever be of service to you or your team, please don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I promise to respond as quickly as possible.

If you haven’t done so, please check out (and subscribe) to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom.  I just posted two videos of the Montrose Basketball Pre-Game Warm-up (one before we take the court and one on-court).  Next week, I will post clips from a recent in-season strength training workout.

Also, for those of you who follow me at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein, or are my “friend” at www.Facebook.com/AlanSteinJr, I will be holding weekly trivia questions for folks to win some HOT prizes – like Nike and Jordan gear!  All of the questions will come from my blog archive… so make sure you read past posts and study up.

Play hard. Have fun.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

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Self Made Players, by Luke Meier

Monday, January 11th, 2010

You often hear Coaches or T.V. announcers refer to players as “self made.”  How else are players made?  Coaches and trainers can provide all the tools for players to improve, but it is up to the player to put in the time and effort.

The book “When the Game was Ours” by Jackie MacMullen tells about the lives of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and their relationship with one another. Here are two of the many stories about the legendary work ethics of two of the greatest players ever.

During his summers with the Celtics Larry Bird would get up at 7am and run 5 miles uphill.  Then he would ride his bike through the Indiana country for 20 miles.  This was followed by 500 jump shots and 500 free throws.  It was only the start of his workout and it was all done before noon.

When Magic Johnson was in high school, Dick Vitale, who was coaching in Detroit at the time, showed up at the Johnson household one winter morning shortly after 6am.  When Vitale asked for Magic, his mother told Vitale that he had already left for the day.  He was at the park shooting jumpers before school in the blistering cold of a Lansing winter morning.

You can make excuses about how you don’t have time or you don’t have a gym or whatever else you can think of.  The truth is that is that’s all garbage.  If you really want to be great you find the time, you find the space, and you make it happen.

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Motivational Quotes, by Alan Stein

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

I have been a self diagnosed “quote nerd” for as long as I can remember.  Back in high school in the early 90’s, I started with a spiral notebook and a pen and wrote down every quote I found inspiring.  Quotes from movies, coaches, books, signs… you name it… if I saw it or heard it, I wrote it down.  Years later, I converted the growing collection into a computer database and added to it as often as I could.

As a professional basketball strength & conditioning coach, a big part of my job is to motivate my players to work hard consistently; to get them to do the things they don’t’ want to do because I know it will help them get to where they want to go.  So there have been countless occasions where the inspiration from a specific quote has come in handy.  I use quotes as tools to motivate my players as well as motivate myself.  While I am strength & conditioning coach by trade, my overall goal in life is simple; to inspire, to motivate, to influence and to help anyone who is passionate about basketball and training.  I have found quotes are a valuable tool in doing just that. I am extremely thankful to have platforms like Twitter, Facebook and my blog to impact players and coaches of all ages and levels… all over the world!

If you have followed me on any of those social media platforms, you know I have been posting 5-6 quotes a day for the past year.  I have received a ton of positive feedback in response to the quotes I have shared and have had dozens of folks ask me to compile them in a book.  So that’s what I’ve done!  I just recently compiled my favorite inspirational quotes in a new e-book:

534 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Success On and Off the Court

It is important to understand this e-book is merely a collection of my favorite quotes.  I am not the original author of any of the quotes. I intentionally chose not to list the original author for any of the quotes for the simple fact I only know around 20% of them (and didn’t want to put “unknown” or “anonymous” for the remaining 80%)!

I am sure you have heard (or read) many of quotes I compiled, but I am confident there are several that you haven’t.  I tried to pick quotes that transcend sports and are applicable to life as well.  After all, life is the game we are all playing.

You can purchase a downloadable copy of 534 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Success On and Off the Court at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com.  In addition to the 534 motivational quotes, I added a bonus section: 27 Books Every Coach and Player Should Read. This e-book is an invaluable resource for coaches and players at every level.

Here are 5 of my favorite quotes from the e-book that are too long to post on Twitter:

  1. 1. Persistence and patience is exemplified by the stonecutter who hammers away at a piece of rock. He may hit the rock 100 times without so much as a crack showing.  Then, on the 101st hit, the rock will split in two.  It was not that hit that did it, but an accumulation of all that came before it.

