Tag Archives: basketball

Be Different

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I’ve always considered myself very lucky to have grown up where I did, and when I did. As a kid (and still to this day), two of my favorite sports were football and basketball. During my youth, the football and basketball programs at the local high school were very good. The football team was winning Super Bowls every year and the basketball team was winning games in a tough, competitive league, too. My dad was always involved with the recreational sports program at the high school, and he took me to countless football and basketball games, so I got to spend a lot of time around the high school and got to meet a lot of the players. There were two particular athletes that stood out; I idolized them, and they were my role models. More than 15 years later, I still look up to them. Their names are Matt and Mike.

Not these Role Models

Matt was a member of both the football and basketball teams. He was undersized, but had one of the most amazing work ethics I’ve ever seen. He lived maybe a mile from the high school, and when my dad and I were en route to the school, we’d frequently see him jogging to the school’s track to perform his workout, only to jog back home after. Matt was dedicated to being the best player he could be, and gave 100% effort in his off-season workouts, in practice, and in games. When I was in elementary school, I had to read a book and do a book report on someone who was similar to the main character. The main character was an athlete named “Rusty”, and I chose to interview Matt. Jokingly, I think he was then called “Rusty” by his coach for the rest of the basketball season. While he wasn’t the biggest or most talented player on the field, Matt earned the right to play college football by virtue of his unmatched effort and hard work. I’ll never forget what his college coach said about him in his biography during his freshman season: “Matt is a pleasure to coach. He’s the first one on the field and the last one off.” I know this statement by heart, because I hung it on my bedroom wall years ago and looked at it every day.

Mike was a member of the basketball team. He was an absolute star and ended up scoring over 1,000 points in his career. I’ve watched a lot of basketball over the years and played against kids who went on to play professionally in the NBA and overseas, as well as at the Division 1 level, and Mike is still one of the purest shooters I’ve ever seen. He played hoops in college, and as far as I know, is still the record holder for career 3-point field goals made at his school (even though one of his seasons was shortened by injury). Mike, like Matt, put in considerable work in the off-season, improving his basketball skills as well as his jumping ability (they would routinely throw him alley-oops in games). His work ethic allowed him to be the player he ultimately became, and he was even offered a contract to play overseas at the conclusion of his college career.

I’ve always loved JJ, but Mike would’ve given him a run for his money

Lucky for me, Mike was back in the area when I was in high school, so he would put me through individual workouts during my basketball off-season. One day, after a workout, I remember talking to him about when he was in high school. He said something that has stuck with me over the years:

“Matt and I were probably the only two kids in our grade that didn’t drink.”

What Mike was essentially saying was that he and Matt were not your typical high school students. While many kids in their grade were getting into things like drugs and alcohol, they were going against the grain and devoting most of their time to working towards the goals they had set for themselves. Matt and Mike were not the norm. They were different.

Looking back, being different is what made these two so special. It’s what made these two so cool. And it’s what makes me feel so fortunate to have had them to look up to when I was a kid.

You see, Matt and Mike weren’t like everybody else. Yes, they had aspirations for themselves and set goals like other people, but, unlike others, they held themselves to high standards, they held themselves accountable, and they put their heads down and did what was necessary to reach their aspirations and goals.

We all have choices, and every single one of our choices has consequences. If you break it down even further, every decision you make either supports your goal, or it doesn’t.

That’s why I want to challenge you to be different.

If you want to lose weight, don’t eat dessert like the rest of your family does after dinner.

If you want to gain mass, don’t sleep in late like the rest of your friends. Get out of bed to make sure you get all of your meals in.

If you want to feel better, don’t sit on your ass in front of the TV like most Americans do the second they get home from work. Go for a walk or get in a 30 minute workout in your basement or garage.

If you want to play a sport in college or beyond, don’t go to every party or dance on Saturday night. Go to the gym.

If you want to advance your career and be one of the best at what you do, don’t hit the bar and stay out late with the rest of your co-workers. Stay in and read a book.

These are only just a few examples, but you get the idea.

Although we don’t talk as often as we’d like, I’ve kept in touch with Matt and Mike over the years. It’s not surprising that both of their current jobs entail working with kids. It makes me very happy and proud to know that they’re still having a positive impact on our youth.

Be different. After all, you never know whose role model you might be.

