On March 12, 2011, I was in Macon, Georgia to watch the Georgia High School State Championship Games.  After two close regular season battles, region foes Buford and Greater Atlanta Christian (GAC) squared off for the 3rd time in the boys 2A State Championship game.  I had a vested interest in the game, as Elite Hoops had trained the GAC team for 7 weeks in the preseason and I personally had been training their senior shooting guard and UVA signee Malcolm Brogdon since he was a sophomore. I had spent hundreds of hours with Malcolm in the gym over the past two years.  He was and still is the most determined and hardest working player I have ever worked with.  We perfected moves, shots, ballhandling, footwork and even his mental approach to the game and all of his hard working was paying off.

GAC won the game easily 76-36 and captured their 2nd consecutive state title.  Brogdon ended up with 21 points and 11 boards. As sweet as it was seeing both the team and Malcolm fully reach their potential that season and stand at center court with the state championship trophy, something else made me realize Why I Do What I Do.  

My phone had been buzzing all day long from other players, teams, coaches and friends asking for updates from all the action in Macon. So it was no surprise as I walked out to my car and headed to Atlanta that my phone buzzed yet once again.  It was surprising, however that it was from Malcolm, knowing that he was probably still in the locker room celebrating with teammates, he took the time to send me a text, "Thank You!" Although the text was only two words, it was an emotionally powerful two words that meant the world to me and made me once again realize Why I Do What I Do.

On September 27, 2011, I received an email from Tony Cornett, Founder of the North Georgia Irish travel team .  His sons attended one of our NIKE Basketball Camps a few months earlier and so he was added to our monthly email blast.  After he received the September email which contained a couple skill development videos, he emailed us back saying that he would implement them and our Living By Numbers program into the training program of his travel teams. We were thrilled.

About 6 weeks later, we had a contest on social media.  We posted a shooting drill video and we offered a FREE team training session to whichever player could send us a video of them performing the same drill and knocking down the same shots in the same amount of time.  Tony's son, Aden sent us his video within the hour and a few weeks later we trained the North Georgia Irish for the first time.  Tony and his team loved the workout so much, that we have implemented a partnership with them and we still train their program on a regular basis. As awesome as that is, that's not Why I Do What I Do.

Below is an email I received from Tony a few weeks ago,

"Lee, I wanted to reach out to you this morning to say Thank You. You've helped me and my teams so much over the past few years. Directly with guidance and indirectly with my own son, Aden (6th grader)...we followed your program and put up 150-250 shots everyday along with some serious ballhandling work. I'm happy to say it all came together for him. Over the past 3 weeks, he went through tryouts at Blessed Trinity for the 7th grade team just to put him in a high pressure situation to prepare him for other tryouts and get a sense of what it will be like next year (as a 7th grader)...We received the news yesterday he was selected for the team. We never expected to have this opportunity at BT...but we are taking it and getting on board a year early. I was feeling grateful today and wanted to share since it was Aden who won your contest to get us a free training 2 years ago, consequently initiating our partnership...it looks like we will have 100% of our Irish players making their middle school teams this season. What a testament to the development you are providing to all of the kids/players in the area. Keep up the good work and I look forward to continuing our relationship."  

Coaches having their own son and 100% of their travel team players make their middle school team is Why I Do What I Do.

A little over two years ago, we had a 5th grader John Sexton come to one of our NIKE Camps and attend
our Sunday Skills Training sessions that fall.  Even though John a long road ahead of him in terms of basketball skill development, he had an absolute passion for the game and a willingness to work on his skills tirelessly. I knew his goal was to play basketball for whatever school he attended in middle school so we pushed him each and every single time he stepped on the court with us. Two years and 50+ extremely hard workouts later, his dream came true.  He made the middle school team at Marist. A few days later his dad sent me an email that stated, "if anyone was ever doing exactly the right thing at the exactly right time it would have to be you working with John and all the other kids."

Parents sending me emails confirming how powerful our program truly is another reason Why I Do What I Do.
Making players 1% better each time they step on the court is our motto. Recently, though, we have been working with coaches and league directors to make sure that their coaching staffs are properly trained and educated on how to train players more efficiently.  Typically, we work in a private setting and work directly with one league or program, but for the 2nd straight year we offered an opportunity for any coach to attend our Coaches Clipboard Clinic. This is a 3 hour crash course on how to effectively train your players throughout the season.  It is not an Xs and Os clinic, rather it is a clinic that teaches primarily individual skill development.  I was once again amazed, honored and humbled to have so many coaches come to me for advice on how to "coach" their players. Many of which stuck around after the clinic and asked for more advice and more drills.  I did not leave that day, until the last question was answered.

Having 45+ coaches attend our Coaches Clipboard Clinic is also Why I Do What I Do.

I have been blessed to have God give me this wonderful opportunity to touch so many players, coaches and parents lives and I thank each one of you for allowing me into your life. I can't imagine doing anything else.


Lee Miller
National Director
Elite Hoops
"Release Your Potential