On day 4 of NIKE Basketball Camp at Marietta High School, coaches emphasized to players that they must continue to work on the drills and stations that were introduced during camp. The ballhandling, perimeter moves, defensive techniques, and shooting drills at camp are designed to help players work on form, as well as simulate game-like situations. Our goal is to force players to pay attention to proper technique, while having to think about a defender, speed, time, and the pressure that comes along with playing in an actual game. We want to make trainings as HARD as possible, so games are EASY!

On day 3 of NIKE Basketball Camp at Marietta High School, coaches emphasized the importance of practicing with pressure! Players typically don't practice or train at the same speed and under the same pressure as they are expected to play games under. Consequently many players, do not do as well during games as they do when practicing. To help players with this aspect of their game, coaches introduced a couple of pressure layup and shooting drills.

Day 3 at NIKE/Elite Hoops Basketball Camp began with a meaningful quote: "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."   Quite often a player will miss a shot and hang their head-ultimately affecting the rest of his performance during the game.
This problem is one that our coaches aimed to solve on day 3, as it was centered around consistent effort on the court. If a shot was missed, the coaches encouraged the players to make up for the missed basket with tenacious defense on the other end of the floor. This quote relates to academics as well. In the classroom, a student might struggle with one of their classes, but it is important for that student to not let those struggles affect his/her grades in another subject.

The players' mental toughness was tested during our 5 on 5 play and our "Living by Numbers" competition. Our "Living by Numbers" contests are used daily and consist of each player competing in multiple drills to try and score their best while also trying to beat a NIKE Camp Record. This type of training teaches the kids the importance of poise in this sport while being under pressure. As day 3 came to a close, Homewood High School's head coach, Tim Shepler, left the campers with these words of wisdom: "don't let the hardships of the past jeopardize the opportunities of the future. A mistake on offense can be easily forgiven with extra hustle on defense."

On day 2 of our NIKE/Elite Hoops Basketball Camp at Marietta High School, the emphasis was the importance of team defense and communication. Team defense is dependent on the ability of players to communicate with one another while also being in proper position on the court. It takes individuals working as a team to play great defense!

Campers arrived at Day 2 of NIKE/Elite Hoops Basketball Camp at Homewood Middle School eager and ready to work. Soon after the players' morning warm-ups, the gym was filled with the blowing of whistles, shuffling of feet, and the smell of hard work. It is at this time Camp Director, Lee Miller, reminded the players that "the more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war."

Day 2 emphasized perfecting the players' ball handling skills. Through the hours of intense training and sweat came great improvements. The campers completed numerous half-court and full-court ball handling drills. Campers started out reviewing the 5 stationary Living by Numbers Ballhandling Drills: These drills included: Figure 8, Figure 8 Dribble, Front Back Bounce, Front Back Catch and Flip Flop.   Check out Owen Ferguson, as he break his own NIKE Camp record by collecting 99 bounces in :30.

Campers then worked on full court speed dribbling with both their strong and weak hand.  We teach players to practice,  "One times their strength to two times their weakness."  If they train using that motto, they won't have any weaknesses which is the ultimate goal.

We then included a crossover move within the full court speed dribbling.  Players were taught that, "to beat the D, keep the ball below the knee."   It is also essential that on the crossover move , players change their speed and direction.

NIKE/Elite Hoops Skills Stations require discipline and drive from the players. The endless amount of energy the players brought to camp today proved to the coaches that they will be ready in the time of war. With every drop of sweat that was lost, a step of improvement was gained.

At our second annual NIKE/Elite Hoops Boys Basketball camp at Marietta High School, coaches emphasized the importance of "not mistaking activity for achievement." Players were told that just because they were at camp, in a station, or even playing 5 on 5, they were not going to achieve anything (or get better) if they weren't giving their full effort!

This applies to any aspect of their game, whether it is ballhandling, rebounding, shooting, or defense. A player must go game speed to get better, and eventually perform better in games. The goal is to help players develop this type of work ethic outside of camp when working on their game in the off-season because that is when real improvement occurs!

If players continue to work hard the rest of the week, in their stations, 5 on 5, Living by Numbers, and 3 on 3, then they should see tremendous improvement by Friday! The coaches are excited to see what's in store for this talented and hard working group!

On day 4 of NIKE Basketball Camp at Piney Grove Middle School, players continued to work on fundamental skills, highlighted by our final day of "Cut Throat" 3 on 3. With rules that force players to become better communicators and more fundamentally sound teammates, our goal with these 3 on 3 sessions is to make sure that players are ready for a higher level of basketball come this fall. Players showed great improvement throughout the week, as they followed our strict 3 on 3 rules! Hopefully, players will continue to develop these skills throughout the summer.

