I’ve got an 11-year-old who’s smaller and younger than everyone in his group. He plays up, against bigger kids, older kids, and most days he’s getting cooked. He knows it. He signed up for it. A few weeks ago he finally got a shot to fall. One bucket. And he celebrated like he’d just won […]
You’re Showing Up to the Wrong Game in Your Head Read More »
There was a moment in middle school that I still think about. Someone who knew basketball watched me play and pulled me aside after. Said I had real skills. Good handle, decent shot, could see the floor. Then he said the thing that actually stuck: “Your practice game and your game game are two totally
You Don’t Need to Be the Fastest. You Need to Be the Hardest to Read. Read More »
A middle schooler came in recently and told me every shot felt different. Off. Inconsistent. Like something was always slightly wrong no matter how many reps he put in. He had the look of someone who had been thinking about this for a while and had already ruled out several innocent explanations. So we did
Every Shot Is Going to Feel Different. That’s Not the Problem. Read More »
There’s a specific type of player that defenses love. Not the bad shooter. Not the slow guy. The hesitant one. The player who has the skills, has put in the work, and then gets into a game and decides that today is not the day to test any of it. Defenses don’t need a scouting
You’re Leaving Points on the Floor and the Defense Knows It Read More »
A high schooler I work with had a really clean catch and shoot stroke. Practiced it constantly. Rebounder feeding him, same spot, same setup, feet always set. In practice the guy was a problem. You could not leave him open. Then he got into games and suddenly nothing felt right. The pass was a little
Every Shot Is Going to Feel Different. That’s Not the Problem. Read More »
I had a high school boy who did everything right. Square to the basket every time he caught it. Ball up and held tight. Pivots textbook clean. He’d been coached well and he’d listened to every word of it. On paper he looked like a good player. On the court he looked like someone doing
The Ball Needs to Breathe Read More »
I had a high schooler who was one of the most detail-oriented players I’ve ever worked with. Every rep had to look right. Every footwork pattern had to feel clean before he’d move on. If something broke down mid-rep he’d stop, reset, and start over. He was putting in serious work. In practice he looked
You Can’t Train for Speed by Going Slow Read More »