7 common mistakes with off-season training:

1.    Players get caught up in the latest fads.  While there are a ton of valuable tools you can use to get stronger and more powerful, you don’t need any goofy shoes or gizmos and gadgets to get better.  You need to intensely and progressively work the muscles of your entire body through every plane of movement and angle of motion.  This can be done with a combination of fundamental exercises (squats, pull-ups, deadlifts, etc.) as well as a variety of modalities (med balls, bands, etc.). However, if you spend your entire workout standing on one foot on a BOSU ball; you are not getting stronger (and you look ridiculous).

2.    Players pay little attention to proper footwork and technique.  Your footwork is critical in shooting as well as in your agility training. Proper landing, planting and cutting is important for injury prevention as well as efficiency on the court.  Don’t reinforce bad habits when you are training.

3.    Players who casually follow a workout program. There is nothing magical about a program that comes from a famous player, coach or team. This includes my programs! Following a program does not guarantee success. It’s not what you do; it’s how you do it! Effort, consistency and progression are the key to success for any training program.

4.    Players follow a program not specific to their needs. Strength & conditioning for basketball is a means to an end, not an end itself. You are not a bodybuilder, football player, marathon runner, or Olympic lifter; so you should not train like one! There are valuable exercises and concepts from each of those domains, but you need to follow a program specific to you as a basketball player. Are the resistances you are using appropriate? Are you working the right movement patterns (defensive slides, jumping, back pedaling, etc.)? Are you working within appropriate work/rest ratios?

5.    Players constantly over train.  Basketball is already very plyometric in nature, no need to overdo it with excessive amounts of plyos. If you played in a few AAU games over the weekend, you don’t need to do 4,000 reps of depth jumps on Monday. Not getting enough rest in between workouts is another problem.  You don’t need to lift every day of the week to make progress.

6.    Players have poor nutritional habits.  I will make this simple - eat like crap, play like crap. 

7.    Players don’t work on their fundamentals. No matter how fit or strong you are, if you can’t shoot, pass, defend or handle the ball you will never be a good basketball player!  Basketball fundamentals are only improved through task specific repetition.  Thousands and thousands of repetitions at game speed!

Workouts don’t have to be long. Short, intense workouts done consistently and progressively will get the job done. 

“If you only work hard on the days you feel like it, nothing will ever get done!”

Commit yourself to excellence every workout. One day at a time.  Build your success brick by brick. Over the course of the entire off-season you will make great progress.

Next season’s success is determined by what you do today!

Here are three resources to help guide you past these common mistakes:

http://shop.strongerteam.com/p-30-12-week-off-season-strength-and-power-program-for-basketball-players.aspx

http://shop.strongerteam.com/p-31-12-week-off-season-agility-and-conditioning-program-for-basketball-players.aspx

http://shop.strongerteam.com/p-14-nutrition-guidelines-for-basketball-players.aspx

“Champions do not become champions on the court. They become recognized on the court. They become champions because of their daily routine and commitment to excellence. Players do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future.”

This is my last blog of the month.  My wife and I will be enjoying quality time in Aruba next week. I will be back in April in full force with new videos, blogs… and coming very soon… the Stronger Team Podcast on iTunes.

Work hard. Play hard. Enjoy the journey.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

What a season! We won the prestigious 51st Annual Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament this past weekend and accomplished our 4^th and final pre-season goal:

1.    Win the WCAC Regular Season Championship

2.    Win the WCAC Tournament Championship

3.    Win the DC City Title

4.    Win the Alhambra Tournament Championship

We finished with a record of 29-7 (and won our final 9 games). 

As I reflect back, here is a cursory analysis:

·         Despite offensive struggles (poor 3-point & FT % and too many TO’s), we had a very balanced scoring attack. Our 6 leading scorers averaged between 7 and 11 points per game and each of those players led our team in scoring in at least one game.

·         Defensively we were solid all year long.  We had numerous games where we held our opponent to single digit points for an entire half.  Only a handful of teams scored more than 50 points on us.

·         While we shot poorly from the line overall, our 4^th quarter FT % was excellent.  We hit big FT’s under pressure.

·         We averaged taking 2 charges per game.

·         We were fortunate not to miss a single minute during the entire season from an ankle or muscle related injury.  Having our players strength train consistently the entire year paid off.

The only injuries we suffered were collision injuries: a concussion, stitches, a broken nose, and a knocked out front tooth.

We will certainly take time to enjoy what we accomplished; but it’s hard not to start thinking about next season.  We will return 4 of our 5 starters and 7 of our top 8 players.  If we commit to a productive off-season, we will be very solid next year.

I will sit down with Coach Jones next week to finalize our off-season agenda.  I will schedule individual meetings with all returning varsity players and discuss their athleticism strengths and weaknesses.  We will set individualized goals for the spring and summer.

