Posts Tagged ‘Milwaukee Skill Development Training’

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.

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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!

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Illinois Select Workout, by Mike Lee

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Last night I had the pleasure of working out the 14U Illinois Select boys team in Rolling Meadows, IL.  We had a great 1.5 hour workout. The kids worked extremely hard and I could see in their eyes the passion that some of them had for the game.  Ray Glassman, the director of Illinois Select, is doing things the right way.  He would jump in some of the drills and offer teaching points, which were right on point.  Simple teaching points like “Play the Ball.  See Your Man”  Simple and short.  The Coach Eastman way!  If you get a chance to play for him and do not take advantage of it you will be missing out on a great opportunity!

Ray is also running the President’s Day Hoop Prospects showcase at the Lake Barrington Fieldhouse.  For more information check out the website here.  I will be running the skills sessions along with 3 Time NBA World Champion, Dickey Simpkings.  Where do you rank?  Come find out!

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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 5,000 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

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Can You Beat Me Skills Contest

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

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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!

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Innovative Basketball Training: Jay Wolf’s Shooting Strap

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

If you are involved in basketball at any age you probably know that teaching players how to shoot the basketball is one of the hardest skills to teach.  It requires the player to have knowledge of the shooting mechanics and, most of the time, someone there to observe them to make sure they are performing the correct mechanics.  A major problem with players of almost all ages is that they “thumb” the basketball with their guide hand, usually causing side spin or a left/right miss.

Since shooting is so detailed, specific and personal to each player it obviously requires a lot of self-awareness to correct your own shot or teach yourself to shoot with proper mechanics.  Jay Wolf, of New Richmond, WI has essentially cut out half of the learning process for shooting the basketball with his shooting strap.  I have used it with several players that I train and recommend it at all of our shooting camps (I’ve probably sold you at least 50 of these Coach!).  I truly believe like 2 ball drills, Micah Lancaster’s medicine ball workouts, and tennis ball drills, this is truly one of the most innovative basketball training tools that I have ever seen.

With this being said there are still no secrets to the success of shooting the ball.  Even with Coach Wolf’s strap you still need to shoot close to 20,000 shots, with correct form, before you are going to be comfortable going at game speed.  I started working with a player yesterday who drastically used his guide hand to thumb the basketball.  After 1 hour and 600 shots he was already making tremendous improvement using the strap, but he understands that it takes PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE to reach your goals at anything.  Will 20,000 shots takes a lot of time?  Depends on how good you want to be.  500 shots a day, 5 days a week for 2 months and you have knocked out 20,000.  You can get up about 500 shots in an hour if you have a rebounder or the Gun.  All I know is that playing the game is a lot more fun when you can shoot the ball!

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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

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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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Weaknesses Part III: Finishing, by Luke Meier

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

As a skill development trainer it is my job to teach and drill players, preparing them for situations they will encounter on the court.  Different situations on the court require different solutions.  A lot of player’s games are severely limited by a lack of “solutions.”  This lack of solutions is no more apparent than watching players trying to finish in traffic.

Here are three basic ways to help you finish better in traffic:

  1. Be able to finish with either hand:  Players routinely force shots up with their strong hand because they have no off hand.  How many times have you seen a player’s shot get tossed by a defender because they shoot with their right hand when a lefty lay-in would get them an easy bucket?  It happens every game!  My high school coach once told me that for every drill I did with my strong hand, I should do two with my off hand.   You should work to the point where you have no “weak” hand.  Mikan drills are great for this.  Mikans may not be “cool” but it’s even less cool when you can’t finish with your off hand and it costs you easy buckets.
  2. Defense-Body-Ball Principle:  In traffic you need to protect the basketball.  Keep your body between your defender and the basketball.  A lot of players turn their body towards the basket when trying to finish on defenders, making it a “Defense-Ball-Body” situation.  The ball isn’t protected and the shot gets blocked.  Practice finishing with your inside shoulder pointing directly at the rim… work this until you become completely comfortable finishing this way.  More Mikans!
  3. Initiate to Separate:  This goes directly with number two.  Initiate contact with the defense to create space to get your shot off.  Get your inside shoulder into the defender or get them on your back where they have to foul you to get to the ball.  When you initiate the contact you give yourself the advantage by taking away the defenders ability to go straight up and block the shot.

There are countless situations where you need to finish in traffic.  Sometimes you need to take it strong, while other times you need to use some finesse.  Aside from number one these principles don’t apply for every situation, but they will add a number of “solutions” to your game while finishing around the basket.

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It’s Where You Finish, by Luke Meier

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

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Weaknesses from the First Part of the Year, by Luke Meier

Friday, December 18th, 2009

I’ve been able to get out and see several high school games since the start of the season.  When I watch these games I pay special attention to the fundamentals and skills of each player.  Obviously each player and team has their individual strengths and weaknesses, but in the games I’ve seen this year I’ve noticed three common areas where players really seem to struggle.  Rather than trying to address each of these areas in one post, I will address each area individually, breaking them down into a three part series. Subscribe now to be notified of Part 2: Reading Screens.

Part 1: Relieving Pressure

Being able to handle defensive pressure is key to the success of any team.  I firmly believe that in order to handle this pressure, you must be comfortable with the basketball.  Being comfortable with the ball while dribbling and in the triple threat will allow you to see the floor rather than worry about what you are doing with the basketball.  Improving you handle will go a long way in how you deal with any type of defensive pressure.

Along with developing your handle, the ability to use a bounce back is crucial for creating space.  To execute a bounce back, get sideways and “bounce back” away from the defense.  Keep your chin on your front shoulder so you can see the entire floor, push off your front foot and reach with your back foot.  It is important that you stay low and use long low strides.  Standing upright and “hopping” back is too slow.  Lastly, dribble the ball behind your back foot, therefore making sure the ball is protected from the defender.

There are four situations where you to use your bounce back:

1.  Full Court 1 on 1 – The defender is running along side you or cuts you off while you are advancing the ball up the floor, bounce back to create space.  When the defense tries to recover attack their high foot and blow by them.

2.  Full Court Trap – Two defenders have attempted to put a trap on you while you are advancing the ball.  Rather than dribbling into the trap and/or picking up your dribble, bounce back and create space so you can see the floor.  Remember, if two players are guarding you it means one of you teammates is not being guarded.

3.  Ball Reversal of Penetration – In a half court setting you try to penetrate to the hoop, but get cut off by the defense.  Again, rather than picking up your dribble and eliminating your passing options use your bounce back to get to the perimeter where you can initiate a ball reversal.

4.  Stalling at the end of a quarter or half – While stalling for one shot or trying to kill some clock with a lead get you defender moving and then bounce back to create space and initiate a new 5 second count.

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Young Buck, by Luke Meier

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Since the start of the NBA season the entire nation, Milwaukee especially, has been buzzing about Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings.  I can truthfully say that I was on the bandwagon as soon as the “Young Buck” was drafted, but I didn’t expect him to be playing as well as he has so far this year.

I have heard or seen countless interviews with and about Jennings and one thing seems to be very clear about him.  He understands that in order for him to be successful he needs to put in the extra work.  Here is a guy who was at the top of the rankings for his high school class, played a year at the highest level in Europe, and was a top 10 NBA draft pick, but he’s still working his tail off to get better.

Jennings, along with Bucks Assistant Kelvin Sampson, gets to the arena 3-4 hours before the tip to get extra work in.  He makes between 200 to 300 floaters each day.  That’s right, MAKES 200-300.

There are no secrets for success.  Work hard, work smart, be dedicated and good things will happen.

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Video of the Month: New Jonny Flynn Drill

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

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