Alan Stein NBPA Top 100 Camp

Checkout this great motivational speech from Alan Stein, the author of the M.V.P. Vertical Jump program.



Alan had the opportunity to speak to the top 100 HS players in the nation about the importance of communication, toughness, and competitiveness. You can checkout his You Tube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/StrongerTeamDotCom

Summer Training Tips

As we enter the last week of July we can see the “end of summer” finish line. Whether you are in high school or college, the fall semester will be starting in roughly 4-6 weeks with pre-season team training workouts soon to follow. Hopefully you have been putting in work all summer and are prepared to make a great impression on your coaching staff upon your return to school.

This blog is collection of thoughts and suggestions to make sure you maximize your workouts over the next several weeks. For those of you in high school, most of the premier camps and AAU events should be winding down; which gives you the month of August to focus on your training.

First and foremost, before we talk training, you must acknowledge and address any nagging injuries you may have. You don’t want to ignore something little and allow it turn in to something big. Now is the ideal time to address these issues. As a general rule, if a little rest, ice, and Advil don’t do the trick – please go see a doctor or physical therapist immediately. Whether you suffered a minor ankle sprain in an AAU game two months ago or you tweaked your groin at camp last week; go get a professional opinion on your condition and then follow their advice. Don’t wait until school starts; do it now!

Hopefully, sometime after your season ended or sometime at the beginning of summer, you sat down (preferably with your coach) and evaluated every aspect of your game to get an accurate feel for your strengths and weaknesses. While certainly a good portion of the evaluation should have been directed at your fundamentals; shooting, ball handling, etc. However, in this blog we will focus on the qualities of strength, explosiveness, agility, flexibility, reaction, and power (after all, I am a strength & conditioning coach!). It is important you honestly evaluate each of these components so you can better prioritize your training. Regardless of your strengths and weaknesses, I firmly believe in having a comprehensive training program and recommend you address all areas of performance on a consistent basis; but accurately knowing your strengths and weaknesses can help you prioritize each component of your workout.

With the exception of individual differences, at this time of the year you should be putting most of your focus on increasing full body strength and power. There are numerous strength training philosophies and the goal of this blog is not to ignite a debate on which is the best. However, there are several fundamental rules most quality strength & conditioning coaches will advocate:

· Work your entire body; address every muscle group from head to toe including the legs, hips, core, and upper body. Have proper muscular balance by addressing areas around each joint; ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow.

· Work your body through all three planes of motion; choose exercises that go front to back, side to side, and rotating/twisting. Go through as many angles and alternative ranges of motion as possible. For instance, there are 5 primary angles for an upper body pressing motion: overhead, incline, horizontal, decline, and vertical. Same angles for upper body pulling motions. You can also do lunges and step-ups through several different planes and ranges of motion (forward, backward, lateral, cross over, step behind, plus several additional angles).

· Work within an appropriate repetition range. For basketball you should work roughly between 6 and 15 reps. While there are certainly instances when it is appropriate to perform more or fewer reps, 6-15 is a good rule of thumb for most sets.

· Work progressively to add resistance over time and always use proper technique with every exercise.

In addition to those universally accepted fundamentals, I also offer the following recommendations:

• Give special attention to your feet; they are integral to staying injury free and maximizing performance on the court. I currently have my players do one or two (appropriate) exercises barefoot every training session. Basketball shoes are designed to be very supportive; thus they limit mobility. One of the goals of training is to improve mobility. With that said, basketball shoes are not ideal for strength and conditioning workouts. Do a set of walking lunges with no shoes on and you will see what I mean!

• Make sure you work your core thoroughly as it is the center of all movement and is actively involved in almost everything you do. I will define your core as everything from your chest to your knees; hips, glutes, low back, abs, obliques and everything in between! The day and age of lying on your back and doing crunches is over! You need to incorporate a variety of methods; throwing (and catching) medicine balls from every conceivable angle and motion, twisting with cables or power bands, static holds, etc.

• At least once a week, work your body unilaterally, meaning “one side at a time.” This is especially important for your lower body; make sure you throw in exercises that must be done one leg a time like lunges and step ups. Again, try to go through a variety of different angles and motions when performing.

• When performing plyometric exercises; pay close attention to your landing technique (not just your jumping technique). Try to land with your weight evenly dispersed over your entire foot, use your entire body to absorb the impact, land “chest-over-knees-over-feet”, and land “quietly” (soft landing; like a cat). Make sure your knees don’t buckle in and don’t land straight legged. Creating solid landing habits is important for injury prevention; especially for females in preventing ACL injuries. While I most certainly recommend incorporating some type of appropriate plyo exercise in to your workouts; don’t overdo it. Limit your volume!

In addition to paying close attention to gaining strength; there are several other areas you need to address:

• Flexibility and mobility: I suggest doing more of an active warm-up and dynamic stretch prior to your workout and save static stretching for afterwards. Remember, stretching is not just for the hamstrings (although that is what 90% of folks focus on). Make sure to do appropriate movements to improve flexibility, mobility, and posture in your shoulders, core, IT band, groin, low back, and Achilles.

• Conditioning: At this time of the year it is not imperative for you to be in great basketball shape; so don’t worry about killing yourself with intense court conditioning workouts (yet). You should be getting some decent conditioning with your skill work as well as when you are playing pick-up. You can also mix in some cross training (biking, pool, Stairmaster, jump rope, etc.) to keep things fresh and fun! When you do cross train, I recommend doing interval type work as opposed to slow and steady. Go hard for :20-:30 and then go slow for :30-:40 (and repeat for 10-15 reps). While being in top notch basketball shape is not urgent, you do want to show up on day one with a high level of overall fitness. That will make getting into actual basketball game shape much easier.

