Posts Tagged ‘Skill Development’

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!

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

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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.

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.

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

Continuous Improvement, by Luke Meier

Tuesday, October 13th, 2009

As the NBA season gets close to tip-off, I am always interested to see what skills or moves players have added to their games over the summer.  When players return with a new and/or improved skill set for the beginning of a season, it means that they have put a great deal of time and hard work into their games.  It also means that the player has a desire to be better, they aren’t satisfied with where they are.

Regardless of what you did or didn’t do over the summer as players there is always room for improvement.  Working on your game isn’t about where you are right now; it’s about where you are going.  Where will you be in a month, six month, a year from now?  Making large improvements in the culmination of several smaller improvements over time.

Throughout the course of you season I challenge you to not settle, and put in the extra time to really get better.  Set goals for yourself to accomplish before or after each practice.  Maybe its 15 minutes of extra 2 ball drills and 15 minutes of extra shooting off the catch.  Schedule your workouts, write them down, and then make a commitment to completing them each day. If you are detailed and efficient with you time, you will be amazed at the improvements you can make over the course of time.

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

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

Drill 4 Skill Development System Coming Soon!

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

Mike Lee Basketball’s Drill 4 Skill Development System will change the way you train. Guaranteed!

Drill 4 Skill Development System Highlights

  • NBA Scoring Moves
  • Kobe Bryant Triple Threat Series
  • Dribble Drive Motion Drills
  • 1 Ball, 2 Ball and Tennis Ball Dribbling Drills
  • NBA Shooting Drills
  • NBA Point Guard Finishing Series
  • Situational, Game Speed, 1 on 1 Drills
  • Motivational Quotes throughout the Drill Book
  • Downloadable Videos viewed with computer or transferred to iPod or iPhone:  Take to the gym!
  • Detailed teaching points for shooting the basketball along with a breakdown video!
  • Individual Workout Outlines
  • Steve Nash Change of Pace Workout
  • Free  Drillbook Updates for the life of the eBook

Subscribe to our mailing list on our home page to be notified of the release and limited time introductory discount!

Princeton 2 Ball Passing

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Dwyane Wade Drag Dribble

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009