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Great Players

Most people get uncomfortable when they hear the word “change.” Some actually fear it. But to be successful in any walk of life, from business to basketball, you have to learn how to embrace change. Change creates opportunities. There are those who see an opportunity and there are those who seize an opportunity. Successful people obviously do the latter. The world is changing on a daily basis, and if you don’t change with it, you will be left behind!

Why am I harping on the concept of change? Because that was the deciding factor in my decision to resign as the strength & conditioning coach with the basketball program at Montrose Christian and accept a similar position at DeMatha Catholic High School. I was ready for a change. I was ready for a new environment. I was ready for a new challenge. I was ready to learn from a new coach. I was ready to take another step forward in my professional development.

It was not an easy decision, but one that I evaluated thoroughly over the past several months. I confided in, and listened to, my inner circle of family and friends. I heavily weighed the pros and cons. And in the end I decided that it was the right time to move on. And I am 100% confident in my decision.

Montrose has been an overwhelmingly important part of my life for the past 7 years. I will always be eternally thankful for the opportunity Coach Vetter gave me. I got to work with and develop lifelong relationships with coaches and players. I got to meet some amazing people, go some amazing places, and do some amazing things. Montrose opened a lot of doors for me. Equally important, I got to learn, grow, and develop as a coach. I got to work on my craft every single day. I am a better coach and a better person for having been a part of the Montrose program.

But it was time to move on.

I have known Coach (Mike) Jones for several years and have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for him as both a coach and as a man. I am so excited to be a part of his staff and a member of the tradition rich DeMatha Basketball Family. I look forward to being an asset to their all ready successful program as well as begin a new chapter in my life and career. I have an opportunity to be a part of another one of the nation’s top high school programs. I will get to see how someone else does it. That can only make me better.

I get several dozen emails (as well as Twitter/Facebook messages) asking me “what it takes to be a great player.” Here are a few of my thoughts:

Over the past three weeks I had the opportunity to work the nation’s two premier high school basketball All-Star events – the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand All-American Classic. As always, being a part of such prestigious events is both an honor and a privilege. Having access to the nation’s top high school players for several straight days gives me valuable insight into what makes them great players.

With very few exceptions, elite level players absolutely love to play basketball. They want to play 24-7. Whenever possible they have a ball in their hand and they are always trying to get up shots. They would rather play basketball than do just about anything else (the only thing that even comes close is chasing girls!). When they aren’t playing basketball they are watching it on TV. The game consumes them. And most of them have been this way since they were young. Do you have the same love for the game? Do you have the same passion? I am not implying or suggesting that basketball should be the most important thing in your life… but it should be up there. If you truly want to be great you have to genuinely love the game.

I also noticed that the most elite level players are super competitive. They hate to lose. Whether they are playing NBA Live ‘10 or a game of H-O-R-S-E, they always try as hard as possible to win. They never concede. Winning matters. Especially when they are playing against their peers or when bragging rights are on the line. Does winning matter that much to you? How hot does your competitive fire burn? If you want to be a great player you have learn how to compete. Winning has to matter.

Despite being the top players in the nation, most of them still fit into one of two categories: those who have a tremendous work ethic and those who are lazy. Unfortunately, many of the players who are the most naturally gifted are also the laziest because they haven’t had to work hard to be successful. They have been able to rely solely on their size, strength, quickness and explosiveness. They aren’t hard to spot. Heck, I can tell in the first 5 minutes of warm-ups which guys like to work and which guys don’t. Regardless of how naturally gifted they are, it will eventually catch up to them… at either the college level or the pro level. Do you enjoy putting in the hard work necessary to be a great player? Or do you constantly look for short cuts and the easy way? The best players look at every workout and every practice as an opportunity to get better. As Kevin Eastman of the Boston Celtics says, “great players look to get from the workout, not through the workout.”

Another thing I noticed about the talented players that play in these games are the intangibles of attitude, enthusiasm, manners, punctuality, and appearance (how they present themselves). Most of the players are energy givers, not energy takers. These players think “we”… not “me.” Their attitude and enthusiasm raises the level of those around them. They are polite, friendly, and engaging. These are the guys who will make it. I will admit the committees that select the players for these prestigious events do an outstanding job of taking character into account. It is very rare that a jerk makes the team. This means if you want to be an All-American you have to be an outstanding player and an outstanding person. Are you an energy giver or an energy taker? Are you always on time? Do you say please and thank you? Those might sound like “small” things; but they aren’t.