• Skill work: I have always said it doesn’t matter how strong or fit or explosive you are; if you can’t shoot, pass, defend, rebound, or handle the ball you will never be a high level basketball player! While I (obviously) know how important the strength & conditioning portion is; training for basketball players is a means to an end, not an end itself. You must work on your fundamentals, especially shooting and ball handling, most days of the week. Repetition is not a form of punishment; it is the only way to get better! Your skill work sessions should be intense and game like, which will not only make you a better player, but will help you get in basketball shape as well. “Social shooting” won’t get you to the next level. Shooting game shots, from game spots, and game speed will!

• Nutrition: You are what you eat. If you eat like crap, you will look and play like crap! Most basketball players are looking to gain bodyweight; which means you have to take in more calories than you burn. This can be very hard to do without proper planning and discipline. For a player looking to gain weight; you should aim to gain 1 lb. a week for the next 6 weeks and show up on day one with 5-10 additional pounds of muscle. This will be like putting a bigger engine in a car! You will be able to run faster, jump higher, and block out harder!

• Rest and recovery: Do not neglect the role rest and recovery plays in maximizing your performance. If you are going to be on an intense training program this August, you need to make sure you are allowing your body to recover. I suggest doing everything possible to get 8 hours of sleep each night and sneak in a quick 20-30 minute power nap if possible. I also suggest taking one full day off from all intense activity per week. You can shoot some free throws and stretch on that day, but nothing too strenuous. I also recommend taking 3-4 days off right before school starts; to really give your body some extra recovery before your team pre-season workouts begin. Don’t worry, you won’t “lose anything” by taking those days off, I promise. Whenever possible you should ice ailing areas after every workout (usually knees and low back) as well as use foam rollers and massage.

Please share this blog with any player or coach you know as my goal is to reach and impact as many players as possible. If you would like some additional FREE information on proper training footwear, a basketball core routine, a killer iso-lateral leg workout, post workout stretches, or some nutritional guidelines, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. Please specify in your email what you want.

For exclusive insight to upcoming camps (like the Chris Paul Backcourt Camp), as well as 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

Resuming Star Shooter Workouts

After some time off, we are back from Orlando. It was good to get away for awhile. The kids did manage to get some shooting in at NBA City at Universal Citywalk. Their form was right on from where we left it.

Each has gotten in two workouts since we've been back. Two of the drills of Workout #1 involve shooting the ball but not at the basket. Line shots- shooting the ball down a straight line and Wall Shots - shooting the ball at a spot on the wall and getting the ball to be coming down at that spot.

They pretty much have the other drills down. Bad feet seems to be the most common correction at this point with a foot pointing in the wrong direction. Otherwise, they are getting the ball in the shooting pocket, elbow aligned with the knee, index and middle fingers in the middle of the ball, and are following through.

Getting players to hold their follow through always seems to be a problem at every level. So when we do the air shot drills, I tell them to hold their follow through until the ball hits the floor. This works much better than just telling them to hold their follow through. This gives them an exact duration to hold it.

Our goal is to do Workout #1 30 times and I'm going to put a twist in the workouts for them the next time. We usually do 25 reps for each of the 10 drills. For drills 1-5 I'm going to have them do 15 shooting with the right hand and do 10 with the left hand.

I've decided to try this because:

1. The first 5 drills are basic and they've done them enough where they are getting close to mastering them.
2. I want to see if building up their shot with their left hand will help them shoot left handed layups correctly and quicker.

Right now both are struggling with their left hand layups and I think some work with their form on their left side will help them improve quickly and will give them a new challenge for the basic drills.

We'll work our way up to the left side on the more advanced drills after a few workouts.

I'll keep you posted of their progress.

Jamaican Basketball Camp Recap

I have been writing a weekly blog for almost two years and have covered a variety of meaningful topics such as personal branding, leadership, as well as a myriad of topics related to success. I have offered behind the scenes views and detailed summaries of every grassroots event I have worked; including the McDonalds All American Game, Jordan All American Classic, NBPA Top 100 Camp, CP3 Elite Backcourt Camp and Nike Skills Academies for Kobe Bryant, Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Steve Nash, Vince Carter, and LeBron James. I have offered insights to several renowned players I have been so fortunate to work with prior to their superstardom; guys like Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Stephen Curry and Tywon Lawson. And while all of those experiences were remarkable and certainly memorable; I really believe this is my most significant blog post yet. Why? My involvement with the Nike Star Search Camp in Kingston, Jamaica over the past two years has been a life changing experience.

Three years ago at the Jordan All American Classic I was introduced to Stephen Johnston, the legal guardian of Jamaican native, Samardo Samuels, who currently plays for Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville. Stephen told me all about a camp he runs every summer in Jamaica for underprivileged kids and we immediately began to plot a way I could get involved.

Long story short, last summer (2008), I boarded a plane to Kingston Jamaica to volunteer to work the 8th annual Nike Star Seach Basketball & Life Skills Development Camp held at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education & Sports, which is one of only two indoor courts in the entire country. My experience in 2008 had such a profound experience on me I made sure to return in 2009 for the 9th annual camp. This blog is a summation of both trips.

Before I start, quick trivia question. What type of defense do most teams in Jamaica play? Mon to Mon! Yes, I wrote that joke myself, actually thought of it on my plane ride home. I may quit strength & conditioning and start writing for David Letterman. For those that don’t get it, Jamaicans say “Hey, Mon!”… a lot.