Master the Fundamentals

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A couple months ago, I happened to drop-in on a local college basketball game. I wasn’t planning on going, and I didn’t even know about the game, but I’ve always missed my days of playing competitive basketball so I decided to stop and watch. It turned out that I was about 30 minutes early and neither team had taken the court to go through their pregame warm-up routine. However, as I was arriving, the home team was running out onto the court to shoot around and get some shots up. Since the away team was still in the locker room, the players on the home team made use of all four hoops that were available (the two main hoops and two side hoops). As I watched this, I noticed something very interesting. Only ONE player of at least ten that I saw on the court went over to a hoop and took shots inside of the foul line.

Huh?!

Almost every player ran out and began shooting three-pointers with maybe a few players taking shots a few steps inside of the three-point line. This was surprising to me not only because these were college-level players, but because this was such a blatant disregard for the fundamentals.

Back in high school, I became extremely committed to the game of basketball. I had always played many sports growing up, but during my freshman year, I decided that I wanted to focus all of my efforts on basketball. I loved the game and I wanted to play in college, so I became obsessive with my workouts. For most of high school, I wouldn’t feel right if I wasn’t working on my game every single day. In the off-season, I went through meticulous individual workouts to improve my skills. During the season, I would put myself through abbreviated versions of these workouts before or after practice, before games, or on off-days. I really enjoyed all the work that went into improving my game and I took a lot of pride in doing it. I like to joke that I almost preferred the off-season to the actual season because of this fact. The thing about my individual workouts, though, was that they were rooted in the fundamentals.

When I walked out onto the court with my basketball, I would always begin my workouts with form shooting. I’d start no more than one step out from the basket and shoot with only one hand, concentrating intently on proper mechanics. I would gradually work my way out farther from the basket, but I’d have to make AT LEAST twenty-five shots within the paint (inside of the foul-line) before I moved on in my workout. Sometimes I would force myself to make fifty shots and sometimes even more if I was struggling with my shot.

JJ Redick was my idol

After that, I would go through a rigorous routine of dexterity and ball-handling drills. During the first part of these drills, the ball wouldn’t even hit the floor, as there was no dribbling involved. Then I would progress to dribbling with one ball and then with two balls. As you can see, all of these drills would always progress from simple and relatively easy to difficult and more complex.

The same thing goes when it comes to strength training. You should ALWAYS begin your workout by performing an adequate number of warm-up sets of the first exercise, or main lift, in your training session for that particular day. The purpose of this is to “groove” proper technique and to prepare your body for the heavier weights that it will be lifting so that the risk of injury is decreased. It is important, however, to choose the appropriate number of sets, reps, and weight for your warm-up sets, as they are not intended to tire you out before you begin your actual working sets. It is good to come into your workout having an idea of roughly what weight you’ll be using for the first working set of your first exercise. This not only allows you to select your warm-up weights accordingly, but also gives you the opportunity to use these warm-up weights as indicators of how you’re feeling that given day. If the iron is flying up or if gravity seems to hate you that day, you can adjust the weight for your working sets accordingly.

Typically, a strength training workout will begin with a big, compound movement like the squat, deadlift, or bench press. Let’s say you’re squatting today and you plan on starting your working sets at 225 lbs. When it comes to the squat and the bench press, I always begin with AT LEAST two sets with just the bar. Obviously, this can’t be done with the deadlift, because the height of the bar would be way off. I know for a fact that some people, like strength coach Mark Rippetoe, begin their squat workouts with four sets with the empty bar. So, with your first working set planned at 225 lbs., your warm-up sets might look something like this:

Bar x 5

Bar x 5

95 x 5

135 x 5

185 x 3

205 x 1

I don’t like to go above five reps with my warm-up sets because I feel that this number really allows me to hone-in on my technique while keeping it tight. Furthermore, it keeps fatigue to a minimum, as I don’t want my muscles to get too tired before my working sets.

This better not be your first ”warm-up” set

Practicing and mastering the fundamentals is what allowed me to play college basketball in arguably the best Division 2 basketball conference in the country. I wasn’t the most gifted or most athletic player around, but I never lost sight of the fundamentals and they were always a part of my workouts. I took a great deal of pride in being more fundamentally sound than any other player I knew, and while I was playing, I would’ve put my fundamental skills up against any other college player in the country, regardless of level. The bottom line is that the fundamentals will get you places. If you’re not fundamentally sound in what you do, it’s only a matter of time before it catches up with you. To get stronger in the gym, the fundamentals are a must; you need to practice and perfect your technique through a proper warm-up. Not performing warm-up sets in the weight room is like running out on the court and shooting three’s: you’re doing yourself more harm than good. Constantly practice and strive to master the requisite fundamentals of what you’re doing, whether it’s playing basketball, lifting weights, or accounting (yuck), and you will almost certainly find success.