This weekend, Elite Hoops hosted a Thanksgiving Skills Clinic at the Kedron Fieldhouse in Peachtree City, GA. The sold out clinic was for experienced players in grades 4-9. Players worked for 90 minutes each day on ballhandling, perimeter moves, passing and shooting form. The quote for Saturday was "Hard work brings prosperity." Players were reminded that if you want to be a better player, a better student, or a better leader-you must work hard. We have never seen a player that works hard on the court and their game gets worse. We have never met a student-athlete that works hard in the classroom and their grades drop. We aren't saying that by working hard you will become LeBron James, or that you'll get a 4.0 gpa, but you will prosper.

I have been a self diagnosed “quote nerd” for as long as I can remember. Back in high school in the early 90’s, I started with a spiral notebook and a pen and wrote down every quote I found inspiring. Quotes from movies, coaches, books, signs… you name it… if I saw it or heard it, I wrote it down. Years later, I converted the growing collection into a computer database and added to it as often as I could.

As a professional basketball strength & conditioning coach, a big part of my job is to motivate my players to work hard consistently; to get them to do the things they don’t’ want to do because I know it will help them get to where they want to go. So there have been countless occasions where the inspiration from a specific quote has come in handy. I use quotes as tools to motivate my players as well as motivate myself. While I am strength & conditioning coach by trade, my overall goal in life is simple; to inspire, to motivate, to influence and to help anyone who is passionate about basketball and training. I have found quotes are a valuable tool in doing just that. I am extremely thankful to have platforms like Twitter, Facebook and my blog to impact players and coaches of all ages and levels… all over the world!

If you have followed me on any of those social media platforms, you know I have been posting 5-6 quotes a day for the past year. I have received a ton of positive feedback in response to the quotes I have shared and have had dozens of folks ask me to compile them in a book. So that’s what I’ve done! I just recently compiled my favorite inspirational quotes in a new e-book:

534 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Success On and Off the Court

It is important to understand this e-book is merely a collection of my favorite quotes. I am not the original author of any of the quotes. I intentionally chose not to list the original author for any of the quotes for the simple fact I only know around 20% of them (and didn’t want to put “unknown” or “anonymous” for the remaining 80%)!

I am sure you have heard (or read) many of quotes I compiled, but I am confident there are several that you haven’t. I tried to pick quotes that transcend sports and are applicable to life as well. After all, life is the game we are all playing.

You can purchase a downloadable copy of 534 Motivational Quotes to Inspire Success On and Off the Court at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com. In addition to the 534 motivational quotes, I added a bonus section: 27 Books Every Coach and Player Should Read. This e-book is an invaluable resource for coaches and players at every level.

Here are 5 of my favorite quotes from the e-book that are too long to post on Twitter:

1. Persistence and patience is exemplified by the stonecutter who hammers away at a piece of rock. He may hit the rock 100 times without so much as a crack showing. Then, on the 101^{st hit, the rock will split in two. It was not that hit that did it, but an accumulation of all that came before it.}

^{2. Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. Moral? It doesn’t matter who you are, when the sun comes up, you better start running!}

^{3. If you can’t risk, you can’t grow. If you can’t grow, you can’t become your best. If you can’t become your best, you can’t be happy. If you can’t be happy, what else matters?}

^{4. Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.}

^{5. Champions do not become champions on the court. They become recognized on the court. They become champions because of their daily routine and commitment to excellence. Players do not decide their future; they decide their habits and their habits decide their future!}

^{I hope you enjoy these quotes as much as I do and use them to motivate yourself and those around you. I wish each of you the absolute best this season. Please keep me posted to how you are doing and drop me an email if I can be of service in any way (Alan@StrongerTeam.com).}

^{Play hard. Have fun.}

^{Alan Stein}

^{www.StrongerTeam.com}

BELMONT — In the first two years Stephen Miss has been head coach of Belmont Abbey College’s basketball team, the Crusaders have exceeded preseason expectations.

As his third season begins Tuesday night at home against Brevard, Miss and his team are hopeful of repeating the past.