  1. 2. Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Moral? It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up, you better start running!

  2. 3. If you can’t risk, you can’t grow. If you can’t grow, you can’t become your best. If you can’t become your best, you can’t be happy.  If you can’t be happy, what else matters?

  3. 4. Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

  4. 5. Champions do not become champions on the court. They become recognized on the court.  They become champions because of their daily routine and commitment to excellence. Players do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future!

I hope you enjoy these quotes as much as I do and use them to motivate yourself and those around you. I wish each of you the absolute best this season.  Please keep me posted to how you are doing and drop me an email if I can be of service in any way (Alan@StrongerTeam.com).

Play hard. Have fun.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

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The Magic Drill, by Mike Lee

Saturday, November 14th, 2009

More and more I am finding that players are looking for a magic drill that is going to instantly make them a better player. Yes, we do a lot of drills with 2 Balls, Tennis Balls and are always looking for ways to challenge players, but there isn’t a drill out there that is going to make you an All-Conference or All-State player unless you do it thousands of times with correct technique at game speed. There is a reason why Kobe Bryant makes 1,000 shots per day, 6 days a week in the summer.  No matter how great a drill there is no substitute for a work ethic.  The motivation we make up new drills is because there are 2 things that will kill a workout:

1.  Fatigue

2.  Boredom

By coming up with new drills and challenging players we are trying to eliminate the boredom factor.  With that being said it is important to keep drills appropriate to the player’s skill level. In Geoff Colvin’s book, Talent is Overrated, he states that students have a comfort zone, learning zone and panic zone.  If you doing a drill that is way over a player’s skill level you put them in their panic zone and are not going to benefit from the drill.  Most likely they will become frustrated because they are unable to achieve any success with the drill.  You want to use drills that are in a player’s learning zone, which is where they will achieve some success, enough to keep them interested in a drill, but not to the point where they have mastered it.

The key to success is not finding a magic drill (there isn’t one!), but rather not becoming bored with repetition.

–

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 Wisconsin-Stout with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a self-planned concentration in Basketball Entrepreneurship.

mike@mikeleebasketball.com

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One Possession, by Alan Stein

Friday, October 16th, 2009

Montrose-ism #6: One Possession

Coach Vetter has a player read this poem aloud to the team before the start of every season. Yes, it is a tad corny, but it does send a very important message of how important every possession is.

It was only one possession,

Why must my coach scream?

My poor defense caused a basket,

But what can one hoop mean?

As the pass comes my direction,

And I fumble it into the stands,

My coach’s voice rings loud and clear,

“Catch with your eyes and hands!”

C’mon coach, its one possession,

Our team will be OK,

It’s just the first two minutes,

I mean damn, we’ve got all day!

In the beginning of the 2nd quarter,

Their center is strong and stout,

He gets a put back for two, quite simply due,

From my failure to block out.

It was only one possession,

I didn’t commit a crime,

My team is ahead and I’m playing well,

And there’s still plenty of time!

As the halftime buzzer sounds,

I watch the ball bank in,

I know I will hear it from my coach,

Asking why I don’t defend.

But it was only one possession,

Coach – don’t have a heart attack,

We’re only down by one and we’re having fun,

I know we’ll get the lead back!

The 2nd half is much the same,

So it is really no big deal,

That my lazy pass on the perimeter,

Results in an easy steal.

I quickly sink a jumper,

I’m greeted by high fives and slaps,

But the next time down, I give up a lay-up,

While suffering a mental lapse.

It’s only one possession,

C’mon coach just chill out!

It’s crazy to see you so mad,

As you consistently scream and shout:

“Victory favors the team,

Making the fewest mistakes.

Singles possessions are the key,

And will cut down on their fast breaks.”

I step to the line for a one and one,

The game is in my hands,

I can’t believe I miss it short,

And hear cheers from the other team’s fans.

After the game I sit at my locker,

Wondering what more I could have done,

Only to realize the value of one possession,

What a shame we lost by one.

In two weeks I will post a full preview of the 2009-2010 Montrose basketball team.

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

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Professional Development, by Alan Stein

Friday, October 9th, 2009

I spend a good deal of my time in the fall traveling the country to speak at various coaching clinics; both state association and Nike Championship Basketball clinics.  I get to meet a ton of passionate coaches who obviously understand the importance of their own professional development (duh, that’s why they are at the clinic!).

