Alan Stein's Blog

Thoughts from Alan - Nike Trip To Brazil

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:49:24 GMT

Nike Trip to Brazil

This has been an amazing summer. From the CP3 Elite Backcourt Camp to the Paul Pierce, Steve Nash, and LeBron James Nike Skills Academies to Jamaica’s JBD Camp, this summer has been one of the most rewarding of my professional career and certainly one I will never forget. But it sure went by fast! And what better way to wrap up this whirlwind of extraordinary events than to travel to Brazil for 10 days with an elite Nike travel team, composed of several of the nation’s top high school players.

Every once in a while, it hits me like a ton of bricks, how fortunate I am to do what I do for living. I mean, this is my job! I live and breath strength training and conditioning, have a burning passion for working with athletes, and have always felt basketball is the greatest sport on the planet. And I get paid to combine all three. Wow. I do my best to not take this for granted. I am very thankful to make a good living doing what I love as well as for all of the remarkable opportunities I have had. Basketball has done a lot for me. It has given me lifelong friends. It has paid for my college. It has helped me meet some of the best players and coaches in history. It has taken me around the world and given me experiences I would have never had otherwise. I am proof that this game can be a vehicle for you to go where ever you want in life. You don’t have to be a pro basketball player for basketball to make your dreams come true. However, always make sure you use basketball, don’t let it use you!

Nike, the undisputed king of elite youth basketball, understands the importance of globalizing the sport and of giving deserving players a very unique, international experience. That is why they initiated this trip to Brazil. Two years ago I went to France on a similar trip. You know who was on that roster? Thaddeus Young (NBA), Javaris Crittenton (NBA), Brook and Robin Lopez (NBA), Chase Budinger (Arizona), Nick Calathes (Florida), Nic Wise (Arizona), Jeff Allen (Virginia Tech), and Jeff Jones (Virginia) – all current and (probable) future NBA players. That should give you some good insight to how Nike predicts this group will turn out: Xavier Henry, Avery Bradley, Keith “Tiny” Gallon, Milton Jennings, Tommy Mason-Griffin, Daniel Orton, Alex Oriakhi, Phil Pressey, and Jamal Coombs-McDaniel. Print this roster and save it, as all of these kids are major Division I prospects and a few of them are sure fire future superstars!

The head coach was Raphael Chillious, one of the nation’s former top prep coaches at South Kent Prep (now works for Nike Basketball) and former standout point guard at Layfayette and professional player overseas. He was assisted my Wyking Jones (also of Nike Basketball) who played at Loyola Marymount as well as overseas. Per my normal job description, I was the team’s strength & conditioning coach. The trip’s liaison was Fabio Malavazzi, a former legendary Brazilian pro player and commentator for ESPN Deportes. Fabio is an incredible man and ensured we got a true taste of Brazil. I can’t say enough good things about Chills, the King, and Fabio, as these three guys represent everything that is right about youth basketball and have a huge impact over the players they work with.

The trip began when we all flew to New York on Thursday August 14^th and then, as a group, flew from New York to Sau Paulo, Brazil the evening of Friday August 15^th. We flew overnight, which helped ease the 9+ hour flight as almost everyone got a little bit of sleep, although getting comfortable on an airplane when you are over 6’ 6” is not easy.

Saturday, August 16^th
Our flight was delayed two hours because of weather, so we arrived late Saturday morning in Sau Paulo and missed our connection to Belo Horizante. The next flight wasn’t until 1:00pm so we ate lunch at the Sau Paulo airport at an SP Burger, a Brazilian fast food joint. Immediately we could tell how difficult this trip would have been without Fabio, as very few people in Brazil speak English very well (Portuguese is the primary language). It was funny trying to communicate with the folks who spoke Portuguese, as all of us did the same thing over and over – spoke very s-l-o-w-l-y as if that would help them understand. It didn’t matter how slowly we spoke, they didn’t get it!

We finally caught our flight and went straight to the Hotel San Diego, a very nice hotel. Everything in the hotel seemed “American” except you had to use your room key to access your room’s electricity. Once you opened the door there was a slot next to the light switch where you had to put your key in order to access any lights, TV, or air conditioning. It only took me 30 minutes to figure this out! I would have called the front desk to ask after flipping switches on and off with no result for about 5 minutes, but they didn’t speak English either! Once we got unpacked we took a chartered bus to the Minas Tenis Club for practice. This club was ginormous! It is the world’s largest health/country club with over 70,000 members! It was like a college campus. There were games being played in the arena so we practiced in one of the side gyms. Since we only had nine players, I got to lace up and play, which is always a thrill for me. Here I am, in my early thirties, getting a chance to run hoop with future NBA stars, like a fantasy camp. Are you serious, this is my job?!? Practice was OK, the guys played hard, but you could tell the 24 hours of straight travel took its toll on them. After practice we headed back to the hotel to eat dinner. Here I was introduced to my new favorite drink, Gaulana. I am not a soda guy at all, but this stuff was good! I think I drank it at every meal.

Sunday, August 17^th
After a nice buffet breakfast we headed back to the arena to play our first game against Fluminense FC (from Brasilia) at 10:00am. Their team played hard, but was severely outmatched at every position, as we cruised to an easy 70 point win. Xavier Henry, our all around best player, had 29 points and scored at ease from all over the court. We were playing international rules and the 24 second shot clock kept the game moving at a fast pace. After the game we went out to the outdoor pool to hang out. Despite being winter in Brazil, it was 80 degrees without a cloud in the sky. Absolutely perfect weather. The pool area was packed! The only place I have seen a pool more packed was the Rehab pool party at the Hard Rock in Vegas. The kids had fun trying to spit game to the girls, which was almost impossible given the language barrier. All the girls could do was smile and giggle. But at least our guys tried. After the pool we went to a famous Brazilian Barbeque, Porcau, which had some of the best food I have ever had in my life. In addition to a 5 star buffet, waiters came to the table every few minutes with a different meat on an iron skewer which they would hand slice on to your plate. They had chicken, lamb, and every type of beef/sirloin you could imagine… all marinated, salted, and cooked to perfection. After lunch we headed back to the hotel for a much needed nap. We then got the guys up and took them to a local dance club so they could see some Brazilian nightlife. It was definitely different than the clubs in the US, as they played Brazilian music all night long and everyone (except for us) put Dancing with the Stars to shame! Our guys continued to try to mack on the ladies to no avail. At least they were persistent.

Monday, August 18^th
After breakfast we took a bus ride to a local orphanage to play with the kids. This, as expected, was extremely rewarding, not only for the foster kids, but for our group as well. Seeing kids with no families is heartbreaking and reminded us how lucky we are. We had an absolute blast and the kids were thrilled. They did a few local dances for us and gave us each a homemade “arts and crafts” present. Later in the day we held our first coaching clinic for club and pro coaches in Belo Horizante. There were numerous coaches in attendance and our drills were very well received. I have been speaking at clinics across the country for years now, but it was a new experience for me having to be translated as I spoke. I would basically tell the team of demonstrators what I wanted them to do and why it was important and then Fabio would translate into Portuguese. The kids who demonstrated did a phenomenal job. I was swarmed by players and coaches when it was done and gave out 40 business cards in less than 60 seconds! As soon as the clinic was over it was game time. We played the Minas Tenis Club’s team. They were much better than the team we played the previous night. They had an incredible 16 year old point guard who could do it all. He was a great leader, had the ball on a string, saw every play one pass ahead, and got everyone on his team involved. I would love to see this kid play in the US, and I am sure I will, as he will most certainly end up on a major college program’s roster. Our guys started off slow, but then cruised to a 40 point win. Avery Bradley played well on both ends and ended with 29 points. Both Coach Chills and I knew our guys were going to come out slow as they were kind of goofing around in warm-ups. We told them after the game, it is not who you play, it is how you play and a real professional prepares the same way for every opponent.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Today was an easy day, a day off from practice and games, so we took a day trip to Oura Puerta (historic area of Brazil) and got to see a famous church and museum. The best part of the trip was listening to the kids freestyle and rip on each other in fun, which if you know high school kids, is just a part of their culture. One of our players told another player his “feet looked like he played soccer with hot rocks when he was younger” to which he shot back “yeah? your breath smells like the inside of Bernard Hopkins’ boxing gloves.” This stuff went on the entire trip and was absolutely hilarious!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008
We woke up pretty early and caught a 10:00am flight to Sau Paulo. It was a short and easy flight. We had an hour bus ride to the Hotel Atlantica and got to see a lot of the city. Belo Horizante has about 4 million citizens and Sau Paulo close to 21 million (making it the second largest city in the world, behind Mexico City). To compare, Sau Paulo has twice as many people as New York City! The Hotel Atlantica was big time! We ate a magnificent buffet lunch when we arrived and then had several hours of free time. The outdoor pool, where I chose to hang out, was gorgeous. Around 3pm, Anderson Varejao, a Brazilian native and player for the Cleveland Cavaliers joined us with Lloyd Pierce, the Cavs Director of Player Development. At night we went to a professional soccer game and saw the pro team from Sau Paulo win 3-1. The stadium held 78,000 and was the size of most US football stadiums. Soccer in Brazil is religion and their players are national icons. Professional soccer is played year round. Can you imagine if pro football or basketball was played in all 12 months?

Thursday, August 21, 2008
Today we visited another orphanage. This one was much larger and was kind of a combo school – recreation center – orphanage. There were hundreds of kids, mostly elementary school age. We walked from classroom to classroom to say hello and then spent most of our time out in the courtyard playing with the kids and signing autographs. The kids went crazy for autographs. We were signing hats, shirts, and even arms! I laugh when I say “we”, because for some reason these kids wanted my autograph too! I signed well over a hundred autographs. It felt cool to be a rock star, even if only for an hour, and even if they were young kids who didn’t speak a lick of English! We had the rest of the afternoon off and then headed to our game against Pinheiros Club. Again, our guys came out sluggish, which was to be expected after two days off from playing, practicing, or even shooting. Our guys played hard and won by 30. Avery Bradley had 21 and Keith “Tiny” Gallon was unstoppable in the post and finished with 20. One thing to keep in mind is that our group is a hand selected team of All American caliber talent. Each of these guys is used to dropping 30 or 40 points any given night, so it is normal to have some chemistry issues when we were playing against teams that have played together year round. Overall, our guys did a great job. I also forgot to mention that because things can get pretty hectic in Sau Paulo, and we are traveling with high school age kids (and an NBA player), Nike hired two full time security guards to escort us everywhere we go. That is just another example of how Nike Basketball does things right and spares no expense for its players!

Friday, August 22, 2008
We had off all morning so we got to watch USA beat Argentina in the Olympic semifinals. At 4:30pm was our game against Athletic Paulistano. They were by far the best team we had faced. We were down at halftime after another slow start, but got fired up after Coach Chills’ halftime speech, and ended up winning by 14. Avery Bradley continued his stellar offensive consistency and led the team with 25 points. Xavier Henry, who was ranked by ESPN as the #1 player in the nation earlier in the week, finished with 23, including 5 three pointers. Phil Pressey was a defensive menace and pressured the ball 94 feet, all night long. We ended the trip 4-0 and got contributions from everyone.

While we all had an amazing time in Brazil, a once in a lifetime experience, I think everyone was ready to head home. Many of these kids have only slept in their own beds a handful of times since mid June, having gone from the NBPA Top 100 Camp to Position Skills Academy to LeBron James Skills Academy to Peach Jam to either Orlando or Vegas to the Global Challenge to Brazil. And most of them start school Monday! Oh well, the price of fame I guess.

I certainly enjoyed this trip and want to thank Nike Basketball for giving me this opportunity. I also want to thank Coach Chills, the King, and Fabio for all of their efforts. I really had a blast talking hoops, talking about life, and really getting to know those guys.

If you would like to contact me about this blog, my MVP Vertical Jump Training DVD, my training and/or camps and clinics, please email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com. I will respond as quickly as possible!

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein, CCS, CSCS

Vertical Jump Expert

Products - New DVD's for Fall 2008

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:58:25 GMT

This past week I just finished filming two brand new DVD's with Championship Productions:

101 Pro Power Core, Strength, and Plyometric Drills
and
101 Pro Power Speed, Agility, and Quickness Drills

Both of these DVD's have over a hundred quality drills and exercises and are a must for any basketball coach!

I will keep you posted on their actual release date.

Alan

Thoughts from Alan - Quick Update

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:55:45 GMT

I know it has been a while since my last entry, so I wanted to drop a quick line to stay in touch. Summer is flying by!

For the past few weeks I have been doing what I do towards the end of every summer… going through countless training DVD’s, notes, books, websites, and college/pro training manuals and refreshing (and reminding) myself of quality drills and exercises to implement this up coming pre-season with the players and teams I work with. While I certainly love to pick up new tricks, it is just as satisfying to be reminded of some old tricks that still work well that I haven’t used in a while. The term “oldie but goodie” definitely rings true. I take my professional development very seriously and am always trying to learn new stuff – coaching techniques, drills, exercises, modalities, etc. As long as a drill or exercises can be done safely, efficiently, and progressively and it makes my players better… I USE IT!

On a scheduling note, I leave this Thursday for Sao Paulo, Brazil with a team of Nike all star players and coaches, many of whom I got the opportunity to work with this summer at the Nike Skills Academies. We are going to Brazil for 10 days to work out, play 5-6 games, and put on clinics for area players and coaches. It promises to be an amazing experience!

When I get back I will make sure to check in with the details of the trip as well as give an end of summer wrap up. I will also give you a behind the scenes preview of the fall and winter, as there are a lot of really exciting things going on, not only with me, but with basketball in general.

For now, enjoy the Olympics (go USA!) and take advantage of your last couple of weeks of summer.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein, CCS, CSCS

Vertical Jump Expert

Thoughts from Alan - Jamaica Basketball Camp

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:34:45 GMT

Jamaican Basketball Camp

I have been writing a regular blog for quite some time now, and this is by far my most meaningful entry. I have been so fortunate in my career to work with some great players (Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, and Ty Lawson); great programs (Montrose Christian HS), and work some amazing events (Jordan All American Classic, McDonald’s All American game, Kobe Bryant/Amare Stoudamire/Steve Nash/Paul Pierce/LeBron James Nike Skills Academies). And while all of those experiences were unique, fun, and remarkable in their own way, my recent trip to Jamaica was a life changing experience.

Two years ago at the Jordan All American Classic I was introduced to Stephen Johnston, the legal guardian of Jamaican native and future NBA superstar Samardo Samuels. He told me all about this camp he helps run in Jamaica every summer and we started to plot a way I could get involved.

Long story short, over a year later, I boarded a plane to Kingston Jamaica to volunteer to work the 8th annual Star Search Basketball & Life Skills Development Camp held at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education & Sports in St. Catherine, Jamaica.

The camp was incredible and my time there and interaction with the kids was not only humbling, but helped me refresh a whole new perspective on life. The hotel I stayed at was almost 45 minutes from the gym, so I got to see plenty of landscape on my daily bus ride to and from. I will never forget what I saw.

I have never seen poverty like I saw there. Most houses were nothing more than four pieces of upright sheet metal with a plywood roof and several cinder blocks holding it down. I saw kids playing soccer, barefoot, on dirt fields, kicking around a make shift ball. There were dogs, cats, and goats walking around everywhere. At the gym, which had no A/C, one kid showed up on the first day with a pair of beat up dress shoes and no socks. That is what was going to play in. There were almost 180 kids in the camp (biggest turn-out ever), but only two courts and six baskets. 4 of the 6 baskets were nothing more than a square piece of plywood with a rim nailed to it. The floor had more dead spots than a cemetery. The campers got up at 5am every morning (yes, 5am) and ended their day at 9pm. Now that is a full day of camp! Despite the long days, the oppressively hot conditions in the gym, the kids had an energy, an enthusiasm, and an overall appreciation that was downright palpable. The kids there seemed more appreciative of the 1% they have than most kids in my area are of the 99% they have. Seriously, how many kids in the US today would go to a camp with no A/C? How many would even consider getting up at 5am? Not many that I know of.

In addition to the folks of the JBD (Jamaica Basketball Development, Inc.) that put on the camp, Mike Minto, Gary Henry, Terry Calnek, and Stephen Johnston, the folks at Nike Basketball (Jeff Rogers, Sherman Dillard, and Tony Dorado) need to be commended for their unbelievable generosity. Nike Basketball supplied shorts, t-shirts, reversible jerseys for every camper and shoes for almost half of them. The smile on the faces of some of the underprivileged kids who just got some fresh Nike gear was priceless.

This experience made me realize how fortunate I truly am.

As far as the camp itself, I did my normal thing, opened the camp up every morning with a warm-up and dynamic flexibility session and then had my own station for agilities. The kids worked exceptionally hard and really got better as the week progressed.

This camp is making a difference. Please check out www.jamaicabasketballdevelopment.com for more info and please contact them if you want to get involved in such a worthwhile cause.

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan Stein, CCS, CSCS

Vertical Jump Expert

Thoughts from Alan - LeBron James Nike Skills Academy

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 23:19:22 GMT

Friday July 4^th

I can’t believe it is July already! Summer seems to fly by so quickly. July 4^th is best known for fireworks as well as that absolutely disgusting Nathan’s hot dog eating contest in Coney Island (anyone who refers to that as a “sport” is a moron). However, July 4^th is also the staff travel day for the LeBron James Nike US Skills Academy. I flew into Akron this morning and am staying at the Radisson right near The University of Akron where the Academy is being held. Jay Bilas (ESPN), Herman Harried (Lake Clifton), Mike Jones (DeMatha), and Kyle Manary (works with legendary John Lucas) were all on my flight so it was nice to catch up with those guys. The only thing we had today was a staff meeting, led my Academy Director Sherman Dillard of Nike Basketball. In addition to continuing to stress the mission of the Academy (make this a once in a lifetime overall experience for the nation’s best basketball players), introducing the staff (which is the best youth basketball camp staff in the world, hands down), the overall purpose of the academy was stressed several times: teach work ethic, the vital skills per position to compete in college and the NBA, and how to appreciate unselfishness and team play (learn to play effectively with 4 other guys). For the record, Nike and it’s mission and purpose at this Academy, represents what is right with youth/grassroots basketball – teaching kids how to work hard (many of them don’t know), the fundamentals of the game (many of them aren’t being taught at their high schools), and how to play the game the way it supposed to be played (team concepts, no “And 1 Mixtape” crap! I am very thankful to be a part of Nike Grassroots basketball.

Everyone agreed that keeping the intensity and energy high for every workout, for both the HS and college players, was a high priority. That is partially where I come in. As I have alluded to in my previous blog entries, my role at all of the nation’s top HS events (Jordan All American Classic, McDonalds All American game, Nike Skills Academies, etc.) is simple; get the players talking, get them moving, and get them ready to play! I am in charge of setting the tone for the workout and given the responsibility of doing what I do best – hyping kids up and getting them ready to compete. I force the kids to communicate to each other and “show each other love” while getting them warmed up through a fast paced 10 minute series of basketball specific movements (cuts, pivots, jumps, sprints, and slides) along with some dynamic flexibility exercises (lunges, straight leg march, etc.). I pack a mean punch in the 10 minutes and am usually dripping in sweat myself.

Coach Kevin Eastman (assistant with the World Champion Boston Celtics) shared a handful of great stories from this past season. Many of his stories had the same moral – the best players on his team (KG, Pierce, Allen) demanded to be coached every day, every practice. They want their coaches to be critical of their game because they know that is the only way they will continue to improve. Once the meeting adjourned we got to pick up our apparel bags, where we were outfitted with the newest, freshest LeBron James’ gear. This stuff was fresh! Word around the campfire was Lebron, Chris Paul, and OJ Mayo will be here tomorrow. We’ll see…

Saturday July 5^th

Well LeBron was here today (I will get to that in a bit) and we were told CP3 and OJ will be here tomorrow. Today was a great first day, really set the tone for an outstanding and productive academy. Tates Locke, who is been involved in high level basketball for over 40 years is always very succinct when speaking to the players. He always tells the players he only has three rules: work hard, be on time, and be honest. Those are three pretty sound rules for life as well for on the court.

The college workout was fantastic, although several high profile guys were missing because of problems with their flight. Kyle Singler (Duke), Sam Young (Pitt), and Jack McClinton (Miami) all played well. The HS workout was equally impressive, great energy and great enthusiasm. With around 80 HS kids, it is definitely harder to keep things on point, but the staff (led by Kevin Eastman and superman Ganon Baker) did an incredible job and put them through a tremendous workout. The first half of the session was a team practice and the second half was individual skill work by position. In order to keep the numbers manageable, we used two gyms (the main arena at U of Akron as well as their rec center). This ensured smaller groups at each basket so kids got up plenty of reps.

After the HS workout was the Academy Banquet, hosted by none other than King James himself. He took individual pictures with every camper and every staff member. His interaction with everyone was impressive; he is very humble and down to earth and certainly hasn’t forgotten that 6 years ago he was sitting where these kids sit now. To no surprise, Nike went above and beyond to make the banquet first class. The banquet was held in a grand ballroom at the Radisson and included a huge ice sculpture of a backboard and rim filled with tons of jumbo shrimp and crab legs. The actual dinner buffet was high end too with a delicious spread. In addition to playing highlights from the Skills Academies and last year’s LeBron Academy, the main highlight was a question and answer session with LeBron (moderated by ESPN’s Jay Bilas). LeBron was very candid and honestly answered questions about every topic imaginable; the media, his personal life, money, motivation, Olympics, off season, and his HS friends. He mentioned several times how much he loves and respects the game and that his goal is to be the best player on the court at all times, whether during practice, a drill or the NBA Finals. At the very end, to commemorate his 5 years with Nike, he was presented with a one of kind pair of Air Force One’s. They were sick!

