http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/healthy-chicken-pizza.html

See you on the court,

Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC

PS – This mouthwatering “Healthy Chicken Pizza” is just ONE of the 197 Healthy and Delicious Recipes my partners over at Prograde Nutrition have compiled.

http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/prograderecipebook.html

They know that supplements have their place in health and fitness. But they also know – and preach – that eating whole foods is the center piece of your nutrition plan.

And to prove it they just came out with this awesome little ebook called “197 Healthy And Delicious Phat Burning Recipes” that will make your life a whole lot easier.

The best part? It’s only $4.95 because they think – and so do I – that it’s just too important for you not to get your hands on.

Look, I know most people think eating healthy means bland and boring meals. That is absolutely, positively FALSE.

Get a copy of Prograde’s “197 Healthy And Delicious Phat Burning Recipes” and taste for yourself.

http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/prograderecipebook.html

See you on the court,

Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC

PS – You’re literally just moments away from discovering some of the most delicious…easy-to-make…phat burning recipes you can imagine. And it’s less than 5 bucks. Grab your copy RIGHT NOW at:

http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/prograderecipebook.html

This first article is crazy. I mean, really, who knew that coffee beans were so much more than, well, coffee? http://www.elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/best-part-of-coffee-bean.html

Next, you’ll be stunned by how powerful Brussel Sprouts are…and Barley Grass, too.   I bet you thought Barley was just for soup, right? http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/eating-enough-fruits-and-vegetables.html

I’ll be back soon with more awesome basketball, health, fitness and nutrition info!

See you on the court,

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

1. Low man wins.

• Your shoulder needs to be below your opponent’s.
• It is a fist fight to get open, it is a foot fight to score

2.  Fouling negates hustle.

3.  Win the last step.

4. Defense is about commitment, offense is about comfort.

• Take the offense out of their comfort zone.
• The best defensive teams do the unrequired things.
• For example: in a zone, you cannot guard air.  If there is a hole, plug it.

5.  Any time they hit the paint, they hit a body.

6.  BIG EYES, BIG EARS, SMALL MOUTH.

7.  You play defense with your feet; your hands just help you.

8.  The one guy who should never get beat is the helper.

• He should see what is happening before it does.

9. Contest the first shot, DO NOT allow a second shot.

10.  See how many times that you can get three stops in a row.

11. Fight the natural instincts late in games.

• Leaving your feet on shot fakes.
• Hugging your man.
• No leak outs.  Box out, finish the possession.
• Contest the shot, block out and get a rebound.
• Lack of awareness (guarding your man too much).

Like anything else, to develop a good passer, the player and/or team must practice that particular skill.  With limited time during the season to work on your team’s defensive and offensive schemes, passing drills tend to take a back seat if they even get a seat at all.  So that pushes the development of that skill to the offseason, and players usually do not incorporate passing drills into their workouts.  Consequently, players do not end up learning the fundamental skill of passing.   For players to be effective passers, they must work on passing as an individual skill but also within the team concept.  In doing so, the following teaching points should be focused on:

• Crisp passes.  There are too many players that float their passes and that leads to steals for their opponent.  Using a medicine ball or a weighted basketball will help develop this skill.
• Follow through.  Following through will help with making the pass crisper and also more direct.  Players should point their index finger of the hand they are throwing with at the target that they are throwing to.
• Ball fake.  Often times players throw the ball directly off the hands of their opponent because it is telegraphed. A good ball fake will help alleviate this issue.
• Vary your passes.  Players need to be able to throw all kinds of passes with both hands…YES, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO PASS WITH YOUR OFF HAND TOO. 

It is a necessity that passing gets incorporated back into a player’s skill development as well as team practices.  This will go a long way toward eliminating this major defficiency in the game of basketball.  When doing so, emphasize the key points that are mentioned above and do not let your basketball players develop bad passing habits.   The following video is of a drill that is called Footfire Passing.  It is a simple drill that can be used to develop crisp passing while also incorporating footwork and conditioning.

So I figured this would be a great time to share this killer article with you. It’s from my friends and partners over at Prograde Nutrition.

Bottom line: Recent research shows any strength training workout or basketball game should be followed by proper post-workout nutrition.

It’s all right here ==> http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/recovery-research.html

See you on the Court!

Rich Stoner
Elite Basketball Training, LLC

PS – I’m not kidding around. Do NOT waste your workout by fueling your body with junk afterward. Find out what the RESEARCH shows: http://elitebasketballtraining.getprograde.com/recovery-research.html

First and foremost, it must be understood that transition defense actually begins on offense.  Throughout an offensive set, players are cutting, screening, and attacking the basket off the dribble.  These movement patterns cause spots on the floor to be vacated and subsequently filled by the next cutter.  The most important spot on the floor, as it pertains to transition defense, is the top of the key.  If the basket is attacked off the dribble or the cut from the top of the key, and a shot goes up before that spot is filled by another offensive player, your transition defense will be at an immediate disadvantage.  In order for your transition defense to be effective, your offensive players must rotate into that area of the court because they actually serve as your first line of transition defense.  And once the ball is secured by the opponent, your players must immediately sprint back on defense.  If your offensive players do not rotate to fill the top spot on the floor, they are usually left trying to sprint back on defense from below the ball line.  This gives the advantage to your opponent who can now start their attack ahead of your players.  In order to slow down this attack, your players should be sprinting in order to get themselves ahead of the basketball and set themselves up in good defensive position. 

Good transition defensive teams realize that their goal is not to defend a man, but to actually defend the basket.   Consequently, the first man back defensively should sprint back and immediately protect the basket.  In doing so, he will protect against any pass ahead toward the basket that could result in a layup.  The second priority in defensive transition should be to stop the basketball.  An easy way to do this is to have the man closest to the player who grabbed the rebound pressure the outlet pass.  This will serve to slow down any transition attack.  However, once the ball is advanced, the defensive player closest to the ball in transition must slow down or stop the person with the basketball.  This could be the player closest to the basket (the first player back) but only in situations where they are the only player back.  If that happens, your team is at a major disadvantage defensively.  In order to slow down the guy with the ball the defensive player must hedge at the man with ball and try to force him towards the sideline.  If the ball-handler is able to gain the middle of the floor, he has the advantage 

because he has more passing or scoring options from the middle of the floor than he would from the sideline.  Forcing the player with the basketball towards the sideline will help these two defensive players achieve their primary goal which is to slow down the offense’s attack long enough for their teammates to get back on defense.  It should also be noted that if these two defensive players have gotten back on defense and are ahead of the basketball, they should set up in a tandem defensively in the lane.  This defensive set up where one player is in the lower part of the lane and the other is in the high part of the lane will allow them to accomplish what has been previously mentioned.  The high defender will stop the basketball while the low defender will cover the basket.  In a situation where a pass is made, the low defender would take that first pass and the other defender would fall back into the lane and protect the basket.  It should also be taken into account that for these two defenders to be effective they must be constantly communicating with each other as to whom will cover the basket, who will stop the ball, who takes first pass, etc.  Without this communication, these defenders will get scored on quickly and will not give their teammates the opportunity to get back on defense.   

As the remaining players transition back to defense each player has a specific spot on the floor that they should fill and a role that they need to perform.  The third defensive player back should form a triangle with the other defensive players.  In doing so, it will enable them to cover any pass that is thrown to their side of the court and allow the other two defensive players to drop into the middle of the lane, to protect the basket, and match up with the ball if it comes back into their area.  The fourth defensive player back will fill the defensive spot on the high side opposite the ball, thereby forming a square.  From this position they will be able to provide middle support from the weak side and match up with the player with the ball on any pass into their area.  Finally, the last player back should run toward the middle of the lane and get below the ball with their back to the baseline.  This will enable them to see the entire court and they can then match up accordingly.

all five players have transitioned back to defense, and ultimately match up with a man, it is necessary for them to understand that they may not be guarding their man that was assigned to them at the beginning of the game.  Because of the guidelines of transition defense, they may end up guarding another player that was not their original assignment.  In this situation, this is fine and they should stay on this player because the goal of transition defense is to prevent the other team from scoring, not find your man.  In other words, if the defensive player who stopped the basketball in transition is supposed to be matched up with another player, they do not all of a sudden leave the player with the basketball to find the player that they were assigned to.  They must stay on that man for that defensive possession or until a logical switch can be made.  In the same respect, if your team is a zone defensive team and a player finds themselves in another area of the zone that is not their usual spot, they must stay there for that possession.