How hard do you work on your craft?  Whether you are a player, a coach, or a trainer… how much time and effort to put into your own development and improvement? An honest answer to this question will ultimately dictate your overall success.  It’s really not a mystery; the more energy you put into honing your specific skill sets the better you will be and the more success you will attain.

Are you constantly in search of new information? Do you expose yourself to a variety of resources? Do approach new learning experiences with an open mind? Again, your answer to these questions will speak volumes about your potential success.

With the exception of the small percentage of folks who are involved in basketball for mere recreation; I assume everyone else’s goal is to become the absolute best player, coach, or trainer they can be and to maximize their potential.  That is most certainly my goal as a basketball strength & conditioning coach.

I have always taken my professional development very seriously and spend an inordinate amount of time, energy, and money to ensure constant improvement.  And I tend to gravitate towards players, coaches and trainers who have the same approach.

For my specific situation, there are 5 key areas and skill sets I must continuously develop to thrive in the private training industry:

Training methodologies & philosophies (exercises & drills, equipment, etc.)
Coaching techniques (ways to motivate players, better communication, etc.)
Relationship building (building rapport with players, networking, social media, etc.)
Running a business (customer service, branding, marketing, etc.)
Public speaking & writing (speaking at clinics, writing a blog, etc.)

For players and coaches, it is slightly different.  Aside from academics (which is obviously most important), a high school and college player needs to focus on the specific skill sets of their fundamentals, applying those fundamentals to the game, and being a good teammate.  Coaches need to be able to teach the game, motivate players, create a winning culture, and implement the X’s and O’s. Please note I am well aware the roles and responsibilities of both players and coaches far exceed the cursory list I just compiled.  In fact, I suggest you write down your own list of skill set categories that you want to develop to be successful.

I make sure to spend an appropriate amount of time working on each of these specific skill sets because they each play a role in my overall success.  Players and coaches need to do the same.  Don’t just focus on shooting drills and ball handling drills… there is so much more to becoming a well rounded player or coach.

Many of you know this past January I set the goal of reading 50 books in 2009.  That is just one example of my commitment to my development.  I read books on success, leadership, motivation, mental training, biographies, as well as strength & conditioning resources; so reading actually helps me in every skill set I am trying to improve!

I just finished Pistol Pete’s biography (which was fascinating and for the record was the 43rd book I have read this year). I will be starting up The Miracle of St. Anthony next (which documents a season with one of the most storied high school programs of all time).  Montrose will actually be paying St. Anthony’s this February up in New Jersey at the Prime Time Shootout.  It will be a memorable game as two the nation’s top coaches (Bob Hurley Sr. and Stu Vetter) and most heralded programs collide!

In addition to reading a variety of different books I subscribe to several e-newsletters; all of which have a wealth of info to share. Brian McCormick, Ganon Baker, Kevin Eastman, Steven Chandler, and Jeffrey Gitomer are a few I follow very regularly.  Doing this gives me weekly injections of professional development.

My goal, whether I am reading a book, watching a DVD, or attending a clinic is to pick up one new thing.  Maybe one new coaching cue. Or one new drill or concept.  If I can get one new tidbit from a resource I consider it well worth the time and/or money spent.  More times than not I end up picking up several new “nuggets”… but one is always the goal.

I then try to take what I learn, a new drill or new concept, and tweak it to make it “mine” and make it fit my specific needs.  I try to add a new spin to make it unique.  However, I readily admit and give proper credit to whomever I got it from.  With that said, I love when coaches borrow my drills; that’s what I want.  I am flattered when a coach uses a drill from one of my DVD’s or coaching clinics.  And I really love it when they put their own twist on it and share it with me because then I learn something new too!

Quick side note: I want to reiterate that 95% of the quotes I post on Twitter and Facebook are not my own quotes; they are a compilation of thousands and thousands of quotes I have collected over the years.  I choose not to post the original author because 75% of the time I don’t even know the original author and with the 140 character limitation there is rarely enough room.

