Today was the last day of camp at Blessed Trinity. The girls started their day with stretches and warm-ups. After that, the campers received their camp t-shirt and took a group photo. The girls completed stations and competed in the Living by Numbers' drills. Towards the end of camp, the girls broke into their teams and played in their championship basketball games. At the end, there was an award ceremony, where the girls received their certificates and evaluations. Prizes were also given to players for their achievements throughout camp.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com.

Today was the last full day of camp at Blessed Trinity. The girls started their day with stretches and warm-ups. They went through two rounds of stations and played basketball games to help with dribbling and shooting. Before lunch, the girls played in 3 on 3 basketball games to help prepare them for the championship games on Friday. The girls ended the day with the last round of Living By Numbers' drills, which combined all the skills they learned this week.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

The girls at the NIKE basketball camp at Blessed Trinity High School in Roswell, Georgia are working hard and improving 1% each day!

Today at camp, the campers began their day with stretches and warm-ups. While they were stretching, the campers repeated the quotes "Hard work brings prosperity" and " Do not mistake activity for achievement." After that, the girls broke into their groups and completed stations without missing a beat. Before lunch, the campers played in their five on five basketball games and after lunch, continued their Living by Numbers' drills. Tomorrow is the last full day of camp. Campers will receive their camp t-shirt on Friday.

For more information about our camps visit, www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

Today was the first day of the Elite Hoops Girls Basketball Camp. There were 50 girls who attended the camp in order to develop their basketball skills. The girls began their day with stretches and stations. Then they broke off into their 5 on 5 games. At the end of camp, the girls began the Living by Numbers' drills.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

Having had the opportunity to be around the most talented players in the country, I noticed there is a key factor that separates the good from the great.

That is the ability to compete.

Mediocre players rarely compete. Good players compete when they want to. Great players compete all of the time… every drill, every workout, every day. Their competitive fire never stops burning.

And competing doesn’t always have to be against another player. Great players compete against themselves. Great players compete against the clock. Great players compete against the drill. They are never satisfied with what they have already accomplished and are constantly competing to improve. They aim to raise the bar every single workout. No matter how much success they have had, they are always looking to go to another level.

Kevin Durant doesn’t pick and choose when to compete, he competes all of the time. KD just won the NBA scoring title, was an All-Star, and led the Thunder to the playoffs. Yet he competed as hard as any high school or college player at his Skills Academy (in both drills and scrimmages). KD played with the hunger and urgency of someone who still needed to prove himself, even though he obviously doesn’t.

I can tell within 5 minutes whether or not a player is a true competitor. I can tell in their preparation. All I have to do is watch what they do the 15 minutes before the workout begins.

Are they waiting for the workout or are they preparing for it? There is a difference.

Players who are waiting to work out are usually lounging around in their flip flops and headphones or just casually shooting. They are literally killing time until the workout begins. That’s when they plan to “turn it on.”

Players who are preparing to work out, are dressed and ready and going through some type of standard routine, such as a structured warm-up or doing some form shooting. They aren’t joking or grab assing around. They are focused on getting mentally prepared. They are all business.

Despite the stress of “The Decision,” and the fact he was technically an unsigned free agent at the time, LeBron James laced them up and played with both the high school and college players at his Skills Academy. Even though these were just nightly pick-up games, LeBron went through his standard pre-game preparation, which included being thoroughly stretched by his trainer and running through some basic shooting drills to get a sweat. The only thing he didn’t do was throw chalk in the air!

LeBron James is a competitor. LeBron James knows how to prepare.

Each night, there were two games going on simultaneously on adjacent courts. The games played on LeBron’s court were always twice as intense and competitive as the other court. Why? One reason was because LeBron’s competitiveness and intensity was contagious. The other reason was because the other players wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of playing against the NBA’s reigning MVP. They were more competitive because something was on the line and they felt they had something to prove.

The key to being a great player is learning to play that hard and intense all of the time. Why not compete like you are playing against LeBron in every game you play? Why not compete in every drill as if a college coach or NBA scout was watching?

If you can figure out how to do that, you will be well on your way. When you learn to treat an off-season workout with the same importance as a championship game, then and only then, have you learned how to truly compete and maximize your potential. I have seen plenty of very talented players fall short because they didn’t make competing a habit.

Don’t think you can just “turn it on” when the season starts. You need to start competing now… every drill, every workout, every day.

Are you waiting for the season to start… or are you preparing for it?

If you need to spice up your summer workouts with some alternative exercises that require minimal equipment, I just posted a video of Basketball Strength & Conditioning Exercises: Upper Body at http://TinyUrl.com/UpperBodyExercises.

Lastly, we have officially wrapped up our 10 week long Can He Dunk? Project. You can watch the first episode at www.CanHeDunk.com. We will post a new episode each week for the next five weeks.

Please let me know if I can ever be a resource to you for your program. You can email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

Today at camp, the campers began their day with stretches, drills and stations. Now that it is the third day, the campers go through their routine with ease by showing their one percent improvement. At this point, campers are able to say the phrase "Hard work brings prosperity" without hesitation. At the end of camp, the campers went through their Living by Numbers' drills to see if anyone could break the records.

For more information about our camps, visit, www.elitehoospbasketball.com

Today was the first day of the Elite Hoops Boys Basketball Camp at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. 105 boys came from all over Metro-Atlanta to build on their basketball skills. The boys began their day with stretches drills and stations. The boys were broken up in to leagues (high school, college and NBA) based on age and skill level. The boys also started their five on five basketball games and ended the day with Living by Numbers.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

Today at Marietta High School, the campers started their day with stretches, running exercises and stations. After stations, the boys played knockout with the coaches then moved on to their five on five basketball games. After their games, the boys participated in Living by Numbers Drills and will do their last set of drills tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last full day of camp as the boys prepare for their championship games on Friday.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

Today was the first day of the Elite Hoops Boys Basketball Camp at Marietta High School. The boys were introduced to stations and their basketball teams. The campers began the day with stretches and going through each of the stations, learning new drills to build on their basketball skills. Before and after lunch, each team played in a game based on their league to give each of the camper play time. At the end of camp, the campers began The Living by Numbers' drills; today was the Miken.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

Today was the last of of the Elite Hoops Boys and Girls Basketball Camp at Piney Grove Middle School. The campers began their day with receiving camp t-shirts, taking a group photo and stations. After the stations were completed, high school and college played in their semi-final basketball games. After the semi-finals were over, the campers participated in individual improvement, which is part of Living by Numbers. After that, each league played in a championship basketball game and once those were over, attended an award ceremony, where the campers received their certificates, evaluations and other goodies. We wish all the campers best of luck in their upcoming seasons and will see them next summer.

For more information, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com

Today was the last full day of camp at Piney Grove Middle School. The campers spent the morning completing stretches and stations. Before and after lunch, the leagues played in five on five basketball games to help them prepare for finals and the championship tomorrow. Lastly, the campers completed their last Living by Number drill, hot shot and the final scores of all the drills will be posted online later.

For more information about our camps, visit www.elitehoopsbasketball.com