Two weeks ago, I asked my Twitter followers (www.Twitter.com/AlanStein) for blog topics. While ‘nutrition’ and ‘player rankings’ were far and away the most common answers, ‘basketball politics’ came in a surprising third.
I have to admit, I am not 100% sure what folks wanted on this topic, but here goes… I aim to serve…
Basketball is almost as political as… well… politics.
I have seen firsthand ‘politics’ come into play at every level – youth, AAU, high school, college, and the NBA. Some ‘politics’ are good – others are evil. Some help the game and others pollute it.
‘Politics’ can affect who makes the team, who plays, who shoots, who is an All-Star, who gets invited to camp, who is ranked, and who wears what shoe. ‘Politics’ are rampant.
Remember, as pure and as wholesome as we want the game to be… basketball is highly competitive and is a billion dollar business… even at the youth level. Any time you mix competition and money you will get ‘politics’ as a result.
Here are a few examples of the type of ‘politics’ that affect me:
· Certain AAU coaches won’t let their kids work out with me because of my affiliation with DeMatha and Nike.
· Certain high school coaches recently discouraged their players from attending one of my Cutting Edge Clinics because it was held at a rival high school’s gym.
· After serving as the strength & conditioning coach for the McDonald’s All-American game for the past 5 years, I wasn’t asked to work this past year because of… drum roll please… ‘politics’!
But guess what? I am OK with it! No sense in complaining… it is a complete waste of energy.
As Maya Angelu said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
I choose not to worry about things beyond my control. Instead, I focus 100% of my time, energy, and passion to the things I can affect. I focus on the players I do work with… not the ones I don’t.
Coaches, avoid the ‘politics’ and outside influences and always do what is best for your program and team. Only allow players of high character and substance into your program and play the kids that give you the best chance to be successful… kids who work hard, accept their role, and are coachable.
Players, the only place you can 100% escape ‘politics’ is in the gym, by yourself. If you are smart, that is where you will spend most of your summer.
Here are some innovative drills you can do when you are in the gym to work on your acceleration, deceleration, pivoting, and landing:
Footwork Training for Basketball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgTe0ualjeU
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Respect the game,
Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com
www.Twitter.com/AlanStein
www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam