Hi Friend,

I shared a story this morning about coaching Vivi's basketball team and how it reminded me of boot camp, training and life. This weekend we finished our 8th week of the season and it's very fun to watch how the kids have progressed. When they first started, nobody could dribble and nobody could shoot and since it's the covid era, they're all probably 1 year behind for their ages, so a 2nd grader probably has a 1st grader level of basketball skills and a 1st grader probably has a kindergarteners level of skill.

So we emphasized dribbling and shooting. Shooting because it makes the kids feel good when their team scores and dribbling because you can't always walk or run up the court holding the ball like Rugby or football. Well the kids still run up and down the court holding the ball like Rugby or football, but they can all (or at least almost all) can dribble in place, dribble walking and dribble with each hand. They still get scared during the game and pick up the ball and run, but we're getting there.

Dribbling.

A few weeks ago, we taught the kids how to play knockout, which was to protect your ball while dribbling by making an arm bar with your free hand and the walk around trying to knock other people's balls away. It didn't go well. Saturday however, I dribbled around and tried to knock the ball away from some of our more advanced kids and they actually could protect the ball. One kid even knew to go by me and go to the hoop and score. I couldn't believe it. Another kid, not only protected his ball, but he tried to knock my ball away. Then when we played knockout during practice, 5 of the kids could actually control their ball, while trying to either knock some body else's ball away or when somebody tried to knock their ball away. That's a huge win.

Shooting.

We've got 3 coaches, which means our team is super lucky, because it's like a 3:1 kid to coach ratio. So we have 3 lines, right up at the hoop (right, middle, left) and kids just shoot, 1 after the other. The idea is to just get them as many reps as possible. Then we move to 2 line layups and encourage them to dribble in, but really it's run in and shoot. The kids have gotten real comfortable shooting, so we get a fair amount of shots up during the games. Last week, I showed them how to shoot and it was amazing to watch the lightbulbs go off in their eyes as they tried it and it worked. It was a really cool experience.

One kid, got like 15 shots up 1 game, but only made maybe 2. I think we lost 8-4. The fact that he got 15 shots up was the win. This past game, he says he got maybe 6 or 8 shots up, but he made 4. His confidence is so high.

Another kid, who was probably our 2nd best player and I use that term very loosely because it's really maturation and experience at this point, said he got 10 shots up and probably made 6. That's huge. I think we won by a score of 26-12. The 1st time we played this team, they blew us out, maybe 10-2 or 10-4. The 2nd time it was closer, but I think they won again. This time, we had kids that could actual put the ball in the basket.

We have another kid, who might be our best shooter, but he can't yet catch the ball or dribble well enough to create his own shot, so he needs to be under the hoop to get good looks.

Passing.

Initially the kids really needed to learn how to dribble and shoot and still do, but what has stood out the last 5 games or so is the kids that can dribble and shoot don't like to pass to the kids that can't catch the ball or dribble. This has made it not fun for our younger players and especially our girls. Vivi's not having fun and misses playing with all girls.

So we've been practicing passing and catching. I also emailed the parents and pointed this out and encouraged them to play catch with their kids and have their kids to them how to pass.

Vivi and I practiced last week, and a teammate made a high arcing pass over 3 defenders to her in the middle of the paint (near the hoop). That's a hard catch because it's coming to your face from up high and you're seeing some of the lights on the ceiling. She caught it, turned towards the hoop and shot it. She took 3 shots and made her 3rd basket. She was very happy and the team was very happy for her.

Relating to You.

We're 5 weeks into our training year. Each week, we're practicing your skills in BC. Trying to address tight spots or pain spots, weaknesses in the upper, lower or core. Trying to make it fun. Stacking together workout after workout, to build up proficiency that results in progress and change. People want to work on their middles. We spend time there. People want to work on their arms. We spend time there. People want to work on their legs. We spend time there.

Spending time.  

Think about that. You know self-care is important. So much so that not only have you spent money on it and put it into your budget, but you've also made time for it. You've decided it was important. You created your why. You did your research. You put it on your schedule. That's half the battle right there. Showing up is the other half, so we always need to remember our why's and if you can show up rested, nourished, having moved recently and having felt like you've had spiritual wins recently (our daily habits), that's even better.

Week 2

Today and this week are fresh starts. Keep going. Everything is better when you train. You're happier, stronger, more resilient. You're more creative, you might even be more fun. Keep your appointments. Plan ahead so you can show up as your best self. If not, show up anyways. You'll leave reset and feeling so glad that you came.

Cardio Minutes - Week 1

We did 24min / workout last week. Please reply now with your minutes.

Making it count,

Coach Mike