"Be quick but don't hurry," one of our more emphasized quotes here at Nike/Elite Hoops Basketball Camps applies to a variety of different plays in basketball. We want players to be quick with their moves, but not quick enough that they are going to make a mistake. One of our motto's when explaining this to players is to "read and react" meaning read the situation in front of you and then react to it. A lot of the time, especially in younger players, they like to just receive the ball and go with it, reacting too quickly. However, when they read the situation they can paint a mental picture of what their next move should be rather than just reacting and potentially losing the ball. 

On day 3 of the NIKE Basketball Camp at Piney Grove Middle School, coaches emphasized the importance of practicing with pressure! Players typically don't practice or train at the same speed and under the same pressure as they are expected to play games under. Consequently many players, do not do as well during games as they do when practicing. To help players with this aspect of their game, coaches introduced a couple of pressure layup and shooting drills.

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." At Nike/Elite Hoops Basketball Camps we strive to prepare young players for their future in basketball. We focus on the fundamentals, the basics of basketball and start young players off early and develop from there. A player can only get better if they prepare themselves to do so. When a student doesn't prepare for a test they will not get a good grade on the test, and might even fail it. They knew going into it that they were not prepared, but went through with it anyways. Just like when a player doesn't prepare for a try out he is only preparing himself to not make it. In order to emphasize our point more, we do the Living By Numbers Challenge every week with the campers. In this competition, coaches time their players as they perform each drill and try to break previous camp records. Players relish in the idea that they can compare their skill level with other campers through out every previous Elite Hoops Camp. By working on these drills all year the players can come back the following summer and try to beat their own records and other players. We give the players a chance to prepare for every upcoming year of camp so that when they do succeed, they have tracked it.

On day 2 at NIKE/Elite Hoops Boys Basketball Camp at Piney Grove Middle School, coaches emphasized the importance of working hard to develop ballhandling skills. With the Living by Numbers drills today, players were given 5 drills to work on in the off-season to improve hand speed and hand quickness. The 5 drills were Figure 8 without a dribble, Figure 8 with a dribble, Flip Flop, Front Back Bounce, and Front Back Catch.

"Do not let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can." Here at Nike/Elite Hoops Basketball camps we stress the importance of this quote daily. It is too easy to let your weaknesses defeat you, and harder to let your strengths define you. You must be able to overcome your weaknesses in order to succeed in your strengths.
During our stations every morning we focus on the fundamentals of basketball: shooting, defending, rebounding, and ballhandling. If one player is very good at defending, but not very good at shooting then he cannot let his mistakes during the shooting station interfere with his effort at the defensive station. In school, if a student has a low C in their Science class but has an A in English then he must focus on bettering his strengths in English rather than dwelling on his weaknesses in Science. When a player misses his shot during a game, he must focus on running back down the court to play defense and not keep focusing on his miss. Players cannot let themselves get down, and here at camp we work with the players every day on their individual strengths and weaknesses. As a result of this, players can get one percent better each and every day without their "cannots" interfering with their "cans."

The 2nd annual NIKE Basketball Camp at Piney Grove Middle School, opened on Monday empahasizing the importance of the fundamentals. Players were introduced to individual skills drills that they should work on daily, if they are truly serious about developing a well-rounded skill set.

On day 4 of the NIKE Basketball Camp at Stockbridge High School, players continued to work on individual skill development with their morning stations and from the first day, our goal each in everyday in those stations was to "not mistake activity for achievement." Going through the motions and working at half speed was not an option if players truly wanted to improve their skills. Each player has tried to make sure that when ever they are going through a drill, a station, or 5 on 5 games they are trying to get better by going full speed.

On Day 3 at the NIKE/Elite Hoops Boys Basketball Camp at Stockbridge High School, coaches emphasized using offensive skills that players were taught in stations, in their 5 on 5 and 3 on 3 games. One important skill that was taught in stations was the PICK AND ROLL. Players were taught the importance of moving without the basketball, whether it was setting up a defender before a pick or rolling to the basket after setting a screen. After working on this skill in stations, coaches encouraged players to move without the basketball and set screens to get teammates open! Moving without the basketball is an important skill and spacing on the court is something that players will continue to work on throughout the week, and hopefully each day players will get 1% better at this difficult skill. Wednesday was a success, and coaches can't wait to see more improvement on Thursday!

On the second day of the NIKE Basketball Camp at OCHS, players were pushed to use the skills that they learned in their stations in their 5 on 5 and 3 on 3 games . One skill that was highlighted in today's stations was communicating on defense, saying "ball, deny, or help." Although a new skill for most players, communication on defense is one of the most important things for players who want to play at a higher level, so coaches worked on having players constantly talking during 5 on 5 games and 3 on 3 games.

"You have to work twice as hard in an empty gym as you do in a full gym." When players are in front of large crowds and they can hear the intensity of the feedback they are getting, they are on a whole other level. During a Blessed Trinity basketball game, there are over a thousand fans screaming encouragement when their team makes a good play giving the players confidence, or disappointment when their team loses giving the players determination. When the players are practicing whether it be in their driveway under a single hoop, or on the court with five teammates, they must fill themselves with the intensity that they will feel in a full gym. Making it twice as hard to give a full effort when it all depends on you.

John Wooden once said, "Do not mistake activity for achievement." What he means by this is don't think just because you are going through the motions of school and work it means that you are getting better at them. You actually have to work hard at what your doing. Here at Nike/Elite Hoops Basketball Camps we want full effort. You can't just slide, you can't just shoot, you must try! In order to be successful you have to put everything that you have into a task and prove to yourself and those around you that you are working at it.

Championship day was exciting for campers and full of basketball! Players started their morning of with 10 stations, where they review what they had been taught all week long. After stations, players competed in their semi-finals games of their 5 on 5 leagues. After the semi-finals games, Championship activities began! Players competed in their Living By Number Championships. Below is a list of the drills that players competed in and the champions in each division:

John Wooden once stated that, "Success is a peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your very best." Knowing that you are successful is not in hearing what your parents tell you, seeing what the score board says or even listening to the players on your team. Success is you knowing that you did the best that you could possibly have done. That is when you are truly successful. If you win a game by twenty points you are not automatically successful, because maybe you could have won by thirty. However, if you get an eighty on a test you could still be successful because that is the best that you could possibly have done. You tried your hardest, and that is what counts. That is what we encourage here at Nike/Elite Hoops Basketball Camps, for every player to come out here and make a success out of themselves. 

On day 3 of NIKE Girls Basketball Camp at Blessed Trinity High School, coaches emphasized the importance of practicing with pressure! Players typically don't practice or train at the same speed and under the same pressure as they are expected to play games under. Consequently many players, do not do as well during games as they do when practicing. To help players with this aspect of their game, coaches introduced a couple of pressure layup and shooting drills.

"Be quick, but don't hurry" Coming into day three of Nike/ Elite Hoops Basketball Camp here at GAC coaches emphasize the importance of hustle. Letting players know that important decisions during the game should be made efficiently but not clumsily. Hustle is important during the game, practice and especially here at camp. The quicker the players are the quicker things can get started. Players showed off their speed abilities today and proved that they can stay true to our quote of the day as we had a number of top scorers in our Living By Numbers drills today. Campers Jordan, Michael, Trey, Christian, and Matt got the high scores for Xbox which is one of our top speed drills. By placing four cones in the shape of a square, players side step and sprint in a specific order from each cone to the next, and therefore sharpening their speed and agility.

On day 2 at NIKE/Elite Hoops Girls Basketball Camp at Blessed Trinity High School, coaches emphasized the importance of working hard to develop ballhandling skills. With the Living by Numbers drills today, players were given 5 drills to work on in the off-season to improve hand speed and hand quickness. The 5 drills were Figure 8 without a dribble, Figure 8 with a dribble, Flip Flop, Front Back Bounce, and Front Back Catch.

Every single player at camp competed in our Living by Numbers ballhandling drills in hopes of beating our camp records for each drill. The one player who was up to the challenge was, Ellen Schlich! Out of 5 ballhandling drills, Ellen now owns 3 camp records! She set the new record for Flip Flop, Front Back Bounce, and Front Back Catch. All coaches would like to congratulate her on her great work!

Check out the video of Ellen Schlich setting the new Front Back Catch Record! It's pretty impressive!

After a great start to our NIKE/Elite Hoops Boys Basketball Camp at GAC yesterday the players arrived on day two eager and ready to play. Coaches emphasized our quote of the day which states that "failing to prepare is preparing to fail," letting players know that they need to keep on trying even when the week gets tough. If they keep on putting their full effort out on the court, and come prepared to do so everyday then they will continue to get better and better each day.

In the Shooting Station, lead by Coach Taylor Metzger players were taught form shooting and hand placement with the basketball. At our camps, we teach players that the easiest way to improve your shot is to follow these two simple steps: When you follow through make sure your elbow is above your eye and secondly, make sure your hand "is in the cookie jar." Many times Coaches tell players to rebound their own shot. At the Nike/Elite Hoops basketball camps we think that that is the wrong advice to give to players because by telling them to rebound their own shot you are telling the player that they are going to miss. We teach each player to shoot with proper form and to allow their teammates to rebound any miss. This Station progresses throughout the week and players will work on shooting off the catch, and shooting off the dribble.