Obviously, the players who have the best chance to excel at the next level (whether college or the NBA) are those who combine natural talent, solid fundamentals, an unparalleled work ethic, and have a fantastic attitude. Kevin Durant, the youngest NBA scoring leader in history, is the epitome of those qualities. KD loves to play more than anyone I have ever worked with. KD loves to compete. KD works his butt off every single day. KD is an energy giver. Despite his money, fame, and success, KD is as humble as the day I met him. KD is pure class.

If you haven’t already done so, it is time to start thinking about making your off-season as productive as possible. What you do this spring and summer will determine how successful you are next season. Championship programs and elite level players are built in the off-season! That is why THE BEST PLAYERS ARE IN THE BEST SHAPE!

Whether you are a coach or a player, here is a three step plan to how you should approach this off-season:

1) Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses (athletically and fundamentally)

2) Create a comprehensive plan to improve (prioritize AAU vs. individual development)

3) Implement your plan with effort, enthusiasm, and consistency (deserve success!)

I will be traveling to Wisconsin this weekend to speak at a Nike Championship Basketball Clinic as well as to conduct one of my Cutting Edge Reaction and Quickness for Basketball clinics. If you would like more info on either event, or if I can help you in any other way, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Montrose Team Workout

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, we (Montrose Christian) are currently preparing to play in the 2^nd Annual ESPN RISE National High School Invitational. We drew the 8^th seed and will play the tournament’s #1 seed, Montverde Academy (ranked 9^th in the nation by ESPN) at Coppin State (Baltimore) on ESPN U at 2:00pm on Thursday, April 1^st.

Montverde Academy, coached by the brilliant Kevin Sutton, beat us in late January by 2 points… which in retrospect was the exact moment our season began to unravel (considering we lost our next two games). So we are excited to have the opportunity to play them again! National powers Oak Hill (VA), Findlay Prep (NV), Winter Park (FL), and Christ School (NC) are also playing, making this the nation’s top post-season high school tournament.

Our coaching staff decided to take an entirely different approach to our preparation for this tournament. We wanted to shake things up, start anew, and put this past season’s adversities behind us.

To initiate this “new beginning”, on our first day back we decided to have the team come over to my training facility for a team workout, instead of having a normal practice. We felt this change of scenery and break from the norm would help get their competitive juices flowing and set the tone for the next couple of weeks. We were right!

I put the team through an intense circuit training workout. I filmed the workout and have posted it as three separate videos on our YouTube channel.

Montrose Basketball Team Warm-up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-1azoC95MU

Montrose Basketball Team Circuit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDXmpfX4V6A

Montrose Basketball Team Competition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irg4LNkn3T0

You have to see these videos!

Here is a description of the workout:

Team Warm-up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-1azoC95MU

We began with an active warm-up:

· Movement series

o Walk backwards with long strides, walk backwards staying low, “awkward” walk forward, stationary step behind lunge, and stationary crossover lunge.

· Medicine ball series

o Front pivots (rip the ball through high for 5 and low for 5) (10 pivots each foot)

o One foot balance and reach (Reach to the front, left, right, back) (3 reaches each direction / each foot)

o Triple threat first step (long jab / first step) (10 long steps each foot)

· Tire pushes (with partner) (10 pushes with two feet, 10 pushes on one foot / each foot)

· Rope hops (full rope with both feet and half the rope with each foot individually)

Team Circuit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDXmpfX4V6A

We set up a metabolic conditioning circuit for the upper and lower body. There were 10 stations. Each player worked for 1:00 and then rested for 1:00 (when they switched stations).

1. High step up with 75 lb. sandbag (med ball substitute)

2. Tire flips and pogo jumps (two different size tires: 300-400 lb and a 500-600 lb)

3. Medicine ball defensive slide and throw (12 lb ball)

4. Vertimax rim touches / dunks (heavy cord, level one)

5. Rope climb with elevated feet (2” diameter rope)

6. Kettlebell Turkish get-ups (15 lb and 25 lb Kettlebells)

7. Band high pulls / low pulls (heavy resistance cord)

8. High bar jump pull-ups (one bar set at 10’ and one set at 9’ 6”)

9. Band push-ups (medium resistance band)

10. Sled pulls (150 lbs)

Team Competition http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irg4LNkn3T0

Once the circuit was complete we did three competitive drills where the players accumulated points (overall winner was awarded a prize). WARNING: two of these drills our players hadn’t done since elementary school! But they loved it!

· Freeze tag: we made a 25’ x 25’ box and played tag with 4 players (1 person was “it”). They had 10 seconds to tag all three players. They got one point for each person they tagged. Each group took 40 seconds (all 4 people were “it”). We went through it twice.

· Card catch: I had a standard deck of playing cards and would throw them in the air and the players tried to catch them before they hit the ground. This is very, very difficult as the cards flutter around unpredictably. It is an awesome drill for hand/eye coordination and lateral movement. They got one point for each catch (I threw 10 cards per player). Once all 10 ten cards had been thrown, they had to sprint/slide and touch each card as fast as possible.

· Tug of war: I divided the team into two, 5-man groups and let them play good old fashioned tug of war. We did the best two out of three. The winning team each got 2 points. Even though it was mid-March, we were lucky enough to have a beautiful 65 degree day… hence the reason we finished outdoors.

I think injecting a workout like this into your off-season program once a month is ideal.

If you need additional help or guidance with your off-season program, I am currently finalizing a comprehensive, detailed 12 Week Off-Season Basketball Strength & Conditioning Program. This program will outline exactly what needs to be done this off-season – exercise by exercise, day by day, and week by week. It will be available the first week of April at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com.

Also, as a reminder I am launching a YouTube series called “Can He Dunk?,” where I will document a rigorous training program for a select group of high school players… and see if I can get them to dunk after 10 weeks of training! Make sure you subscribe to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom so you don’t miss any of the action.

On a personal note, my beautiful wife gave birth to our twin boys (Jack and Luke) earlier this week. Granted I am biased, but they are both pretty handsome. Several scouting services already have them ranked in the Top 5 of the Class of 2028! All kidding aside, I am so very thankful for these new additions and am so excited for this new chapter in my life. I look forward to the joy (and challenge) of being a parent!

If you would like to receive FREE monthly “coaching nuggets” please make sure you join our email list at www.StrongerTeam.com. You can sign up directly under the menu bar on the left side of the homepage. These “coaching nuggets” are handouts, notes, and stories I have accumulated from some brilliant basketball minds.

If you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Play hard. Have fun.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Off-Season Part II

One of my favorite lines from the movie Christmas Vacation was when Cousin Eddie asked Clark W. Griswold if he was surprised by his unexpected visit, to which Clark replied, “Eddie, if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn’t be as surprised as I am right now.”

That is exactly how I felt when I got the news that we (Montrose Christian) got an invite to play in the 2^nd Annual ESPN RISE National High School Invitational. A week ago I figured our bubble had burst after we suffered our first home loss in 8 years and an uncharacteristic 5^th loss of the season. I honestly didn’t think we had a shot and I truly believed our season was over. But then a few schools declined invitations because of their opposition to playing on Good Friday… and next thing you know… we were in!

The folks at ESPN RISE do a tremendous job and everything they do is first class. Their goal, over time, is to create a legitimate high school national championship, a high school version of March Madness. And they are well on their way. I support their efforts 100%.

For background info and details on this year’s tournament, please visit http://tinyurl.com/ESPNNHSI.

As you will see, we drew the 8^th seed and will play the tournament’s #1 seed, Montverde Academy (ranked 9^th in the nation by ESPN) at Coppin State (Baltimore) on ESPN U at 2:00pm on Thursday, April 1^st. For those of you who have been keeping up with my blog, you’ll remember that Montverde beat us in late January by 2 points… which in retrospect was the exact moment our season began to unravel (considering we lost our next two games). So we are excited to have the opportunity to play them again! National powers Oak Hill (VA), Findlay Prep (NV), Winter Park (FL), and Christ School (NC) are also playing, making this the nation’s top post-season high school tournament.

