Having a like minded individual to work out with will eliminate the days when you just do not feel like working out.  Each of you can ensure that this never happens by motivating each other from the start.  Once you are at the basketball court or weight room working out, having a training partner will completely change the dynamic of the workouts.  They will be competitive and challenging as you and your partner push each other mentally and physically to make more jump shots, lift heavier weights, run the extra sprints.   This will ultimately make you a much better basketball player and athlete.  Beyond the obvious physical and mental benefits of training with a partner, the workouts will just simply be more FUN.  Having one of your good friends around to train with will make the workouts less like work and more like another way to hang out.  The workouts will be encouraging for all of you and bring you all closer together, knowing that you pushed each other to give your very best during each and every workout. 

With this in mind, Elite Basketball Training and its sports performance training branch, Elite Sports Performance in accordance with the New Jersey Sports Academy will be hosting Bring-A-Friend week during the week of June 13-18.  All participants in any of the Elite Basketball Training and/or Elite Sports Performance programs are encouraged to bring a friend to any of our workouts.  The friend will be able to work out with the group for the hour for FREE and then can earn a discounted rate to any of our programs if they sign up that day.  As a show of appreciation to our loyal customers who bring a friend to the workouts, they will also receive a discount to a future program if their friend signs up.  There will be vendors and contests throughout the week including our athlete of the month sponsor, Muscle Maker Grill of Edison who will be there Thursday evening handing out free samples of their delicious and healthy food.

So how could you possibly say no to Bring-A-Friend week or training with a partner. I encourage you all to go out and invite a friend to work out with you and I guarantee it will help make your workouts competitive, challenging, and fun while making your game Elite.

See you on the court!

Rich Stoner, USAW

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Elite Sports Performane

THR College Planning and Recruiting

The drill, that I call the “Bird Drill” (don’t ask me why, I have no idea where the name came from) is one of the toughest drills that I have ever done.  It is a five spot drill (both corners, both wings, and the top of the key) that requires the player to make two shots in a row before they move to the next spot.  Right about now, you are probably asking yourself where the difficulty lies.  Two shots in a row is no big deal. Well, it is if you only have two minutes to get around and back.  That 20 total shots in under two minutes (four shots from the far corner before you can start your way back). If you are thinking this is still no big deal, give it a try.  I have seen really good players shoot really well and this drill and never make it back around because of the fact that you have to make two in a row at each spot.  Nonetheless, the “Bird Drill combines two challenging components, shots made in a row and time. I encourage you to do this drill shooting off the catch and off the dribble. And of course, keep track of your progress, it is the only way to get better.  

Hope you enjoy this drill. Let the us know some of your most challenging shooting drills by describing them in the comments section below. 

See you on the court.

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Let’s use our best of 30 shots contest as an example.  We competed in this event three different times.  The first time around, I made 67% of my shots.  I decided that that was not good enough and new I could make more so when my turn came around again, I buckled down, focussed a little more and made 73% of my shots.  However, I was still left wanting a higher percentage.  This is part who I am, but also partially because I knew I missed a few shots last round that should have gone in.  So for the third round I zeroed in and lit it up for a whopping 80% from the floor!

Honestly, my point is not to tell you how well I can shoot that basketball with no one guarding me.  It is actually to get you into two habits for your shooting workouts.  First, keep track of how many shots you take and how many shots you make.  Not everyone has access to fancy pieces of equipment like the “Gun” but last I checked, a note pad and pencil worked just as well. 

My second point is to make sure that you are competing and constantly changing the game.  Incorporate various games/competitions into your shooting workouts, even when you are alone.  Examples of this include:

1.  A total number of shots made in specific period of time.
2. Making a certain number of shots in a row from varying spots.
3. Making a certain number of shots in a row before you move your spot.
4. Number of mades shots out of a specifc number (like out of 30 or 50)
5. Setting a specific number of shots to make in your workout, either as a total or from varying spots (ex. from three point range, off the dribble, in the lane, etc.

These two items, charting your progress and making your workouts competitive may seem simple but in all honesty, how often do you do it?  I would venture to guess that the average player would answer that question with a, “not often.” Yet this is a necessity to improving your shooting workouts.  Competitions will add a challenge, alleviate monontony, and make the shooting workout as difficult or more difficult that an actual game.  While charting your progress will show improvement.  So next time you head out to the court to practice, preplan a list of shooting competitions for yourself in your notepad and chart your progress and I guarantee that you will see results.

See you on the court!

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Ps. If any of you have any other ways to improve your shooting workouts or just your basketball workouts in general be sure to let the Elite Basketball Training community know by commenting in the comments section below.

As always, let the Elite Basketball Training community know your thoughts on the drill and any other competitive drills that you use by commenting in the comments section below. Thanks.

See you on the Court!

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

In the following video, you will see a series of fundamental drills that I use all the time for my post players and sometimes even for my guards and wings.  These drills work on footwork, finishing, hand-eye coordination and many other fundamental aspects of the game of basketball.  To view this video, please click on the following link: Fundamental Post Drills Video.

Remember, let the Elite Basketball Training community know what you think by writing in the comments sections below.

Also, Elite Basketball Training and Elite Sports Performance has many basketball skill development and sports performance training programs available right now at the newly renovated New Jersey Sports Academy in Edison.  Please contact me for more information. 

