I am back in my room at the Hilton Newark Airport Hotel, a couple of hours after finishing up the last workout at the Steve Nash Nike Skills Academy. This academy featured 20 of the nation’s top HS point guards and 10 of the nation’s top college point guards. From top to bottom, both the HS and college fields were extremely talented, overly enthusiastic and very coachable.
I do want to give a quick
“congratulations” to Michael Beasley for being named the 2nd pick in last night’s NBA draft. I have been working Mike out, on and off, since he was in 10th grade and I am very happy for him and his family.
Like the Paul Pierce Academy, the last 3 days were a huge success and definitely fulfilled Nike’s mission in making this a once in a lifetime event for some of the nation’s best ballers.
As I mentioned last time, Nike makes it a priority to hire a quality, veteran staff. We basically had the same core staff as the Pierce academy with the addition of Lloyd Pierce who is the Player Development Coordinator of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Once again, the staff did a magnificent job both teaching and motivating and this group of point guards and really made it a point to coach them on both the basic fundamentals of the game as well as concepts, drills, and skills needed to compete at the NBA level.
My role at all of the nation’s top HS events (Jordan All American Classic, McDonalds All American game, Nike Skills Academies, etc.) is simple – get the players talking, get them moving, and get them ready to play! I am in charge of setting the tone for the workout and given the responsibility of doing what I do best – hyping kids up and getting them ready to compete.
The HS kids started off with a bang and were great communicators and leaders right from the beginning of the first warm-up. As a whole the kids were very unselfish. They went hard every workout, which showed, as many of them were pretty worn out, tired, and sore by the end of the second day. While many of the players were small in stature, they were an incredible group of athletes. In addition to lightening fast quickness, several of the kids (many in the 5’8” to 6’0” range) could throw it down with ease. I am really looking forward to working with these kids again at the LeBron James Nike US Skills Academy next week.
The college workouts were similar as well. It was one of the best groups I have ever had the pleasure to work with.
True to form, and the reason the camp is named after him, Steve Nash was amazing. He is so soft spoken and so humble for being one of the NBA’s best point guards. He was very involved at the camp and spent plenty of quality time with both the HS and college players. He spent time speaking to the players as well as showing them some on court stuff. Here, in no real particular order, is a summary of what he talked about:
He explained how the key to life is being able to find solutions, in your personal life as well as on the court. Plenty of people have (and/or cause) problems, but those that consistently find solutions are the ones who are successful. He also focused on the importance of being a good teammate and a good person, someone who people want to coach, want to play with, and want to be around. Lots of guys have talent in the NBA, but the ones who have long careers, are starters or perennial All Stars, are the ones who do the little things to get better, pay attention to detail, and are beloved by their teammates. He said this is even more important for point guards. Point guards have to be leaders both on and off the court.
Steve gives a lot of his credit to his work ethic and desire to get better. Every since college he wakes up every day and asks, “how can I make myself better today?” He used to make a master list of every shot he wanted in his offensive arsenal, jump shots, runners, tear drops, long lay-ups, quick lay-ups, reverse foot lay-ups, etc. Then he would make 25-50 of each of these every day. If it was a shot he wasn’t as good at, he may make 100.
He also told the kids that point guards need to be able to change direction, change speed, and be smarter than every other player on the floor to be successful. He told them the game is all about percentages (always make the highest percentage pass available and take the highest percentage shot) and angles (your angles often dictate your percentages). He acknowledged that most people don’t think of him as a great athlete because he doesn’t jump very high and dunk over people. But he adamantly disagrees. He knows there is much more to being a good athlete than jumping: hand/eye coordination, quickness and reaction, ability to control your body in space and change direction, etc. Steve also placed a high priority on being in great basketball shape, as that is a factor you have complete control over.
His off season workouts consist of working with a strength coach three times per week with a heavy focus on core strength and stability. Many of his strength exercises add a balance component because he performs them on an unstable surface: BOSU ball, wobble board, etc. He doesn’t play 5 on 5 during the summer but instead plays in two soccer leagues, jumps rope, and runs stairs for conditioning. He does get in intense shooting workouts to keep his handle and shot sharp, but no playing! He stressed the importance of having a solid daily routine.
Just watching him in action with the campers it was amazing how quick he is, how high his basketball IQ is, and how precise he is with everything he does. Nothing he does is ever haphazard and he never appears flustered. He is always in complete control, regardless of the game’s situation. Steve Nash represents everything that is right with the game of basketball and I sure enjoyed hearing him speak and watching him work.
If you would like to contact me about this blog, my MVP Vertical Jump Training DVD, my training and/or camps and clinics, please email me atAlan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible!
Train hard. Train smart.
Alan