Now before any heckling begins, let me say that I am well aware we are not one of the top 8 teams in the country (this year). I know our performance this season didn’t warrant an invite. I will happily admit we got the nod over a few other schools based on our national reputation and program history. Regardless of the reasoning… we are in! So now it is time for our program to refocus, put all of our recent trials and tribulations behind us, and start fresh. We have been given a second chance and we need to do our best to make the most of it.

While obviously we want to win… our primary concern is getting our guys to play as well as they are capable of playing. They haven’t done that since the beginning of the season. So the next 15 days will be interesting to say the least. One of my favorite quotes comes to mind when thinking of how we will approach this:

“If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you will keep getting what you’ve been getting. If you don’t like what you’ve been getting, then change what you’ve been doing.”

Seems pretty simple, huh? We need to shake things up the next two weeks and have an entirely different approach. We need to make things fun, make things competitive, but make sure our players enjoy and value this experience. We need to get back to the basics and leave the past behind us. We need to get back to playing hard, playing smart, and playing together.

To initiate this “new beginning”, we decided to have the team come over to my training facility for a team workout, instead of having a normal practice. We wanted to get their competitive juices flowing. So I put them through an intense circuit training workout… very similar to how we began our pre-season workouts in late August. I filmed the workout and will be posting it in three separate segments at www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom:

Team Warm-up

Team Circuit

Team Competition

You have to see these videos!

I already posted the first segment (Team Warm-up) and will post the remaining two videos next Monday (3/22) and Friday (3/26). I will also post a blog on that Friday describing the workout in great detail in case you want to implement something similar with your program this off-season.

In addition, I will post periodic updates with insight to our preparation for the NHSI tournament at www.Twitter.com/AlanStein and will most certainly recap our entire experience in my first blog of April.

Even though we aren’t in our off-season just yet, I know many programs are. So let me get back on track and discuss some of my key off-season thoughts.

I am well aware that most basketball players don’t really have an off-season anymore, they simply go from the high school season to the AAU season to the summer camp circuit. This makes the approach to training even more important!

An off-season strength & conditioning program is the foundation of championship programs and elite level players. A solid strength & conditioning base gives you the potential to take your basketball skills to another level. You obviously aren’t going to be a very good player or team if you can’t shoot, pass, defend, rebound, or handle the ball. That is a given. But what if you can shoot, pass, defend, rebound, handle the ball… and you are quick, explosive, and in great shape?!

About a year ago I adopted the tag line, “the best players are in the best shape.” The same can be said for teams, “the best teams are in the best shape.” Think about it. Who are currently the two best players on the planet? Kobe and LeBron. Have you noticed what kind of shape they are in?! Do you think those guys work hard in the off-season? You better believe they do.

If you need help in planning your off-season, or you are interested in my thoughts on AAU, testing and evaluating, and the most common mistakes players/coaches make, I highly recommend you read the two-part series I wrote last year as my thoughts haven’t changed a lick:

http://blog.strongerteam.com/post/2009/03/16/Planning-Your-Off-Season3b-Part-I.aspx

http://blog.strongerteam.com/post/2009/04/03/Planning-Your-Off-Season3b-Part-II.aspx

If you need additional help or guidance with your off-season program, I am currently finalizing a 12 Week Off-Season Basketball Strength & Conditioning Program. This program will outline exactly what needs to be done this off-season – exercise by exercise, day by day, and week by week. It will include dozens of digital pictures and exercise descriptions, all of which utilize standard equipment (DBs, free weights, bodyweight, etc.) to make sure the program is easily adaptable to everyone’s respective situation. There will be a strength/power component as well as a quickness/agility component (each sold separately). The program will be available online as a downloadable PDF; so you will be able to save it to your computer as well as print copies. I am projecting the sales price to be around $39.99 for each component. Believe me; it will be worth every penny! It will be sold at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com.