See you on the court!
Rich Stoner, USAW

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Now, back to my original story.  I was at Fordham and I got into what an important basketball skill development discussion with close friend of mine, Phyllis Mangina (the former Seton Hall women’s basketball coach).  We were talking about skill development in general and then we got into finishing around the basket and how it is a major weakness in many players’ games.  We determined that the inability to finish is a result of two factors: fear of contact and footwork, and since that time, I have been thinking about this conversation and have determined that one is a direct result of the other.

Simply put, players worry too much about contact.  Watching countless games, I have come to the realization that as players drive to the basket they are trying to shy away from it.  Consequently, they are missing more shots around the rim than they should be.  As a player drives to the basket and tries to avoid contact they are actually putting themselves in an off balance position.  This off balance position makes what was once a makeable shot into one that is significantly more difficult to make.  As a result layups are missed because of the increased difficulty of the shot due to the off balance nature of the player.  

The lack of balance caused by the player’s determination to avoid contact is where the connection is to the second issue, footwork.  During our conversation, Coach Mangina brought up the fact that finishing around the rim needs to be built from the ground up.  In other words, footwork is the key.  As the player drives to the basket and approach the point at which they are going to finish, they must have their feet underneath them. Having their feet underneath them will give them a solid base and good balance and enable them to explode from their low position and finish at their highest point.  Proper footwork and balance can only be achieve if the player is not worried about getting hit and trying to avoid contact. 

Footwork is a facet of the game that needs to be developed and worked on daily.  Players should work on a variety of finishing moves around the rim all with the focus on having their feet in a solid position underneath them.  It would also help if a coach, trainer, or friend had a blocking pad that they could use to by physical with the player.  This will force the player to get used to finishing with proper footwork and through contact.

Please let the Elite Basketball Training community know your thoughts on finishing around the rim by speaking up in the comments section below.  And remember, we have a variety of skill development and sports performance based programs that are available at the new New Jersey Sports Academy so feel free to email me with any questions. 

See you on the court!

Rich Stoner, USAW

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Knowing how to win Butler style is five players being in a defensive stance for 35 seconds on every posession.  If is five players making the player that they are guarding catch the ball going away from the basket. It is five players boxing out when the shot goes up, every time.  It is five players cutting hard on offense.  It is five players working to get the best shot, from the best player, at the right time.  It is never giving up on any single play or at any point in the game.  These are the little things that make a big difference and the Butler players and coaches know that.  That is why they are able to win in March and April.  It is not because they have an overwhelming amount of talented players. Sure Shelvin Mack is a future pro and Gordon Hayward is a current pro, and Matt Howard might play somewhere, but this is not Kentucky where five players get drafted after one season of college basketball. This is Butler. Take a look around and see how many major programs have accomplished what the Butler Bulldogs (a mid-major) have done in the last two years.  Not many.  Why? Butler, “knows how to win,” with a recipe of many little ingredients that add up to one giant accomplishment each year.

Let me know your thoughts on the Butler Bulldogs and their March to a possible title in the comments section below. 

See you on the court!

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

In the meantime, I wanted to get you a quick post on a drill that I like to use at the end of a workout.  I particularly like to use it for post players but it can be used for any type of player.  The drill is called make Five in a Row.  For this drill, the player should flash to the short corner and shoot a jumper.  If the ball goes in the basket, it counts towards the five in a row. If the shot misses, the player must rebound the ball before it bounces and score for it to count towards the five in a row.  Once the player misses, they restart at zero for that spot.  This process is then repeated at the foul line and the opposite short corner. 

This drill is great because it put pressure on the player to make shots, but also hustle after a rebound on a miss and concentrate on the follow up.  Here is a video sample of the drill in action =>  Five in a Row Drill

 I apologize for not having the video right in the post.  For some reason, I am having some technical difficulties embedding it.

As always, let us know what drills you guys are doing at home and whether or not you like this one. 

See you on the court!

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Free throws are shots that should be so simple, but they give so many players, even good ones, a hard time.   This difficulty increases exponentially in late game situations.  A perfect example of this was the same game the other night my opponent’s best player missed at least five free throws down the stretch.  Missing free throws in late game situations is not a physical mistake, it is a mental mistake.  It has nothing to do with him being a good or bad shooter (he had made his free throws up until that point).  Practicing free throws are a necessity especially when developing and training for basketball, but with late game free throw shooting, it becomes about consistency and focus.  It is about taking a deep breath and visualizing the basketball going in the net. It is about blocking out your surroundings and ensuring that your focus as a basketball player is on that rim and making that particular free throw. 

So why did my freshman basketball player make those two clutch free throws in such a crucial situation of the basketball game?  Simple, he was mentally focussed.  It was the same situation that he had been practicing for years at the park or in his driveway.  It was him, the rim, and no one else…swish.

As always, let us know your thoughts on free throw shooting and any other aspects of the game that you find players making mental mistakes by writing in the comments section below.

See you on the court.

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC

Just curious, where do we stick our big kids when they are young?  Under the basket.  What do we tell them when they get a defensive rebound?  Don’t dribble, give it to a guard. 

Honestly, is there any reason we should wonder why our players do not posess all three fundamental skills?

This is just one of a few topics that Stan Van Gundy touches upon in the video which is based on his experience coaching his son and daughter in their youth basketball leagues.  Trust me, you will not want to miss this…it is eye opening.

To view the video, click here : Stan Van Gundy – Expectation to Win

As always, let us all know your thoughts on this topic by posting a comment in the comments section below.  Thanks.

See you on the court.

Rich Stoner

Elite Basketball Training, LLC