There are two distinct “sides” to Jamaica. There is Montego Bay; which is the white sand, blue ocean, resort side of Jamaica (which is actually where I spent my honeymoon 4 months ago). And then there is Kingston; which is with all respect, an impoverished, 3rd world country. I have never seen poverty like I saw there. Most houses were nothing more than four pieces of upright sheet metal with a plywood roof and several cinder blocks holding it down. I saw kids playing soccer, barefoot, on dirt fields, kicking around a make shift ball. There were dogs, cats, and goats walking around everywhere. It was really heartbreaking.

During both of my visits I noticed everyone in Jamaica is on the hustle; the airport alone is full of folks trying to help you with your bags, give you a ride, or sell you something. No one stands around begging for money or for a handout; they are all trying to earn their keep by hustling. Much respect.

The camp itself, both years, was incredible. Although my time there this most recent visit was very brief, it was well worth going back. I am going to do my absolute best to return every year. The interaction I had with the kids and staff was extremely humbling and helped me sharpen my perspective on life.

Last year one kid showed up on the first day of camp wearing a pair of beat up dress shoes and no socks; which is what he was going to play in. I didn’t see anyone with dress shoes this year; but did see several kids who had literally worn through the front of their shoes (I could see their socks). To try and help in a small way, I brought a huge duffle bag of Nike basketball shoes (ones I had only worn maybe once or twice) to give to the campers; assuming they could fit in a size 11. All twenty pairs were gone in about 4 minutes. Lord knows those kids needed them more than I did.

There were about 160 kids in the camp this year, about 20 less than in 2008 (which was the biggest turn-out ever). That is a lot of kids to fit on only two courts and six baskets. 4 of the 6 baskets were nothing more than a square piece of plywood with a rim nailed to it. The floor had more dead spots than a cemetery and was very slippery, and the lack of air conditioning made the gym oppressively hot. Amazingly, no one got hurt or sick. Not one kid. Despite the sauna like conditions, slippery floor, worn out footwear, and very physical play, not one kid got hurt. A far cry from the NBPA Top 100 camp; where 20-30% of the kids were always seeing the trainer.

Another point of interest is the campers got up at 5:00am every morning (yes, 5:00am) and ended their day at 9:00pm. Now that is a full day of camp! Despite the long day the kids had an energy, an enthusiasm, and an overall appreciation that was downright palpable. Granted the players had very, very low skill levels (the only players who have sound skills were in their early 20’s.), but they more than made up for it with their pride and toughness. And no one ever complained. The kids were more appreciative of the 1% they have in life than most kids in my area are of the 99% they have. Seriously, how many kids in the US today would go to a camp with no A/C? How many would even consider getting up at 5:00am? Not many. And like I said, the most refreshing part was, they never complained.

As far as this year’s camp, I spoke to the campers about the importance of taking advantage of opportunities and being competitive. To see a video clip of that speech, please visit www.YoutTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom. Later in the day I did a demo and stressed the importance of creating and maintaining good work habits. After each time I spoke to the campers, at least 25 of them approached me individually to ask questions and ask for help. The kids craved improvement.

In addition to the folks of the JBD (Jamaica Basketball Development, Inc.); most notably Mike Minto, Terry Calnek, and Stephen Johnston, the folks at Nike Basketball (lead by Jeff Rogers and Mike Hackman) need to be commended for their unbelievable generosity. Nike Basketball supplied shorts, t-shirts, reversible jerseys for every camper and shoes for almost half of them. The smile on the faces of some of the underprivileged kids who just got some fresh Nike gear was priceless.

Being a part of the Nike Star Search Camp for a second straight year reminded me how truly fortunate I am.

This camp is making a difference and changing lives. Please check out www.JamaicaBasketballDevelopment.com for more info and please contact them if you want to get involved and either volunteer or make a donation for next year.

Please share this blog with any player or coach you know and for exclusive insight to upcoming camps (like the Chris Paul Backcourt Camp), as well as daily coaching points and quotes, follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein.

Train hard. Train smart. Be thankful.

Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com

Vertical Jump Con Artists

While I certainly believe having a set routine in your life is vital for success; I also believe in shaking things up every now and then. Change is good. Without change we can get too complacent. Shaking things up creates energy and offers a fresh perspective. With that in mind, I am not going to post an NBA player interview or a book review this week. Instead I am posting a “bonus blog” of sorts; I have dusted off an old classic. This post is arguably my favorite and the most meaningful blog I have ever written. I will get back on track with my normal blog posting routine at the end of this week when I recap my experience working the 9th annual Nike Star Search Camp in Kingston, Jamaica, which if you remember from last year was a life changing experience for me.

Last November I was inspired and compelled to write a blog from the heart about my feelings towards a growing group of internet con artists who claim to be “vertical jump improvement” experts. My blog received international attention and I received a whirlwind of positive comments, responses, and support from players and coaches of all ages from all over the world. With summer in full swing and pre-season only a couple of months away, I wanted to re-submit an updated version of my original post.

Whether reading a hoops magazine or visiting a basketball website, I am constantly bombarded with advertisements for vertical jump programs; created by guys claiming to be experts at improving a player’s explosiveness and athletic ability. I rarely know who any of these guys are yet they claim to be industry experts; all of which are selling programs, gizmos, gadgets, and even pills that promise to deliver unbelievable improvement in one’s vertical jump. As a veteran strength & conditioning coach, it is obvious to me most of these folks are completely bogus. I constantly find myself laughing out loud at some of the claims they make.

After a lot of preliminary internet research, it is my professional opinion nearly every one of these programs is a sham. Theses are not credible strength coaches or performance specialists; they are simply con artists who are trying to trick honest kids out of hard earned money. And that is absolutely unacceptable in my eyes.

As a legitimate, long time basketball strength & conditioning coach as well as someone who has a valid, justifiable vertical jump training program on the market (the MVP program), these guys give people like me a bad rap. Their approach is sleazy and unprofessional and it makes me sick to think they make money swindling kids who are desperate to jump higher and improve their game. I don’t ever want to be mentioned in the same sentence as these hacks.

Now, it is not my place to name specific names or websites and this blog is certainly not directed at any one person or program in particular; I’m taking aim at this group of con artists as a whole and want to expose them and their fallacies. I also want to make crystal clear I am not claiming these programs don’t work; you may very well increase your vertical jump. I am simply stating these programs don’t live up to their outlandish claims and preposterous promises. I will also make clear I have not tried these programs myself; my thoughts and opinions are based purely on my vast experience in this industry and what I know to be the truth in human performance.

The claims these sites make are unbelievable. Some guarantee an increase in vertical jump of 8-12 inches in a matter of weeks. Others claim they will double your vertical jump, or better yet, get your vertical to 40 or 50 inches.

For someone to make such outlandish promises, they must be the best of the best, right? But after reading many of these sites extensively, most of their “resumes” are paper thin. Most make claims to have worked with high level players, although not one recognizable player is ever named. Most make claims they have helped hundreds or even thousands of athletes, but where is the proof?

So I started to ask myself, what is their real resume? Who have they really worked with? Do they really even train basketball players on a day to day basis or do they just pretend they do? I have worked as a full time private, professional strength & conditioning coach for the last 10 years, so I take grave offense to someone with an empty mug shot and phony resume claiming to be an expert in a field that I have worked so hard in for a decade.

Then I started asking myself a ton of other questions:

Why are all of their testimonials from people no one has heard of? How come most of the testimonials neglect to include a way to truly identify them? I am well aware you do not have to work with NBA players or high profile players to be a quality strength coach or expert in vertical jump, but seriously, if their programs did what they claim, don’t you think just one noteworthy player would have used their services and been proud to say so? For the record, I am well aware high school athletes and members of NCAA institutions are not allowed to endorse commercial products at risk of jeopardizing their eligibility. But pro players can endorse whatever they want. So can coaches as well as a host of other credible professionals. Yet none ever endorse these programs. Why?

And what gives these guys the right to call themselves a vertical jump expert? How legit are the pictures they use? How do I know that is a 10 foot rim? How do I know they didn’t jump off of a bench to dunk like that? How do I know the person in the picture isn’t 6’5” and claiming to be 5’9”?

And if you think their resumes and testimonials are a hoax, you should see the claims they make regarding the results you will get. As a real life strength & conditioning coach, I believe the results they claim are absolutely, positively not possible for 99% of the players in the world. A 50 inch vertical jump? An increase of 12 inches in 4 weeks? Touching your head on the rim when you are 5’7”?

Don’t believe me? Do you actually think a 50 inch vertical is really possible to attain for 99% of players?

I went online and looked up the results from the last three year’s NBA combines (2007 - 2009). These standardized tests were administered by the NBA’s top strength & conditioning coaches, guys with real experience and educational backgrounds. Their first test, the “No Step Vertical Jump” is measured accurately on a Vertec device and is done to standard - no shuffle step, no side step, no drop step and no gather step was allowed, just straight down and straight up.
Keeping the above guidelines in mind, guess how many guys in the past three year’s NBA Combine had a 50 inch vertical jump? NONE. Guess how many had a 40 inch vertical? NONE. Not one player broke 40 inches on this particular test. Not even guys who are known for their hops: Jerryd Bayless, Al Thornton, Michael Beasley, or Derrick Rose. And these are the best players (and in many cases, the best athletes) in college basketball. For their second test, the “Max Vertical Jump”, the athlete was allowed to take as many steps toward the Vertec as they felt necessary to acquire their maximum vertical jump. Everyone was required to start within the 15’ arch and each athlete had the choice of a 1 or 2 foot takeoff. Even using this protocol, only 9 players (less than 3%) got above a 40 inch vertical, with 42 being the highest. Just a few months ago at the pre-draft combine in Chicago; Jonny Flynn (Syracuse) was the only player to get a 40 inch max vertical jump. And that was with a running start!!! I am sure if you look at the previous 10 years of NBA combine results you will see a similar pattern. If the best and most athletic college basketball superstars, who have been training under the watchful eye of proven college strength coaches aren’t jumping 50 inches, I’m supposed to believe any kid off the street will be able to achieve that after following one of these vertical jump programs? Is that a joke?

One of the main reasons they trick so many kids is because they offer a money back guarantee, which is nothing more than a false sense of security. Let me tell you, as soon as you see “money back guarantee” on any type of workout product or program, you must question its credibility. NOTHING in this world is guaranteed. NOTHING. And to paraphrase Chris Farley in the movie Tommy Boy, “the only reason they have a guarantee is because they know they sold you a guaranteed piece of crap!” So why do they offer it? Because studies have shown time and time again that hardly anyone ever takes them up on their offer and asks for their money back because it is an actual admittance of failure. It well worth the risk for them to offer a money back guarantee because they know no one will actually do it. It is a ploy to move product. Heck many times, they escape the money back guarantee because of some loophole in the fine print. My parent’s taught me when I was very young, if something looks too good to be true, it almost always is.

