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Tuesday, January 17, 2012
When I direct camps, clinics, team trainings, or one-on-one
workouts, I always start with the same question…”Who wants to play at the next
level?” Ninety (90) percent of the hands
will rise quickly. This could be the
high school varsity level, collegiate level or professional level. It’s easy to set the goal and say “I want to
play at this certain level”, but it’s very difficult for players to understand
how much work, effort, and determination it takes to achieve this goal. Roughly five (5) percent of players at the
high school level will go on to play at the Division I level. So how hard do you have to work, and what’s the
successful formula to achieve your full potential and goals?
The first step for today’s players is to simply stop playing
5on5 all the time. I understand how
much fun competitive play is, but players must devote time daily to improving
their individual skill set. Almost every
team, at every level, runs some variation of a motion offense. This means no matter what position you play
or how big you are, you will find yourself in every position on the floor. Bigs will end up out on the wings, and guards
will eventually find themselves in the post.
All players are called upon to handle the basketball, pass the
basketball, and shoot the basketball on all areas of the floor. Your skill set will determine how efficiently
you can make plays on a consistent basis.
For example, scrimmage for a couple hours and you may be able to perform
a shot fake and going to your left 4-5 times.
Work-out individually on this move, and you can perform 30-40
times. Which way do you think is the
best way to improve a weakness or better a strength? Repetition and discipline are the keys.
The second step is to learn to love the process of getting
better. Basically, becoming mentally
tough. You have to work on your
athleticism and body, and be in great shape to play the game of
basketball. This requires the weight
room, running wind sprints, individual daily work-outs, practice and
games. Players must learn to love the
weight room, love and want to win every wind sprint and never take a day off
from skill set development. Again, the
fun part is the games. The hard part is
all the effort it takes to get better daily.
Learn to love these areas and players will see their game improving
rapidly. When you do have the
opportunity to run scrimmages and play in games, you will be able to perform at
a higher level.
The final step is simple.
Never settle for how good you are now. The goal is not to be the best player on your
team, the best player in your city, or the best player in your state. Every player’s goal should be… To be THE BEST
THEY CAN BE. This requires a daily
commitment and constant development. Taking
no days off. You will never reach this goal, as every
player can always improve in some area.
ALL PLAYERS. If you take off, I
promise there are thousands of players working on their game at that specific
time. Remember, five percent of players
have the opportunity to play Division I. Here is a formula for success to follow: One hour and a half developing your body,
athleticism, and getting in superior shape, one hour and a half individually
developing your skill set, and one hour and a half playing 5on5. I understand this sounds like a lot. I also understand how many player s are
playing in today’s basketball world, and how many players have the same goal
you do. You simply have to out-work
other players.
I wish every player the best of luck in reaching their goals
in the game of basketball. Every player
can achieve whatever goal they set out to achieve. They simply have to be disciplined, be
dedicated, and be committed to hard work.
James Lee
Elite Hoops
South Carolina Director
"Release Your Potential"
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