by Alan Stein
5. May 2008 05:59
This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak to several hundred high school coaches at a Nike Championship Basketball Clinic in Des Moines, Iowa. I always enjoy and am honored to speak that these events and am very appreciative to Mr. Ed Janka for giving me the opportunity to be a part. While I was in town I also filmed a commercial that will be in NBA TV next season and several YouTube sound bites for my MVP DVD… so keep an eye out!
I was fortunate enough to see two speakers when I was finished demonstrating my drills, Mike Pricopio (Director of Basketball Skills Development for Attack Athletics) and Bob Huggins (head coach at West Virginia). Both did a fantastic job and were a pleasure to watch. Both of these guys had a similar theme – you don’t need a lot of “fluff” in your workouts or practice, stick to the basics and you will be successful!
I have known and worked with Mike for a few years and he does an outstanding job. He is a great teacher and really knows is stuff. Mike works in Chicago with legendary trainer Tim Grover. Mike works on skill development with many of the NBA’s top players including Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade. I really appreciate the fact that even when working with two of the best players on the planet, Mike keeps his drills basic, efficient, and intense (everything except the warm-up is done at game speed). Mike pays close attention to footwork and makes sure each move is efficient. Why take 4 steps to get off your shot if you only need 2? Why take 2 dribbles if you can get there in 1? Mike does an tremendous job setting up a variety of drills that utilize the entire court, moving without the ball, shots off the dribble, shots off the pass, ways to create space, and using both strong hand and week hand. And he does all this with NO fluff! I would love to see more players today using this philosophy.
Coach Huggins had a similar theme regarding the basics. He doesn’t run many sets at WV, he simply works every day in practice on proper spacing, making direct passes, and NOT turning the ball over. He has treadmills at his practice that players have to run sprints on every time they turn the ball over. That is a sound way to get kids to value the ball! Valuing the ball and not turning it over is about a basic of a principle as you can get.
If you would like to contact me about this blog, the MVP DVD, my training and/or camps and clinics, please email me and Alan@StrongerTeam.com and I will respond as quickly as possible!
Train hard. Train smart.
Alan Stein, CCS, CSCS