I don’t offer a money back guarantee on my MVP program. You know why? If you don’t get results, it is your fault, not mine. I know the program works; I have used versions of it with thousands of players. I also don’t make any promises for results. Some folks will make much better gains than others. The only thing I know is that if a person does the program, they will improve. How much they improve is dependent upon their genetics, their starting level, and their effort and consistency. Period.

Another reason I know most of these programs are counterfeit is because all of their websites have the exact same look; same layout, same color scheme, same rhetorical questions. This is because most of these guys have taken classes or read books from the same internet marketing people. And these people are experts at designing sites to trick folks into buying their product. These con artists spend more time on their computer working on their site than they do actually training players!

They spend hours and hours “writing copy,” which means they follow a specific template on what to write. Therefore all of their info follows the same pattern. They come up with a catchy headline. Then they list several problems their perfect customer has (can’t jump, no time, no money, etc.). Then they list several benefits to dispute these problems. Then they think of a few reasons why someone would not buy their product or program and then have an “answer” to that. It is called, “identify problem… agitate…. solve by using their program.” These guys are merely wordsmiths who prey on kids insecurities and they rely on the fine print to make it legal.

Don’t believe me? Go check out the sites yourself. They usually start off with a letter directly to you. Then they say something to the effect that this will be the most important thing you ever read. Then they make several ridiculous claims. Then they sprinkle in some questionable testimonials. Then they act like they don’t even want your business if you aren’t 100% serious or committed. Then they act like they are giving a huge discount. Then they start tacking on FREE stuff. Blah, blah, blah.

Now let’s kick some truth. The truth is your genetics do dictate your potential to jump. Muscle fiber type and CNS efficiency are just two examples of traits that will ultimately determine how high you can jump, both of which are nearly impossible to see just by looking at someone. Not everyone can have a 30 inch vertical, much less a 40 or 50. Not everyone will be able to dunk a basketball. Not everyone has the ability to play in college, must less the NBA. Period. We were all born with different abilities and potentials. Everyone can improve their vertical jump, but not everyone can achieve the results these spinsters claim. In fact, hardly anyone can.

Now, I don’t want to get accused of being hypocritical. I am proud of the fact that HoopsKing and I created and sell the MVP DVD, a 12 week vertical jump program (www.Vertical-Jump-Program.com), of which I make a modest royalty on. I am the first to admit that is part of how I make my living, in addition to training players full time. I stand by the fact the info in that program is legitimate and I make no guarantee on results. I know as a real strength coach; the results will be different for everyone. However, I have full confidence that if a player follows the program consistently, with great effort, and is accurate and progressive, they will make gains. For some that might mean 6 inches, for someone else 3. But at least it will be real! Also, I didn’t wake up one morning and proclaim myself a vertical jump expert. I have a solid educational background and 10 years of real life work experience on my resume, including previous work with Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Montrose Christian HS, the Nike Skills Academies, the Jordan All American Classic, and the McDonalds All American game.

I would love to hear your feedback on this blog, whether you agree with me or not. Feel free to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.

Please share this blog with any player or coach you know and make sure you subscribe to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom for the latest exercise of the week clip as well as motivational talks and drills from camp. For exclusive insight to my camps, as well as daily coaching points and quotes, follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com


Below are claims I have seen made on actual websites. Please note the misspellings and incorrect grammar is on their end, not mine!

· “If you've been wanting to dramatically, easily, and quickly enhance your athletic ability, so you'll dominate the competition and hold the capability of performing effortless magical plays, I've got the most important letter you'll ever read. Just take a minute and read below to see how you can crush your frustrating lack of athletic ability problems once and for all.”

· “How would you like to know exactly how to develop court dominating power, sick athleticism, rock sold strength, and 'Highlight Reel producing" quickness?”

· “I've helped athletes who didn't even have a lick of experience at the time and turned them into basketball heroes within weeks!”

· “Now You Can Discover the Power House Secrets that Can Easily Get You Flying Through the Air and Doing Electrifying Dunks!”

· “If you would like to learn what the pro's do to jump higher, become quicker, develop explosiveness, increase strength and improve overall athletic ability and performance…then this new program is just what your looking for!”

· “The secrets that will almost "instantly" increase your vertical leaping ability. These secrets are so powerful they're guaranteed to increase your vertical by a minimum of 9 inches!”

· “Are you ready to explode off the ground and finish breaks with rim-rocking two handed monster dunks?”

· “Small research laboratory stumbles upon "vertical leap in a tablet" formula that -- for the very first time -- allows above-the-rim gains for the average, bench-warming baller.”

· “Explosive Lab-Tested And Doctor-Approved Discovery Biologically Forces Even Hard-Gainers To Unleash Rapid Vertical Jump Gains Of Up To 5 Inches In Just 15 Days!"

· “Forget old-school plyometrics... if you are one of the 99.2% of ballers born with "inferior genetics", then this will easily be the most important discovery of your life because this new formula, forcefully and unfairly can re-wire your central nervous system and supercharge your muscular power... for straight up-and-down vertical jump gains of 10 inches or more... all without the use of "jumping programs" or "platform shoes"...”

· “If you can touch the net, I guarantee you can dunk.”

LeBron James Academy Recap

The mission of the LeBron James Nike Skills Academy was the same as the position academies; “positively impact the lives of elite players by providing superior instruction, personal mentorship, and a once in a lifetime experience.” The goal of the Lebron Academy was to build on the previous academies and teach players how to incorporate the skills they learned specifically for their position in to a team philosophy. Did they accomplish their goal? As George Bush said, “mission accomplished.” Although this time it is true!