I highly recommend you approach all learning opportunities with an open mind; but make sure you stick strong to your convictions.  Listen to all angles and all sides; but think for yourself.  Just because a successful player or coach does something a certain way doesn’t mean that is the only way or that is how you should automatically do it. Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone works great for him; doesn’t mean it will work great for you. Don’t be the coach who goes to a weekend clinic and comes back Monday with an entirely new philosophy! But subtle changes and improvements are vital for success. Your program and your philosophy should always be a work in progress.  You are never there.  You must evolve.  The only thing constant is change. It is all about professional development.

Make sure you put your ego aside too.  Your ultimate goal is to be the best player, coach, or trainer you can be.  So if someone out there knows a better way to do something… listen and learn.  I know for myself, in the past few years I have altered the way I teach a defensive slide and how a player should plant and cut to change direction… because I learned better ways.

In regards to keeping an open mind, don’t be biased on who you learn from either.  You can learn something from any valid source.  I have learned a great deal from guys who are almost three times my age (Hubie Brown, Tates Locke) as well as guys who are closer to half my age (Drew Hanlen from Pure Sweat Basketball).  You know who gave me the most useful “stuff” at a two day clinic this summer? Andrea Hudy, the outstanding strength & conditioning coach for men’s and women’s basketball at Kansas.  Because of her innovative thinking, I immediately made plans to add an adjustable pull up bar (goes from 7 to 11 feet) to use for jumping pull-ups as soon as her presentation was over!  That exercise is now a staple in my program.

And you can learn things from the most obscure sources too.  Hip hop music actually helps me improve several important skill sets (building rapport with today’s youth and public speaking). Despite being a 33 year old suburban white guy, I listen to hip hop because brilliant artists like Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Eminem, Tupac, and Biggie have an amazing control of the English language and portray unbelievable imagery in their words (granted the images they portray aren’t always appropriate or positive; but that’s not the point).  They are master linguists and have amazing speaking rhythms. Listening to hip hop makes me a better public speaker.  It also keeps me in touch with today’s youth and helps me form better relationships with my players.

Do you want to be the best player you can be?  Then you need to spend time watching players who are ahead of you.  But instead of watching as a fan, watch for the small things.  When you watch guys like LeBron or Kobe; watch how they get open.  Watch them move without the ball. Watch them on help side defense.  Watching for that stuff, as opposed to drooling over dunks and long 3 balls, will make you a better player.

To maximize your professional development, you need to constantly evaluate your specific skill sets. This will allow you to prioritize what you need to work on.  This can be done after every workout, practice, game, or in my case… after speaking at a clinic or posting a new blog. I have had readers graciously bring to my attention a few typos I made in recent blog posts.  I am totally cool with that!  I welcome feedback and welcome constructive comments on how to improve.  I want to put out the best product possible, so I appreciate when someone points out an error. Just recently I had a doctor email me and point out an incorrect statement I made in my Vertical Jump Con Artists blog.  I had made a statement that was factually incorrect regarding fiber types.  He politely set the record straight, which I very much appreciated.  I am now wiser.

I am a realist. I know how busy everyone is.  I am well aware the number one excuse people make for not working on their craft and professional development is lack of time.  Let me tell you, you will never find time for professional development. You have to make time for it!  And it doesn’t have to be huge amounts of time either; strive for quality over quantity. Set aside 15 minutes a day to read one chapter in a book.  Instead of watching Seinfeld re-runs; watch a training DVD. Print out e-newsletters and read them Sunday morning instead of the newspaper.  Listen to audiobooks on your commute to school or work.  You can make time if it is important to you! And what is more important (aside from health and family) than being the best you can be?

I will be conducting workouts and speaking at clinics in Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, Virginia, Minnesota, and Iowa in the next several weeks… so please email if you want some more information on those specific events… as I would be honored to help you with your own professional development.

As always, for daily coaching points, motivational quotes, and videos of the “exercise of the week”, please follow me (and subscribe) to:

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom

www.Facebook.com/AlanSteinJr

Train hard.  Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

PS: If you are interested in the e-newsletters I subscribe to; check them out for yourself!

www.TrainForHoops.com

www.GanonBakerBasketball.com

www.KevinEastmanBasketball.com

www.ClubFearless.net

www.Gitomer.com

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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

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