“Our first year, we were picked 11th in the preseason poll and finished third. Last year, we were picked 4th and finished third again,” Miss said. “We’re picked 5th this season and, hopefully, that trend will continue.”
Losing three starters will make it more of a challenge, especially since two of them were guards Deonte Murphy and Jonathan Jackson.

But Miss says he and his team welcome the opportunity to defy what they consider low preseason projections.

To read the rest of the article from the Gaston Gazette, click HERE.

If you are a high school basketball player in the United States, you are probably about to start (or have just recently started) official practice for the 2009-2010 season. As the season gets underway and you begin practice, don’t be surprised if your body is overwhelmingly sore the first couple of days in particular. This is normal! This does not imply you aren’t in great shape; it’s just your body’s way of adjusting to the new demands placed on it. You are finally going full speed with contact on a daily basis; which is understandably more intense than anything you did in the pre-season.

In particular, your low back may be constantly tight and your ankles, knees, and hips may get sore. It is very important you take care of your body throughout the season, but especially now, while these are minor issues. For these little nagging aches and pains, you should apply ice after practice (unless told otherwise by your athletic trainer). With parental consent, you can also take an occasional ibuprofen or Advil to help alleviate soreness. Foam rollers are another great tool for recovery and restoration. Make sure you eat well, get lots of rest when you can, and properly warm-up and cool down before and after every practice. If you incur any major injuries or issues, make sure you tell your coach, athletic trainer, and parents immediately so you can get the proper help. It is important to address these issues when they are small so they don’t turn into something big!

Elite Hoops will be hosting a Father/Son Basketball Clinic Saturday November 14, 2009 at the Pleasant Hill Community Center in Roswell. The clinic is for boys in grades 3-8 and dads of any age. The clinic will run Saturday from 9am-10:30am. Fathers and sons will work together on passing, ballhandling, and shooting. Dads, don't be afraid...you don't have to be a great basketball player or be in shape to have fun at the clinic! Most of the drills will be stationary and will focus on form not speed.

The price of the clinic is dependent upon the number of sons participating.

1 Son-$50
2 Sons-$70
3 Sons-$85

The Father/Son clinic is limited to the first 10 Father/Son combos that sign up.

Steve Kenner, Women's Head Coach at Emory and Henry College and longtime Elite Hoops Camp Coach, recently sat down for gowasps.com to discuss his first year as a Head Coach and his goals for his team. Kenner said he will stress the importance of academics and community involvement as he motivates the girls to excel on and off the court. Kenner stated, "the players know that I place a high premium on being good student-athletes, and I remid them that the word 'student' comes first." Taking a quote from the Elite Hoops summer camps, Kenner's goal for each girl is "to get 1% better each and every day."

To see the full interview click HERE.

November 5, 2009 – Elite Hoops announced today that their Fayette County Thanksgiving Basketball Skills Clinic will be held at the Kedron Fieldhouse in Peachtree City, Georgia. The clinic will be held on Saturday and Sunday November 28-29, 2009. Boys and girls in grades 4-9 are invited to register as there a limited number of spots available. Players will work on many of the same training drills that are taught at the NIKE Skills Academy Camps such as ballhandling, passing, perimeter moves, and shooting form. This will be a great way to prepare for upcoming basketball teams, and leagues. All Elite Hoops clinics, camps and training events maintain a minimum 8:1 player to coach ratio. This clinic will be staffed with Elite Hoops coaches as well as local coaches from the local metro area. The cost of the clinic is $50 and includes a NIKE Tshirt. For more information, visit www.EliteHoopsBasketball.com or call 678-468-4169

To visit the full press release click HERE

Lou Williams, Elite Hoops Hall of Famer and point guard of the Philadelphia 76ers, is off to a great start this NBA season. One year removed from coming off of the Sixers bench, Williams, now a starter, finds himself as one of the top scoring point guards in the Eastern Conference and amongst one of the best in "efficiency" in all of the NBA. Read more about Lou's hot start from these 2 articles: