Make Your Haters Your Motivators

Ever had someone put you down?  People tell you that you are not a very good player?  How did you respond?  Did you get into a verbal confrontation?  Did you start to believe the things that they said?

You are not alone.  Some of the best basketball players in history had people who doubted their ability.  Michael Jordan is a prime example.  If you will recall Michael Jordan’s Hall of Fame Induction speech, he spoke about people who aided in fueling his success.  He called it putting a log on the fire.   He had lots of people during the course of his life that added logs to his fire. 

Coach Godwill in his video, HATERS = MOTIVATORS speaks on the topic also.  He makes a great point in that there will always be people who will strive to put you down.  The key is how you respond.  Do you cave under the criticism, or do you use it to fuel your success?  You must be mentally tough to play sports.

In turning the criticism or pessimism into motivation that will fuel your success, you have to do one thing.  As Coach Godwill states start looking at things from the standpoint of “must do” vs. “should do”.   As an example, I must get in the gym and workout, verses I should get in the gym today to workout.  I must push myself during my workout.  When someone says that you aren’t a very good ball handler, how should you respond?  You should say to yourself, I must work on my ball handling to make sure my ball handling skills are strong.  Everything should be looked at from the standpoint of I “must do”.

All great athletes have something that motivates them to be the best that they can be.  If you have haters that are putting you down, and trying to get in your head, use them as your motivation.

Make your Haters Your Motivation! Be the best you can be.

2011-12 3A State Runner-Up

2011-12 Class 4A - 4th Place

Boys Junior High Basketball in Chicago’s South Suburbs Gearing Up

The south suburbs of Chicago is gearing up for another exciting season of junior high basketball.  The south suburbs are home to some great basketball talent.  They have produced some top talent, the likes of NBA players Eddie Currie and Julian Wright in recent years.   The high schools such as Bloom Township, Homewood-Flossmoor, Hillcrest, and Thornton have rich basketball traditions, and loads of talent.  The junior high schools that feed these programs have done a solid job. 

This season’s entry of Flossmoor’s Parker Junior High into the state tournament mix at 4A should make the competition much stiffer for teams wishing to make the trip downstate.   Last season saw Country Club Hills’ Southwood 7^th grade team making the trip downstate and taking 4^rd place in the 4A Class.  In the 3A Class, McKinnley Junior High in South Holland was the State Runner-up, and should be the favorite to make the trip again this season in 3A.

The 8^th grade teams to watch this season:

McKinnley Junior High – As the Returning State Runner-up  they will once again be the team to watch in the 3A Class.

Southwood Middle School – Southwood of Country Club Hills will be a team to watch.  They return a talented group of players.

Parker Junior High – Parker’s 8^th grade team is expected to be a fierce competitor to make the trip downstate.  Even though they did not play in the tournament last season they ended the year with only two losses.

Colin Powell – Colin Powell of Matteson has become a formidable opponent.  Last season the team played great team basketball and finished the season with a 10-2 record.

Forest Trails – Forest Trails in Park Forest is a consistent force.  Their 8^th grade team should be a strong contender again this season.  They ended last season with a 10-3 record.

James Hart Junior High – James Hart from Homewood, should be a contender this season.  Hart played well the in their final games, and should have gone deeper into the tournament last season.

Washington Junior High – Washington from Chicago Heights had a strong team last season.   They lost last season in the Finals of the Sectional to Southwood. 

When Transferring High Schools can Backfire

You are a standout basketball player that has aspirations of playing Division I basketball.  The challenge is that the high school that you go to isn’t well known.  So you think about transferring into another one to get greater basketball exposure.    Unfortunately, I think this happens all across the country.  Kids selecting high schools for athlete purposes over academics, however that is a topic for another article.  This article is about transferring from a lesser known school, to another school to boost exposure.

Just last week a promising point guard Jaylon Tate announced that he was committing to the University of Illinois.  You may want to know what does this have to do with the topic.  Everything…Jaylon Tate is an outstanding point guard.  He began his high school career at St. Francis De Lasalle in Chicago.  A Catholic college prep high school located in Chicago. 

While at De Lasalle, Jaylon Tate played Varsity his first two years and was attracting recruiting attention from some high-majors, while being ranked as one of the top 150 players.  He then made the decision to transfer prior to his Junior year, to well known Simeon High School.  Simeon, a Chicago powerhouse, is known for producing top Division I basketball players.  Simeon is a four time State Champion, plays a national schedule, and produced Derrick Rose, Nick Anderson, and a laundry list of Division I players.  It is also the high school for two other top 100 basketball players, Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn.  It makes logical sense as to why a top point guard would want to transfer in to play at Simeon.  Playing at Simeon will help increase the interest among high majors, right?