Nike set the standard for youth basketball development and the LeBron James Skills Academy and accompanying King City Classic have been heralded as the premiere events of the summer. What made it such an incredible event was the fact that King James himself was so actively involved. The reigning NBA MVP made a commitment to be an integral part of this event and he came through in a big way. It is universally accepted that LeBron has an undeniable work ethic, solid fundamentals, and an obvious passion and true love for the game. He epitomizes everything positive about the greatest game on earth. And despite his astounding fame, fortune, and world renowned notoriety, he still made the time to give back and to help those aspiring to follow in his foot steps. I saw first hand, for three and half days, that LeBron is a class act and deserves every bit of the success he has achieved.

In addition to LeBron’s participation, Nike assembled an elite staff of coaches and skill instructors; including many of the games best teachers. The theme at the initial staff meeting was succinct:

Have energy and enthusiasm at every workout; sweat with the players.
Teach to your personality; don’t try to be someone you’re not. Be authentic.
Keep the drills moving! Less talk, more action!
It’s not how much you know; it’s how much you bring that counts! Bring your best every workout.
Improvement is a constant, repetitive process. Do the little things to keep things fun!

There were 20 hand selected college counselors on hand, including (in no particular order) Jordan Crawford (Xavier), Cole Aldrich (Kansas), Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest), Devin Ebanks (West Virginia), Manny Harris (Michigan), Kalin Lucas (Michigan State), Kyle Singler (Duke), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), and Willie Warren (Oklahoma).

All 80 players that were invited to the position specific academies were invited to the LeBron Academy. Some noteworthy attendees included Marquis Teague (Indianapolis, IN), Ray McCallum (Beverly Hills, MI), Austin Rivers (Winter Park, FL), Kendall Marshall (Dumfries, VA), Andre Dawkins (Chesapeake, VA), Perry Ellis (Wichita, KS), Justin Anderson (Rockville, MD – Montrose!), and in my opinion the nation’s top two players – Michael Gilchrist (Elizabeth, NJ) and Harrison Barnes (Ames, IA).

One of the first orders of business was an enthusiastic “media training” session given by ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla. Fran, a former big time college coach, knows basketball and knows how important it is for aspiring players to deal with the media professionally; as “the media can be your best friend or your worst enemy.” With media around all week, he told them they were always being evaluated, so to be conscious of what they do both on and off the court. He also told them to be humble when accepting praise, make good eye contact, speak clearly, be engaging, and be appreciative of the reporter’s time.

The official banquet was held on Monday and was absolutely spectacular. The food, décor, and atmosphere were first class. There was a professional DJ spinning records the entire time and they showed numerous LeBron highlight clips and commercials (many of which haven’t been released yet). The highlight of the night was a live Q & A with King James and ESPN’s Jay Bilas. Jay asked numerous questions as well as asked LeBron to say the first thing that popped into his mind when historic pictures of his career were put on the big screen; first Sports Illustrated cover (“I was just a kid”), shaking David Stern’s hand on draft night (“a dream come true”), holding up the 2009 MVP trophy (“hard work paid off”), and hearing the National Anthem upon receiving the Gold Medal in the 2009 Olympics in Beijing (“biggest accomplishment of my career”). LeBron was funny, entertaining, but very truthful. Again, a total class act. Nike kept highlighting the fact that LeBron is extremely loyal. For example he still resides in Akron, where he grew up, and insisted the academy was held in his hometown. He even chose to have his MVP press conference at his old high school to show the world he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Nike presented him with a pair of one of kind LeBron 2009 MVP Air Force 1’s. In closing, LeBron told the players, “I am here for you guys, the players. You are the games’ future, so take that seriously. Represent yourselves to the fullest and honor the game. Heck, one of you might host a camp that my kid goes to one day!”

LeBron could have easily just “mailed it in” like a lot of big time players do who hold camps. He could have made an appearance or two for the media’s sake, mumbled a few clichés, and then been whisked away. But that’s not the King. LeBron was very active every day of camp and laced them up and went hard in the drills with both the high school and college players. He played each night with the college players; some intense action! When he played he was sporting some custom made, probably one of a kind, LeBron VII’s – arguably the hottest shoes I have ever seen! And shoes weren’t the only custom made thing he repped; he pulled up in a custom made L23 V12 white-on-white Benz. Damn!

While this was my third time meeting and seeing LeBron up close; I forgot how physically imposing he is. He is an absolute specimen. He has the perfect basketball physique. I closely followed his every move as I am always trying to learn from the great ones. He had a very standard pre-workout routine (which I wrote down in my notes) he followed meticulously before every workout session. It included getting his ankles taped and having his trainer (Mike Mancias of the Cleveland Cavaliers) stretch him out thoroughly. Once he hit the court he was all business. Intently watching him in the drills, I noticed that everything he did was crisp and sharp. He did everything at game speed; never just went through the motions. Every pass, every shot, and even his footwork were perfect. LeBron has great work habits. He had tremendous focus and an unbelievable level of concentration during each workout. He was also a great communicator. Despite balls bouncing, shoes squeaking, and players competing in drills on two courts – you could always hear his voice. He was a presence. Mark my words; LeBron James is not a great player by accident. He was worked for it. He has earned it.