Also a reminder I am also launching a YouTube series called “Can He Dunk,” where I will select a handful of high school age players who are close, but can’t currently dunk. I will document their training for 12 weeks and post video highlights from their workouts as well as 3 weekly dunk attempts (to monitor their progress). HoopsKing, Ganon Baker Basketball, Hoop Connection, and SLAM Online have all partnered with me on this project. You won’t want to miss this! Make sure you subscribe to www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom.

I know you will be glued to the TV for the next three weeks watching the NCAA tournament… but if you get a chance to switch channels in between games, I highly recommend you watch ESPN’s 30 for 30 “Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks” as well as HBO’s “Magic and Bird: A Courtship of Rivals.” Both were very well done and really brought back some amazing childhood memories for me (I am 34 years old). I recommend younger players watch both of these as well… so they can get an appreciation for the game’s recent history. I think some kids today think the NBA started with Kobe and LeBron!

And if you need a good book, I am reading an old classic by Steve Alford called, Playing for Knight (1989). It is fascinating. Coach Knight has always been one of my favorite coaches and I have so much respect for him. Say what you will, but the man is authentic! I am going to get a chance to finally meet him in person in April and May as we are both scheduled to speak at the same Nike Championship Basketball Clinics in Wisconsin and New York.

As mentioned before, I will post a blog next Friday (3/26) which will be a full description of the Montrose Team Workout I took our players through as well as provide links to all three videos.

On a personal note, our latest doctor’s appointment leads us to believe that my wife will be delivering our twin boys sometime next week…

If you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Play hard. Have fun.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

Off-Season Part I

The Montrose season is finally over. We lost our final home game (senior night) by one point.

The final 14 seconds of the game epitomized our entire season. The game was tied and we needed to inbound the ball at mid-court. We called a 30 second time-out and drew up our final play, which called for our best player to get the ball on the wing and look to score with 3 seconds left, and have the other four players crash the boards for a last second put-back. Instead, two players went to the wrong spots, the play got scrambled, and we made a lazy pass that got intercepted with about 6 seconds left. The other team ran the break and drove in for a lay-up, which we blocked, but their point guard scooped it up and shot it as time expired. Whistle blew… we fouled the shooter! He calmly sank the first free throw and then turned and blew a kiss to the crowd. Game over. And that pretty much sums up our season.

It was our first loss at home in 8 years and the first time in 34 years Coach Vetter has lost on senior night. We sure had a lot of “firsts” this season; unfortunately none of them were positive! This season was disappointing and overwhelmingly frustrating for the players and the staff. But in all honesty, I am OK with that. I am mature enough to know, in coaching as well as life, you have to take the good with the bad. It can’t be all smiles.

Regardless of the issues we have had this season; I really and truly care about the kids in our program and am so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with them. They are a great group of young men. Other than a few very minor exceptions, our kids played their hearts out all year long. They didn’t play particularly well this season; but they always played hard. We demand a major commitment from the players in our program, so I always have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for those who are left standing in our locker room after the final game.

The odd part is, technically our season may not be over. We are still waiting to hear if we will be invited to the 2nd Annual ESPN/Rise National High School Invitational, which will take place the first weekend in April and will be televised on the ESPN networks. Honestly, I would be shocked if we got an invite, because we have not had the type of season to deserve it. But I also know the selection process is not that cut and dry and a lot of other factors come into play. Therefore, I am completely at peace in letting fate decide. If we don’t get invited, I will be relieved this season is actually over. If we do, then I will be thankful for the opportunity and do everything in my power to help our team prepare. I was told the 8-team field will be announced later this week or early next week.

Hopefully most of you know, my main goal and number one priority is to help as many basketball players and coaches as I can. I am very thankful for the myriad of people who have helped me along the way and I am always looking to give back to the coaching fraternity. I want to contribute to a game that has had such an impact on my life. That is why I put so much time and effort into this blog; as a means of using my experiences and expertise to help others.

In addition to my blog, here are 5 ways I plan to help coaches and players this off-season. The first 3 are absolutely FREE. The last 2 are offered for a very affordable price (don’t forget, this is how I make my living!).

