Watch a professional or
collegiate basketball highlight reel, and you'll be dazzled by ball-handling
skills, passing precision, shot accuracy, even acrobatic dunks. What you won’t
see: The sheer endurance, strength, and power these athletes develop through intense
training.
Some of the best in the country
train with DR1VEN Training and Damin Altizer, the official trainer of USA
National Select. Recently we were able
to catch up with Cameron Gillus; member of the USA National Select team and
currently the #8 ranked player in the country as well as VISAA Division 2 State Player of the Year Malik Johnson of the Blue Ridge School, VA and Team Loaded AAU.
Those looking to train, play, and compete against the best should contact Coach Francis at 1.800.338.4629 to assist with your summer development program - he will be working with DR1VEN exclusively this summer and fall to assist as many players as possible.
So while there may be many teams
in the gym mastering executing flawless plays, free throws, and three-pointers,
we are shifting gears as we begin to prepare for the camp and showcase part of
the season. As well those in preparation
for high school summer leagues and preparing to make an impact come fall here
are ten training priorities that prolific performers follow.
1. Preparation
Preparing to train is just as
important as the training itself. Without this critical first step, you
will go to the gym and haphazardly attempt to work on your game and athletic
development with minimal results. Maximize your time by training efficiently.
Here is my simple four-step process
for preparing to train for basketball that gets optimal results.
- Evaluate your game. What are your strengths and weaknesses in terms of skill, athletic ability and basketball IQ? What does your coach need you to improve upon to help the team? Answering those questions are the foundation of your personal basketball development.
- Study what works. You want to maximize your time and effort in your workouts. So you want to go in already knowing what drills and exercises will develop your ability the best. Whether that means reading books, watching videos or stopping by this blog from time to time, don’t waste your sweat with ineffective training tactics. Learn what works and get to work.
- Schedule your gym time. While studying what works is important, you must not paralyze yourself in analysis. You must schedule time on the court or in the weight room to apply what you’ve learned.
- Plan your workouts. I see it all the time. Players come to the gym with the intention of working out and randomly come up with drills on the fly. Lack of a thought-out plan to improve your game with each workout minimizes the effectiveness of the session. And don’t just think about it and grab your ball and go. Write it down, type it up. Just make sure you have today’s workout schedule on paper with you at the gym so you can maximize your time and effectiveness. Don’t waste your sweat.
2. Repetition
You can’t avoid this. You can
hope the next guru’s gimmick will magically make you better with no work, but
you’ll just be dreaming and wasting time. You gotta put in the time and
sweat to really improve your game. Combine the right drills and exercises
with a high quantity of quality reps, and that is your key to unlocking
your full potential as a basketball player.
3. Attitude
You must attack your training with
the same effort and competitiveness as you do games. Michael Jordan sums
it up perfectly:
I’ve always believed that if you put
in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I
know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.
I play to win, whether during
practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and
my competitive enthusiasm to win.
I approach practices the same way I
approached games. You can’t turn it on and off like a faucet. I couldn’t dog it
during practice and then, when I needed that extra push late in the game,
expect it to be there. But that’s how a lot of people approach things. And
that’s why a lot of people fail.
~ Michael Jordan
4. Concentration
Far too often players fool around or
just shoot around when training their game. Not you. If you
approach your training like a game, you will be laser-focused and zoned
in. That is a critical element for skill acquisition and development.
Your mind tells your muscle what to do. If you’re not concentrating at
the highest level your results will suffer.
On top of that, practicing with
heighten concentration directly translates to heighten concentration in games,
making your game sharp and dominant.
5. Technique
If you’re going to train and
practice you might as well do it right – right?
I think Rick Torbett said it best:
Use the best techniques that will
give you the most return on the time you put in. ~ Rick Torbett
Any practice is better than nothing,
but the best practice, using the best training techniques builds the best
habits that translate to in-game performance.
6. Intensity
Go hard! You’ve heard the
sayings “practice at game speed” or “game shots at game speed.” That’s
because it’s great advice. You are training to play the game.
Understand that practice and training is just a means to an end, not a means
unto itself. You are working toward improved ability in games. The
best way to do that is to go harder in practice, pushing your limits helps to
develop skill faster and makes the games easier.
I played hard every day in practice;
so playing hard in the game was just a habit. ~ Michael Jordan
Tip: If you get tired during a
practice session, take a break. Don’t take casual shots or go through the
motions because of fatigue. That leads to bad habits and is a time
waster. If you need to, rest a bit, then get back to high-intensity
practice.
7. Conditioning
You can’t practice hard enough or
attack games with the kind of ferociousness necessary to succeed if you are out
of shape. Condition your ENTIRE body so you can handle all the demands of
the game.
8. Expectations
You must expect great things of
yourself before you can do them.
~ Michael Jordan
9. Track your training
How will you know if you’re getting
better if you don’t record what you do? That means track what shots you
take, how many and how many you make. Create a simple shooting chart for
your workouts.
The benefit of keeping a log of your
shots is it allows you to see your strengths, weaknesses and even hot zones on
the court. How much better would you be if you knew that you shoot a
higher percentage from the left elbow and right corner three than other spots
on the court?
It’s the same when you are in the weight
room. You keep track of how many sets, reps and how much weight you are
putting up, don’t you? Take that approach to the court as well.
You probably noticed the first
letter of those 8 keys spell out “PRACTICE.” And that is the 10th and
most important key to effective, skill-producing basketball training.
10. Train to play the game, don’t
play to train.
Lack of dedicated practice focused
on skill development is easily the biggest mistake players make in their quest
to become better basketball players.
Many players simply play too many
games without the training element. Pick-ups games, summer league games,
AAU games, pro-am games you name it. All those games leave little time
for real skill acquisition and development.
Finding an empty gym or open court,
whether it be alone, with a partner or a group of players and practicing
different elements of your game is the fastest and most effective way to
improve your in-game skills and ability. It allows for the necessary
touches (repetitions) and individual attention for real skill development to be
achieved.
You can’t do that by playing
countless games.
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