Speaking of communication; midway through the first workout, he pulled the high schoolers aside to offer this bit of wisdom, “As the best player on your team, your presence alone should create opportunities for your teammates. You should demand double and triple teams every time you touch the ball which means your teammates are open. It’s your responsibility to get them the ball and to help them be successful. Great players make those around them better.” Amen.

As I mentioned before, LeBron played with the college players each night. Other players making an appearance to play during the week were fellow Cavaliers Mo Williams, Darnell Jackson, 2009 first round pick Christian Eyenga, and second round pick Danny Green. True to his roots, a few of LeBron’s old high school teammates played as well. The competition was fierce and the games were always intense as every college player wanted their chance to impress King James. Too much has been made of Jordan Crawford’s dunk. Everyone gets dunked on at some point! Who cares? My hat is off to LeBron for even playing in the first place; he certainly didn’t have to play. But he did and he provided an amazing opportunity for the aspiring NBA players.

Unfortunately, I never got the opportunity to interview LeBron one on one about his training. So I did the next best thing; I spoke with his trainer! Mike Mancias, an assistant athletic trainer and strength & conditioning coach for the Cavs, was gracious enough to rap with me for a few minutes and give me some insight to LeBron’s regiment. While working for the Cavs full time, Coach Mancias is primarily responsible for LeBron. He goes with LeBron everywhere; even went with him to China for the Olympics. Since LeBron is such a workout machine, Coach Mancias admitted he is on call and keeps his Blackberry glued to his hip! He said LeBron does something workout wise almost every day; shooting work with private coach, hits the weights, takes yoga, or does some pool work. He aims to do 3 or 4 structured strength workouts a week focusing on full body movements, core strength, and improving joint mobility and integrity (ankles, hips, etc.). He also incorporates some cardio intervals in the mix. I watched one of LeBron’s strength workouts which included a combination of upper body movements, core exercises, and short intervals on the versa-climber. I always feel good knowing the stuff I do with my players is the same stuff guys like King James does! I also saw part of one of LeBron’s shooting workouts; very intense.

On the last full day, Mike Procopio of A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics in Chicago gave his annual presentation on what it takes to make it the NBA level. Here are some of the highlights of his talk:

To play at the NBA level you have to:
Dominate your position on both ends of the floor
Be efficient and make very few mistakes
Have a specialty (shooting, rebounding, defense, etc.)

Reason most players don’t make it:
Off the court issues
Lack of fundamentals
Glaring weakness in their game
Just not good enough

Making the NBA is relatively easy compared to staying in the NBA. All 30 first round draft picks sign contracts with the team that drafted them. 7-9 second round draft picks do the same. So in theory, there are 37-39 “new hires” every season; which means 37-39 guys lose their job each year!

Of the 450 players in the league, 70+ are from overseas (15%)

Average physical stature of the top 10 players (statistically speaking) at each position in the NBA:

Point guards: 6’ 3”, 190 lbs.
Shooting guards: 6’ 6”, 205 lbs.
Wings: 6’ 10”, 245 lbs.
Centers: 7’ 0”, 260 lbs.

Jay Bilas, whom I have always very much respected and admired, brought up a great point about Mike’s talk. Inevitably, when you ask a group of elite level players “who wants to play in the NBA?” every hand in the room goes up. Then you ask, “Who truly believes they will play in the NBA?” not a single hand budges – they all stay up. Then you ask, “How many of you have made basketball your #1 priority; have made it 100% your main focus in life?” Again, no hands waver. Every player in the room swears they have made basketball their life and truly believes they are doing everything they can to make it to the league.

Yet when you ask them if they spend an hour a day working on their weak hand, or if they make (not take) 400-500 shots a day from game spots at game speed, or if they have read any books by Dean Smith, John Wooden, or Pete Newell, or if they are on a structured, year round strength & conditioning program, if they eat breakfast every day… 99.99% of the time you only get excuses. A lot of players say they will do anything to make it the NBA, but only a select few actually do.

And then there is LeBron. LeBron not only talks the talk, he walks the walk. No one can argue LeBron was born with some physical gifts that not many people have been blessed with; but those gifts are only a piece of the puzzle. There have been numerous players born with tremendous gifts that never made it. Whether LeBron ends up as the greatest player to ever play the game or not is irrelevant. But what is relevant is that he does all of the little things necessary, on a daily basis, to be the absolute best player he can be. And believe me, it is working.

I want to extend a sincere thank you to the folks at Nike for the opportunity to be part of such an amazing event and a sincere thank you to King James himself for his involvement. It was a remarkable experience.

Make sure you subscribe to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom for the latest exercise of the week clip as well as motivational talks and drills from camp. For exclusive insight to my camps, as well as daily coaching points and quotes, follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein
http://www.strongerteam.com/

Star Shooter Update

We've been continuing on with Workout #1. My son has completed 15 workouts and is now almost to drill 12. There are 12 drills in Workout 1 and we have been adding a new drill every 2 workouts. This way the kids don't get too much thrown at them at once.

We are doing 30 workouts with my son and daughter and both have improved immensely. My son, Cameron, had a pretty good shot to start with but is really putting it all together now from the bottom to the top.

My daughter Kyra really had no shot at the start of the workouts and just 6 workouts in she has really improved. Her feet are better, she is holding the ball correctly, and she is following through on her shot. She had the most room for improvement between the two and she really looks like she knows what she is doing now. This series of workouts is going to give her a new level of confidence.

These 12 drills are also teaching the kids how to check for themselves if they are doing anything wrong. We keep focusing on several keys and once I point something out they can usually fix it.