We will begin a structured off-season training program in the beginning of April.  This will consist of strength & conditioning, individual skill work, and organized pick-up games.  We will do this for the 8 weeks leading up to final exams and graduation. 

For the summer, each of our players will be given a copy of my two 12-week off-season training programs:

http://shop.strongerteam.com/p-31-12-week-off-season-agility-and-conditioning-program-for-basketball-players.aspx

http://shop.strongerteam.com/p-30-12-week-off-season-strength-and-power-program-for-basketball-players.aspx

For players that don’t have access to a weight room over the summer, I just uploaded 3 new videos:

Bodyweight Training (Lower): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFdRFbPLHKk

Bodyweight Training (Upper): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svfM88t4NP4

Bodyweight Training (w/Ball): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-vfAjIJKIE

My next blog will address the common mistakes players make in their off-season training.

Work hard. Work smart. Work consistently.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS:  My twin sons, Luke and Jack (aka ‘Born Backcourt’) turn one year old on tomorrow! (March 23, 2011).  To honor their big day I am offering a special 24-hour discount promotion. 

Please visit http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com on Wednesday to check it out!

This afternoon we play in the opening round of the prestigious Alhambra Catholic Invitational in Cumberland, MD.  This is our final set of games.  Win – lose – or draw, our season will be completed by Saturday.  Hopefully we will end the year on a high note.  I will give a full recap of this tournament as well as a summation of my thoughts on our entire season in my next blog.  We will give our players two full weeks off to ‘Rest, Recover, & Reflect’ and begin our off-season workouts in early April.

March Madness is finally here!  Assuming most of you will be glued to your TVs anyway, I have a challenge to propose. 

Pick one game to watch from start to finish, not as a fan, but as a true student of the game.

How do you do that?

Pick one player and only watch that player for the entire game.  Don’t watch the ball, unless of course, that player has the ball.  

Keep your eyes locked on that player on both ends of the floor.  You should be so dialed in that you miss most of the action you would normally see.

When your player comes out of the game, watch the player that replaces him in the same fashion (but occasionally glance back to watch your player on the bench).

Believe me, this isn’t easy.  I give most of you 30 seconds… tops… and you will be back to ball watching!

Constantly ask yourself these questions as you focus on your player:

·         Does he play help defense?

·         Does he try to take a charge?

·         Does he dive for loose balls?

·         Does he see ‘man and ball’?

·         Does he put his hand in the passing lane?

·         Does he apply solid ball pressure?

·         Does he contest with a high hand when his man shoots the ball? 

·         Does he box his man out? 

·         Does he sprint the floor in transition (both ways)?

·         Does he have good spacing?

·         Does he make the extra pass? 

·         Does he crash the offensive glass?

·         Does he cut to open spaces?

·         Does he screen to get a teammate open?

·         Does he communicate with his teammates? 

·         Does he bend over and put his hands on his shorts during free throws?

·         Does he have good body language during time-outs?

·         Does he complain about the officiating?

·         Does he hustle on and off the court when subbed for?

·         Does he cheer for his teammates when he is not in the game?

·         Does he play with emotion?

·         Does he ‘Play Present’?

At the end of the game… answer this final question:

Would you want this player on your team?

Enjoy the Madness.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

PS: I chose to use the male pronoun ‘he’ for simplicity. The same exercise can and should be done when watching the Women’s NCAA Tournament as well!

Need a good warm-up for your off-season workouts? The speed ladder is a great tool to promote coordination, concentration, rhythm, and ankle mobility:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVOGXZ9yQb8

Many of the questions I receive from players, coaches, and parents revolve around strength & conditioning testing. 

Testing is fine as long as it meets two criteria:

1)    It is safe and well supervised

2)    It is viewed as a way to monitor progress; not as a tool to compare players or to predict success on the court. 

No test done in the weight room can predict success on the court. Kevin Durant couldn’t bench press 185 lbs and had the 2^nd lowest overall score at the 2007 NBA Combine. He is now an NBA All-Star and in pursuit of back to back scoring titles.

If you choose to test, you should attempt to measure three key areas:

1)    Strength & power

2)    Quickness & agility

3)    Basketball specific conditioning

Each of these areas plays a role on the court.  Just testing one area is too narrow. 

Testing is only valuable if there are follow up tests to monitor progress. While there is no ‘right’ answer, four tests over the course of the year are more than enough. You can test at the:

1)    Beginning of your off-season training (now)

2)    End of the spring (before summer)

3)    Beginning of the pre-season (end of summer)

4)    End of the pre-season (right before the season starts). 

NOTE: I see no point in testing during the playing season.  That is when your focus should be on winning games!

While testing can be a valued part of your program, the most important part is the daily, weekly, and monthly workouts. Make sure you put most of your focus on training, not on testing!

WARNING: I do not recommend the use of 1 rep maxes with youth and high school age players because of the higher risk of injury and because it is an intricate skill that is rarely practiced (why test in something that is rarely practiced?).  Performing 1 rep maxes is unnecessary.  I know football coaches are rolling their eyes as they read this.

If you need more info on testing and evaluating, this is an invaluable resource:

http://shop.strongerteam.com/p-22-athletic-testing-and-evaluations-for-basketball-players.aspx

Stay strong,

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

PS: Here is my 2011 spring and summer event schedule. Please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com for more info.

March 19^th                 Hoop Group Camp in Chantilly, VA

March 20^th                 Hoop Group Camp in Baltimore, MD

March 26^th                 Carolina Challenge in Raleigh, NC

April 8^th                     Nike Championship Basketball Clinic in Pittsburgh, PA

April 13-16^th               Jordan Brand Classic in Charlotte, NC

April 23^rd                   Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinic in Oakville, Canada

April 27^th                   Texas Basketball Clinic in Denton, TX

May 6^th                     Nike Championship Basketball Clinic in Las Vegas, NV

May 15^th                    Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinic in Clyde, OH

May 22^nd                   Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinic in New Haven, CT

June 3-5^th                  Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinics in Ontario, Canada

June 8^th                     Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinic in Des Moines, IA

June 9^th                     Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinic in St. Louis, MO

June 10-12^th              Chris Paul Elite Guard Camp in Winston-Salem, NC

June 15-19^th              NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, VA

June 22-29^th              Kevin Durant, Deron Williams & Amare Stoudemire Nike Skills Academies in Chicago, IL

July 4-9^th                   LeBron James Nike Skills Academy in Akron, OH

July 13-15^th               Hoop Group Skills Academy in PA

July 18^th                    North Carolina Coaches Association Clinic in Greensboro, NC

July 19-22^nd              One World Games in CT

July 29-30^th               Basketball Camp in Jordan

August 1-3^rd              Basketball Camp in England

August 12-13^th          Cutting Edge Quickness & Reaction Clinic in Boise, ID

I made the following two videos as a way to use humor to spread important messages:

I Need Exposure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYlSTojkLFc

My Coach Sucks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iymXdRQDISg

These videos led some folks to believe that I am anti-AAU.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  I have been fortunate to work with several AAU programs over the years – programs that do things the right way and for the right reasons. The nucleus of our varsity team at DeMatha plays for Nike Team Takeover, a program I am honored to work with.

AAU has taken a bad rap over the last decade because of the actions of some unsavory characters. I recommend you read George Dohrmann’s Play Their Hearts Out for insight.  The recent suspension of Baylor University freshman Perry Jones III has also shed a corruptive light on AAU as his mother allegedly received an improper loan from his AAU coach. NOTE: Based on the facts I have heard, in my opinion, Perry and his mother did nothing wrong.  She simply borrowed money from a family friend and paid it back.

Even though these negative stories make the headlines, there are plenty of AAU programs that provide a positive experience for youth players. Boo Williams of Hampton, VA is an upstanding humanitarian and mentor.  He has impacted the lives of thousands of youth players as he runs one of the nation’s most accomplished AAU programs.

Bottom line is this – it would be ignorant to make a blanket statement that AAU is ‘good’ or AAU is ‘bad.’  Every situation is different. It is up to the player (and their parents) to find a quality AAU program that meets their specific needs, offers the right level of competition, and provides a game schedule that fits into their overall off-season development plan.

An AAU program can provide a platform to:

·         Play against appropriate levels of competition

·         Travel to different parts of the country

·         Get additional exposure for college 

·         Build friendships with players from other schools

·         Have fun!

But even playing for the right program needs to be done in moderation.  Playing AAU should be a portion of your off-season development plan, not the entire plan itself! If all you do in the off-season is AAU, you will never maximize your potential as a player.

Here are the pitfalls of playing too many games in the spring and summer:

·         Reinforce poor fundamentals – you don’t fix improper shooting form or improve your weak hand during games… you do those things in your individual workouts. Similar to academics, you don’t learn the material when you take the test; you learn the material when you study!

·         Cause overuse injuries – your feet, ankles, knees and back are under constant stress… you don’t get enough time to rest and recover if you are always playing.

·         De-value the thrill of winning and the agony of defeat – you become numb to both winning and losing when you play 8 games in one weekend.  Winning and losing needs to mean something!

How many games are too many games? That is for you to decide! The two determining factors are age and ability level.  The younger and less skilled you are, the fewer games you should play. A fundamentally sound 17 year old 11^th grader should play more games than a skill deficient 13 year old 7^th grader.  As I mentioned in my previous blog, you have to crawl before you walk and walk before you run!

As always, please let me know if I can ever be of service.  You can reach me 24-7 at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.

Work hard. Work smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam.com

PS: We invited 20 junior high and high school basketball players to try-out for Season 2 of the highly anticipated online reality series, Can He Dunk?

Last year was a huge success. We expect this year to be even better:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbdi0Ndsa90

You can follow all of the action at www.CanHeDunk.com