Jaylon Tate transferred in and went from being the starting point guard at De Lasalle to the sixth man at Simeon.  His playing time was reduced, and as a result he fell off the radars of many high major programs.  The transfer was a move that hurt his recruiting status.  It appears the move which was thought to increase the interest in him, actually did the opposite.  Smith the head coach of Simeon is quoted by Scott Powers of ESPNChicago as saying…

"I think last year coming off the bench and not playing many minutes kind of knocked him out of the radar.”

The happy ending of the story, is that Jaylon was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Illinois.   He worked extremely hard to get himself recognized again.  He played extremely well in the State tournament which helped.  However, not everyone is going to be this fortunate.  Tate went from receiving interest from high majors, to only gaining the interest of mid-majors.

You may be saying, okay, mid-majors isn’t bad.  No, it’s not, but here is the point.  Here is a kid who while playing at a lesser known school his Freshman and Sophmore year was ranked among the top 150 players, and received interest from high majors.  Went to a more popular school, lost playing time, and fell to become  a mid-major prospect, and had to work back to earn the scholarship at a high major.

Think about how things would have been had he not transferred, and had spent his last season blossoming under the system that he had learned for two years.  Instead of having to learn a whole new system, and dealing with having to move up the depth chart.

I think that people hear about the happy endings of transfers, and do not realize that there is another side, that may not be as well publicized.  Parents and players, let this be a warning.  Transferring into a well known high school to boost your interest, may not be the best move.   What hurt Tate was playing time, having to come off the bench.  It is better to start on a lesser known team, then to be a reserve on a better team.

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Guard Your Brand!

What is meant by “Guard Your Brand”? “ Guard Your Brand”, means protect your image or name.  I was watching a video by Coach Koren Godwin on “Twitter Rules”.  He actually mentioned the phrase in the video.  It brought back memories of a poem that my mother gave me when I was a young teenager.  The poem was about protecting your name, last name.  It went on to say how precious our name is, and that our fathers gave it to us at birth, and how it was clean when we received it. The poem spoke of how we should do things that protect and keep our name clean.  In the end the most important point is that once you stain your name, it is stained forever.  Your name is one thing that is hard to get clean once you have tarnished it.

Coach Koren Godwin’s video which you can watch here, speaks to the importance of being careful about what is placed on the Twitter and Facebook page of a young athlete.  He goes through the story of a high school student who contacted him regarding getting recruited.   I won’t go into detail, as I will let you watch the video.  Coach Godwin explains that the NCAA has recently modified its rules allowing coaches unlimited use of social media.   As he states that everything you say will stay with you now.   In the end Coach Godwin gives two rules:

1. Do not say anything derogatory on twitter or facebook if you ever hope to be recruited.
2. Guard your Brand!

It is funny, but a company will fiercely protect their brand or image.  They want to make sure that no one does anything to tarnish it.  Companies will fire employees, and sue people, and other companies to protect their company name.  We as human beings need to take that same approach, and guard our brand.  Our brand is our name.  The actions we take, the things we say, and unfortunately the company we keep, can all hurt our brand. 

As an athlete looking to someday obtain a scholarship, using social media the wrong way can ruin your chances.  Scholarships are an investment.  Recruiting a player with character issues, can be a career ending decision for a coach.   Coach Godwin gives the suggestion, as I do.  Use your name on Facebook and Twitter for recruiting purposes ONLY.  Be careful about who you friend on Facebook, and who you follow on Twitter.  Your name can be tarnished by the company you keep.

Remember, Guard Your Brand!

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Can a Highlight Video Hurt My Recruiting?

Highlight videos are an extremely vital part of the recruitment process.  The video is your first impression with a coach, and can be the determining factor in whether a coach elects to come watch you play live, or not.  It is therefore, vital that your highlights cast you in the best light.  Remember, coaches study film, and break down plays and players all the time.  When they watch your video, they are going to do the same thing.  They will look at your fundamentals, techniques, and athleticism in determining whether to invest in watching you play live.

What drew my attention to this topic was a football highlight video that I happened to watch on the site of a company offering to create video highlights.  There were at least three plays in this player’s highlight video that caught my attention.  The end result of the play was great.  The player broke up the pass in each play, however, when you look closely at the plays, his technique was poor.  In each play the player used poor technique, which led to him being out of position.  The most damaging play was a post play.  In the play the player opened up the wrong way, and the quarterback placed the ball poorly, allowing him to recover and knock the ball away.  This play was not a highlight play, yet was part of the players highlight video.   