1) Over the past month I have sent out two rounds of “coaching nuggets.” These have been stories, notes, poems, and tidbits I have picked up over the past few years from some brilliant basketball minds. I have been overwhelmed at how positive the response has been. If you would like to receive FREE “coaching nuggets” like these each month, all you need to do is sign up for my email list. You can sign up under the left menu bar on my homepage, www.StrongerTeam.com. This will allow me to automatically send additional “coaching nuggets” out once a month, as opposed to having you request them and then me personally responding. I still have another dozen new “coaching nuggets” I haven’t sent out and plan to send out two or three a month in an automated email beginning in April. So please sign up!

2) Another resource I hope you find helpful is my YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/StrongerTeamDotCom. I have posted a ton of content over the past 6 months and will continue to do so this off-season. I just posted a video of a Maryland Basketball Off-Season Workout which features former Montrose players Adrian Bowie and the 2010 ACC Player of the Year, Greivis Vasquez. This video shows how intense off-season workouts should be as well as shows how strength and power translates to the court. This video exemplifies exactly why basketball players need to strength train! As far as future videos, I will post the warm-ups and workouts from the McDonalds All-American game, Jordan Brand All-American Classic, and the Nike Skills Academies. I am also launching a series called “Can He Dunk” where I will select a handful of high school age players to participate. They will be kids who are close, but can’t currently dunk. I will document their training for 12 weeks. I will post video highlights from their workouts as well as 3 weekly dunk attempts (to monitor their progress). You won’t want to miss this!

3) I recently shot a few hundred video clips of basketball specific strength & conditioning exercises and drills, including those for warm-up, dynamic flexibility, agility, footwork, plyos, and strength. While I have not finalized where I am going to post these, I will post “100 Exercises in 100 Days.” As the name implies, I will post one new video a day for 100 straight days (I am aiming to begin on April 1^st). This will create an extensive video library for those of you in need of some innovative exercises and drills to spark up your off-season workouts.

4) I have received hundreds of email requests for my help in putting together off-season workouts. With that said, I am currently finalizing a 12 Week Off-Season Basketball Strength & Conditioning Program. I plan to have this available for sale in early April. This program will outline exactly what needs to be done this off-season – exercise by exercise, day by day, and week by week. It will include dozens of digital pictures and exercise descriptions, all of which utilize standard equipment (DBs, free weights, bodyweight, etc.) to make sure the program is easily adaptable to everyone’s respective situation. There will be a strength/power component as well as a quickness/agility component (each sold separately). The program will be available online as a downloadable PDF; so you will be able to save it to your computer as well as print copies. I am projecting the sales price to be around $39.99 for each component. Believe me; it will be worth every penny! It will be sold at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com.

5) I am also in the process of finalizing an online Basketball Strength & Conditioning Coach Certification. My goal is to create an online certification to give a basketball coach (primarily youth, high school, and/or AAU) a solid foundation of proper basketball specific strength & conditioning expertise. I am NOT looking to duplicate all of the training certifications currently available, so there won’t be much in the way of physiology or biomechanics. Instead I will focus on the nuts and bolts of what a coach really needs to know. It will address proper warm-up, dynamic flexibility, pre-hab (injury prevention), quickness/agility, reaction, strength, power, and basketball conditioning. Once someone completes the certification, they will have sufficient knowledge to develop and supervise a year round training program. The certification materials, course, and exam will all be available online, with an estimated cost of $199.00. I am hoping to have this ready by the end of the summer. When available, you will be able to register at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com.

I apologize if this blog seems “commercial,” but I wanted to clearly define the ways I plan to be of service this off-season. Next week I will give my full thoughts on specifically how to make this off-season as productive as possible. I will address the ever present pros and cons of AAU, will offer some thoughts on evaluating and testing, and on setting player development priorities. But most importantly, I will hammer home why your off-season program is the foundation in building a championship program.

After all, the best players (and teams) are in the best shape!

Next week’s blog will probably be my last blog of the month. My beautiful wife and I are expecting TWIN boys in the next week or so! We are elated for this new chapter in our life and are ready for the joys and challenges of parenting.

But don’t worry; it will only be a short hiatus. The blog will be back in full force in April!

If you need anything else, or if I can be of service in any way, don’t hesitate to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible.

Play hard. Have fun.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein