Hype and Player Development

A friend forwarded me another web site that makes outrageous claims to sell a product.

One of the industry’s most respected ball-handling coaches made a discovery that actually guarantees you better handles in less than 60 seconds.

Who is this masked man? And, who evaluates the “industry” to decide who is “well-respected?” Personally, I do not respect anyone who says they can guarantee that by reading something you will improve in 60 seconds. Of course, I don’t believe in 5-minute abs, so maybe I’m just crazy. To me, if it was that easy, everyone would do it. 5-minute abs? Why is 60% of the population obese if it only takes five minutes 3x’s per week?

After hearing about the discovery from him and how it helped his ball-handling immediately, this coach then told me how he went to try it on his clients…and wouldn’t you know it, they’re handles got 10x better, literally instantly, and in under 60 seconds!

[Note: The grammatical error is his, not mine. I copied and pasted verbatim.]

I’m curious. Measuring one’s ball handling is difficult. Do you measure the number of dribbles in a minute? Is it a subjective measure of how one looks with the ball? Before believing that all his players “got 10x better,” I would love to know the evaluation or measurement tool. How is this improvement measured?

Here is the thing:

I personally guarantee that Train for Hoops will NOT make you a better player in 60 seconds. Further, I guarantee that to get 10x better at anything will take weeks, months or even years, not 60 seconds.

Now, I know that sucks. Everyone wants the quick and easy fix. But, it doesn’t happen. Name an NBA player who bought all these hyped products and went from nobody to somebody in minutes.

We work every day to devise better ways to train players on the court and online because self-improvement is a never-ending process. Train for Hoops is not a gimmick or a way to make a quick buck. It was a two-year process writing the programs (the basketball program and the computer programs that run it), and that does not count the 10+ years of coaching or training clients virtually on a daily basis without a break.

The best players work the hardest. Those enticed by the gimmicks do not have the intestinal fortitude to be great players. Great players invest their body and mind in the process of getting better.

A couple players that I trained will be going to play college basketball next year. Several others will not. Nobody really knew one girl; she did not play AAU; she did not start until she was a senior. But, since we met during her sophomore year, she has been a gym rat. She followed my advice. She lifted weights. She worked out. She’s playing college basketball. Other players had reputations in 8th grade, played for fancy AAU teams, and started on their high school teams, but they never worked hard enough and they never really improved during high school. They are not playing college basketball next year.

If you want the magic, secret pill, here it is:

Practice!

But, not just any practice:

Deliberate Practice

which requires

• A specific goal
• Task Concentration
• Feedback
• Repetitions

But, not just deliberate practice, you must:

Practice in Proportion to your Aspirations!