When you select your plays for your highlight video, be critical.  Look at the play, and make sure you did things fundamentally sound.  Ask yourself, if there is anything that could cause a coach to question your ability to play for them.   Make sure all your highlights are not of a similar type of play.  Are all your plays offensive plays, which may give the impression that you do not play defense, or that defense may be a weakness for you.  Do all your plays show you bringing the ball up, making a move on your defender, and knocking down a jump shot?  A coach may think you are a selfish player, that doesn’t involve his team mates.    Are all your jump shots wide open uncontested jump shots, which may lead a coach to question your ability to shoot coming off a screen with a players hand in your face.

Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.     Your video is your audition, make sure it tells what you are about.

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Should my Son/Daughter play Recreational or Travel Basketball?

Should a youth player play in a recreation league or focus on playing travel basketball.  If there is a choice between one, or the other, a player should always play where they are going to be challenged, but not playing over their head. 

The key to player development is court time outside of practice.  Game situations are where a player develops their basketball IQ.   It is in the game where a player must make split second decisions.  Games are where they must put all the drills into practice.  That being said, if your son/daughter is not getting much playing time, they aren’t being tested.  If the players in the travel league are much more developed, and your son/daughter isn’t getting much time on the floor, then your child should play recreational basketball until their skills reach the level to enable them to compete at a travel level. 

The concern that I have with recreational programs is that some of them have rules designed to help developing players participate, and enjoy the game.  If your son/daughter is going to play recreational basketball, you should make sure that the rules used in the recreational league are age appropriate.  The other concern is practice time.  Recreational programs practice once a week for maybe an hour or ninety minutes.  Travel teams play competitively, and therefore should practice much more frequently.  A travel team that develops kids abilities, will practice two to three times a week for two hours each.

If your son/daughter can play both recreational and travel, I would suggest allowing them to do it, unless they clearly are superior to the kids in the recreational league.  By playing in the recreational league, your son/daughter can have fun, play with their school friends, which I think is good for young players.   Travel basketball can unfortunately be too competitive.  For a young player, having a game where they can just enjoy themselves, can be very beneficial.

There really isn’t a right or wrong answer.  The decision should always be dependent on what is in the best interest of your son/daughter’s development.

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Hard Work Will Keep You at the Top

Young players don’t take your talent for granted.  Continue to work hard, or you face losing what you have gained.  I recently read a quote by Michael Jordan, which I think is something that every young player that wants to be at the top of their game should have above their bed.  He tweeted:

Talent may get you to the top, but hard work will keep you there. #MJ23

— Michael Jordan (@Official_MJ23) October 1, 2012

I don’t think that Michael is the first to say this, but what he says is so true.  It is very easy for young players to have early success, because of God given talent.  However, they stop working.  They skip practices, do not work on their weaknesses, and before you know it, they fall from their top spot.

Similar to the Parable of Talents, where the servants who put their talents to use, gained more, but the servant who didn’t put his talent to work, had what was given to him taken away.

Don’t lose what you are given, continue to work hard, because hard work is the only thing that will keep you on top.

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Reclassifying Kids

Reclassifying kids has become a debated topic, because the trend is not just found in athletics.  A short time ago 60 Minutes aired a story on the subject entitled “Redshirting: Holding kids back from kindergarten.”  In the segment they were discussing the practice of holding children out of school for a year to give them an advantage.    I came across the question of “reclassifying” recently in a basketball forum, and decided that I would write about the subject and give my opinion. 

Reclassifying a student solely for athletic purposes, and what families are doing with kids from an educational standpoint is somewhat different.  With the 60 Minutes story the parents are making the decision early, they are deciding during preschool whether to hold the child out a year, “Reshirt”, or start them at age 5.  The reasons given are that the parents want the child to get an advantage by being one of the older kids in their class, as opposed to being one of the youngest.   It seems there are studies that show older kids within a grade demonstrate greater leadership qualities, they tend to do better academically, and physically they are more developed, so they may have an advantage in athletics.

There are also the parents that are reclassifying their kids for the purpose of athletics.  Once the parents realize that their child has some athletic potential, but maybe not the best in their respective class, they are having the child repeat a grade.   The intention is to have the child appear athletically more developed then they really are. 

Kids develop emotionally, academically, and physically at different rates.  Evaluating your child when going into kindergarten to determine if another year of preschool would better prepare the child to start school, I think is a great decision.  Conversely, to have your child repeat a grade, solely for none academic reasons, I believe is not a good decision.  As parents we have to balance our desire for our children to do well academically, with that of athletically.   Actually, academics should weigh heavier than athletics, since as an athlete your child is always one injury away from not being able to ever compete again.  Academics last a lifetime.

I believe that as a parent you should always do what is in the child’s best interest from an academic standpoint.   If you find that your child is not mentally and educationally not ready to move to the next grade, and it just so happens that the child would benefit athletically, then holding your child back a year, may be a good decision.  I just suggest that you consult with your child’s school and even doctor, to make sure holding your child back is the right move to make.

Voice your opinion on the subject.

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The South Suburban Junior High Association Kicks off Girl’s Basketball Season

Monday October 1^st kicks off the 2012-13 Junior High basketball season for Girl’s Basketball in the Chicagoland area.    The start of the season has the following matchups.

Teams	Location	Time
Crete-Monee vs. Forest Trail	Crete-Monee	3:30 (8th grade)
Lansing Memorial vs. Parker	Memorial	3:30 (7th grade)
Collin Powell vs. Huth	Collin Powell	3:30 (7th grade)
Columbia vs. Washington	Columbia	3:30 (7th grade)
Brookwood vs. Hart	Hart	3:30 (7th grade)

Selecting a Travel Basketball Team

Selecting a travel basketball team for your son/daughter to play on is an important decision.   Selecting the wrong team can lead to your son/daughter not enjoying the season, and you being frustrated.  The most important factor to consider is your son/daughter’s DEVELOPMENT.    

“Development” meaning, working on the skills that the player is having trouble with, or wants to get stronger in.  Development is performing drills, and applying them in game situations.  If your player isn’t seeing much playing time, then it will be difficult to see the skills being applied in game-time  situations.

That being said, here are the areas which you should be focused on when evaluating a program:

Coach’s Philosophy – this is probably the most important thing to evaluate.  Because everything surrounding the team will come back to the coaches’ belief system.  If the coach has a win at all cost philosophy, the decisions that they will make will be based on that.  The best philosophy for a youth basketball coach to have is one that places an importance on winning, but a belief that strong fundamentals will lead to wins.  Under this belief system, a coach will stress fundamental development over winning, because they believe that by playing fundamental sound basketball, the team will win.  

Style of Play – when you speak with the coach, try to get an understanding of the style of play that they prefer.  It is good for a player to be well rounded, and to be introduced into multiple styles and system.   They should be able to play in a pressure filled transition style system, or half court focused system.  However, you want to make sure that your  son/daughter is going to be happy if the coach prefers to have their players get into more a half-court game most of the time, when your player loves a fast-paced  transition game, or vice versa.   You will also want to find out the type of offense that will be taught.  Is it an offensive system that stresses fundamental aspects of the game such as screens, cuts, pick-and roll, etc.  It does your son/daughter no good to spend their summers playing travel basketball, only to get to high and not know how to run a pick-in-roll, or set a screen.

Practice format – A good well rounded practice will work on conditioning, skills development, and plays.   Not every practice will include all these components.  For example, a coach who holds practice three days a week, may do more conditioning work the first two days, and less on the third, especially the day before a game or tournament.  Then fewer skills development and plays, on the first day, increasing on the second, and more on the third.  The net-net is that a solid program has practices that work on all three of the above-mentioned  aspects.    Be careful of teams that expect a player to practice skills development outside of practice exclusively.    

Playing Time – this is going to be determined by the coach’s philosophy.   I recommend asking the coach to outline their philosophy on playing time, and do they believe that everyone should play in all games.   I recommend avoiding teams that do not play players during games, especially if you are paying for the tournament.  In youth basketball, there is no place for not allowing a player to play in a game.   If you are evaluating a team where your son/daughter’s potential team mates are clearly more developed, then yours. I would find another team that is a better fit for your son/daughter.  If a team has been together for a while, and your player is coming in, you may want to evaluate how much playing time your son/daughter is going to get.

Tournaments/League Quality – Tournaments and leagues offer a variety of levels of play.  They range from developing to highly competitive.  You should evaluate the level of play that the team will be participating, in comparison to your son/daughters talent level.  You always want your son/daughter to be challenged, but being over matched is different.  If your son/daughter’s team mates are much further developed, then your son/daughter, you should think twice about putting them on the team.  As the coach enters the team in tournaments to stretch their abilities, your son/daughter is going to be clearly over matches, and not able to compete.

Finding the right coach, and team is vital.  Do your research.   You may not find the perfect situation, but strive to find one close to it.

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