To recap, transition defense is about defending the basket and not a man.  It all begins on offense where at least one, if not two, offensive players should rotate back to the top of their offense.  This will enable them to get ahead of the basketball and prevent an easy scoring opportunity.  The player closest to the offensive player who grabbed the rebound should pressure that player and prevent an easy outlet pass.  The first two players back on defense need to communicate with each other to ensure that the basket is protected and that the ball is stopped.  They should play in a tandem alignment with the top defender covering the ball and the bottom player covering the basket.  The third defensive player should form a triangle and the fourth defensive player should form a square.  Both situations will provide support from the weak side and allow someone to match up with the ball on any skip pass.  Finally, the last player back should run to the middle of the lane and see who is open and match up accordingly.  It is essential that these concepts be emphasized and drilled daily during practices in order for your team to be effective in their transition defense. 

Two drills that can be used to practice transition defense are the UNLV “See it Fix it” drill and the Transition Defensive Scramble drill.  The UNLV drill starts out with five players in one color (let’s say blue) on offense lined up across the foul line extended and five players in another color (white) matched up next to them. The coach has the basketball and is standing on the baseline where he will pass the ball to a player in blue who will then start the fast break.  The player in white standing next to this player must sprint and touch the baseline and then sprint back on defense.  The rest of the defensive players must follow their transition defensive principles in order to prevent the team from scoring until their other player gets back on defense.  A variation of this drill that will make it more challenging is to send two defensive players to the baseline, thereby creating a 5 on 3 advantage.

Transition Defensive Scramble Drill starts with two teams playing five on five in the half court simply running their offense. When the coach yells go, the player with the basketball must leave the ball where it is and he and his teammates must immediately transition back to defense.  However, they must guard a man that is different than the one that was guarding him.  Once again all transition defensive principles must be followed in order to slow down your opponent and prevent them from scoring.

1.  Commitment by the players to DEFENSE. 

“To those whom defense is not important they will have the best seat in the house.”  -Rick Majerus

 2.  Habits created in practice.

3.  Focus.

4.  Passion (a competitive motor).

My Elite Basketball Training sessions have served to develop the skills of  many local basketball players of all ages.  These basketball training sessions usually last an hour and are taylor made to suit the individual’s basketball needs.  They consist of basketball skill work but can also include strength, conditioning, speed, and agility; or a combination of all of these aspects of the game.  These sessions are designed to be technical in nature but are also  an intense workout that is often times more difficult than the basketball games themselves. 

It is also possible to run these basketball training sessions as a small group workout.  This is a great opportunity to train with several like-minded motivated individuals who are seeking the same basketball goals.  In this setting the players work together on their skills but also serve as a source of motivation for each other to reach their potential. 

Here is what people are saying about Elite Basketball Training’s individual basketball workouts:

Cassie Smith

Battle  Knights Traveling Basketball Team

Edgar Middle School Basketball Team

 My 13 year old daughter, Cassie, has worked with Rich since she was 8.  She’s been to his basketball clinics at Edgar School, and worked with him privately to develop her skills.  She always seems pumped up after a session with Rich, and enthusiastic to get to the next one.  Rich is great with the kids; he offers technical insights, and progressive athletic challenges.  He has an uncanny way of motivating an athlete, and always seems to communicate his expectations for hard work and improvement in a manner that wins the respect of his students.

Ryan Josell

Age 10 Battle Basketball 11U 

Ryan has been training with Elite Basketball since the age of 7.  He first attended Elite Basketball Camp in Metuchen as a third grader and looks forward to camp each summer.  He also trains individually with Coach Rich throughout the year.  Elite Basketball Training has always provided a high level of skill and fitness training, helping Ryan improve both his skills and athleticism.  Rich provides a fun, positive, and energetic environment for the kids to train in.  Regardless of how demanding the workout is, Ryan always comes home with a smile on his face asking, “when can I work out with Coach Rich again?” Rich is a terrific motivator, a great teacher of the game, and has been a great coach and inspiration to Ryan.

Frankie McGuire

Edgar Middle School Basketball, Metuchen

Frankie has been attending Rich Stoner’s basketball camps for several years and has also participated in individual skills training sessions with Rich.  Frankie has benefited greatly from Rich’s expertise in skills training and his innovative approaches to training and coaching.  Rich is a great motivator and uses a clever, relevant and even humorous demeanor to deliver his skills training techniques to his players.  As a result of his improved skills, Frankie is having more fun now playing the game of basketball and has experienced more confidence and satisfaction in his game. Thanks to Rich, Frankie has learned skills and strategies that he can continue to utilize and improve upon while playing in competitive youth basketball leagues.