I'll keep you updated about the Star Shooter training in a couple of weeks. We'll be on vacation and probably won't be getting in any basketball over this time.

Paul Pierce Academy Recap

If you haven’t read last week’s blog, recapping the Vince Carter Nike Skills Academy, I recommend you do that now. That blog is the perfect lead in to this one as it covered how and why these prolific academies came to be. It’s always important to know history.

For the most part, the Paul Pierce Academy had the exact same staff as we did in Orlando, with the addition of two excellent coaches who tremendous basketball experience and knowledge; Doug Overton (former NBA player and current assistant with the New Jersey Nets) and Fran Fraschilla (former college coach and current ESPN analyst).

This year’s Paul Pierce Nike Skills Academy was held right outside of Boston, Massachusetts and included the nation’s top shooting guards. The nation’s #1 player, Harrison Barnes (Ames, IA), Andre Dawkins (Chesapeake, VA), and Doron Lamb (Laurelton, NY) highlighted the group of high schoolers. Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), Manny Harris (Michigan), and Patrick Christopher (California) headlined the college players. As you probably know, Vasquez is actually a point guard but couldn’t attend the Deron Williams Nike Skills Academy because of a scheduling conflict so decided to attend the Pierce camp instead. Learning the skills necessary of being a 2 guard (setting screens, getting open, shooting off the pass, etc.) only helped him.

Coach Eastman and Coach Locke laid down the same ground work, rules, and expectations as the Vince camp, so again, check out my last post if you missed it. However this time Coach Locke made a powerful statement about quality coaching that really struck home with me and made a lot of sense:

Just because you say it, don’t assume they hear it. So repeat it over and over.
Just because you show them, don’t assume they saw it. So show them over and over.
Just because they play college basketball, don’t assume they know a God damn thing about how to play this game. So teach them and coach them over and over.

Coach Locke, among his dozens and dozens of hysterical one liners (“that kid couldn’t play dead in a cowboy movie” and “you handle the ball like a wet bar of soap”), often says “repetition is not a form of punishment. Repetition is how you develop good habits.”

Paul Pierce was there to address the campers at the first workout. The first thing everyone noticed was his physical stature; Paul is a big guard. At 6’7”, 235 lbs, the kids got a first hand look of what an All Star shooting guard looks like in the NBA. At the NBA level, your position is determined by who you can guard, not your offensive skill set. That’s why it is so tough to make it to the league as a shooting guard if you are only 6’1”. How in the heck are you going to guard someone Paul Pierce’s size?!

Paul encouraged the players to take advantage of the opportunity they had to learn from NBA level coaches and play against the top players, in their specific position, in the country. He made it very clear he didn’t have the same opportunity coming up. “You guys have the talent, the coaches have the knowledge. You will never make it without them. Allow yourself to be coached. Ask lost of questions. They are here to help you be successful.”

Paul also stressed how important it was to go hard, game speed, in every drill. “You don’t get better going through the motions.” A lot of what he covered on the first day was about having a great first step. “Beating your man and penetrating into the kill zones will create nightmares for the defense. If you can’t beat your man, you aren’t going to play at a very high level.” As always, off hand development and proper footwork were also taught and coached.

Paul also focused on the skill of getting open on the wing. He stressed the importance of getting open and getting the ball where you (the offensive player) want it; not where they (the defense) want you to get it. He showed some tricks of the trade on how to get open by changing speeds and using your lower body to gain a position of advantage. It was amazing to watch how easily and effortlessly he could get open on the wing; no matter how hard the defense played. One by one the college players lined up to try to deny him the ball, playing as aggressively as they could, but to no avail. Paul got open, in the exact same spot, every time.

Paul is known for his deadly mid range game, which is a dying art in college and the NBA. Everyone wants to shoot 3’s and dunk. But a killer mid range game makes you a serious offensive threat. To work on it, Paul plays 3 on 3 with only two rules; no 3 pointers and no points in the paint. These rules force him to learn to score from other areas on the court like the short corner and wing.

Overall, the Academy was awesome; it was a success by all measures. Paul was a class act the entire time. He was super involved in every aspect of the workouts; he gave valuable instruction and jumped in most of the drills and mixed it up with the players. In my eyes he is an All Star both on and off the court.

Make sure you check my other recent posts; my interview with Paul Pierce and a book review of Gary Mack’s Mind Gym and stay tuned next week when I recap the LeBron James Nike Skills Academy!

Make sure you subscribe to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom for the latest exercise of the week clip as well as motivational talks and drills from camp. For exclusive insight to my camps, as well as daily coaching points and quotes, follow me on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com

Star Shooter Workouts

This week my son wanted in on the action so I now have two children (10 & 8) doing the Star Shooter system. We have completed 3 workouts and are building up to complete a full workout.

A full workout is 12 drills and we have made it to drill 5 as of the third workout. There is no shooting the basketball at this point but working on the fundamentals of shooting with and without the ball. The focus to this point is proper footwork when catching the ball, keeping the shooting elbow in, shooting wrist flexed, ball in the shooting pocket, and off hand in the correct position.

I can honestly say they have improved quite a bit from the first workout and so far we are spending less than 10 minutes on a workout. As they get better at these drills they take less time so once we get through all 15 drills I would expect the entire workout to take not much more than 15 minutes.

Everything they are doing to this point they are doing better than the first workout but still make mistakes in these early drills but they are learning to correct their form for themselves which will be an invaluable tool down the road.

I'm really excited as we do this because I can just imagine the improvement after 30 workouts are in from where they started. I'm expecting some super shooting form this winter.