Sunday, July 6^th

I just got back to my room after a very long day (about 12 hours in the gym). I just got finished watching the college counselors scrimmage for about an hour. Recent NBA lottery pick OJ Mayo played with the college guys and at least a dozen NBA Scouts were in attendance, so the intensity was off the charts. Guys competed and played hard. Stephen Curry (Davidson) and Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut) joined in today. It was really interesting to see the notes the NBA scouts take, only about half of which have to do with player’s basketball skills. Many of the notes have to do with effort and hustle, body language, interaction with teammates, and overall attitude.

Today was also a very productive day for the HS campers. College coaches such as Bill Self (NCAA Champs Kansas) and Coach K (Duke) were two of many big time college coaches in attendance getting a close look at the crop of 80 HS superstars. And they got to see a little of everything; position specific drill work, competitive game situation scrimmages, and regular games.

LeBron joined the earlier college camper workout and jumped in all of the drills. He was super competitive and really helped keep the workout very intense. I helped work a station with Mike Procopio (ATTACK Athletics) and basically played “dummy” defense while the guys worked on a progressive series of moves out of the triple threat. Dummy defense or not, it is amazing how strong, quick and powerful these college players are. And yet, LeBron is on an entirely different level. He is so big, so explosive, it is unbelievable. And he is a 2 guard!

Monday July 7^th

Today was a lot of fun. For the most part, it was very similar to the two previous days. The HS kids started the day off with team practice and position specific skill work. The college kids went through another brutal 2.5 hour workout. Then the HS came back from special situations and games. What made this day special was the college players playing at night, as LeBron and Chris Paul came to play. The King and CP3 teamed up with three of LeBron’s formal HS teammates. There were 3 college teams and then LeBron’s team. The winner’s stayed on court #1, loser’s moved to court #2 (so all four teams were always playing). Word definitely spread quick that the King and CP3 were in the building because the bleachers were full and folks were peeking through giant windows to catch a glimpse. Standing room only and well over a dozen NBA scouts were there. Camera flashes went off every few seconds and the intensity was palpable. Surprising enough, LeBron’s team lost the first two games and actually lost a few more times as the night went on. Despite that, I will go ahead and silence the critics, as there was NO question that LeBron and CP3 were by far the two best players on the court. The three guys that played with them were very good players, but definitely not on the same level as the college counselors. And LeBron and Chris were very unselfish, not taking every shot themselves but sharing the sugar with those three guys. I am not making excuses, the college kids came to play. They played with March Madness intensity and did not back down. They took advantage of having a shot to play against the King. They were there to make a name for themselves and many of them did. Two guys in particular, Patrick Beverly (Arkansas) and Jonny Flynn (Syracuse), were phenomenal and played their asses off. They definitely raised several eyebrows. As the games got more intense, the fouls got harder and the trash talking got louder. It was competition at its best and was great basketball. LeBron had several powerful dunks and old fashioned three point plays and Chris Paul put on a ball handling and passing clinic. His ability to change speed and change direction was unreal.

As top notch as the play was, the real highlight was afterwards when LeBron and CP3 spoke to the college guys and a very small group of coaches afterwards. They were very honest and candid. They commended the guys on their effort and applauded them for how hard they worked all week. They spoke from the heart and were very genuine. Their main theme was “you need to try to get better every single day, no exceptions.” He told them to enjoy college, but don’t lose focus on putting in work every day.

Tuesday July 8^th

Today was the last day of camp and it started off with Coach Kevin Eastman speaking some truth to the HS players. Coach Eastman is a tremendous coach and a very powerful speaker. With an appropriate barrage of F bombs, he really spit some honesty to the HS kids and told them some things they didn’t really want to hear, but desperately needed to hear. I thought Coach Eastman was accurate and honest and I supported everything he said. He told them they aren’t as good as they think they are, they are not even close to being ready for the NBA, and they need to rid themselves of the “hangers on” who leech their way into their lives. He explained why he believes many of the kids played selfishly the night before. He told them that to this point all people do is kiss their ass and they don’t take getting better serious. His reality check was well received as the kids played much better tonight. I want to reiterate, what Coach Eastman did was a very positive thing and he did it because he truly cares about those kids and wants them to develop. After he spoke, Mike Pricopio from ATTACK Athletics gave an equally powerful talk on the reality of the NBA. He showed the kids specific examples of why they can’t take anything for granted. He showed a list of players in the last 10 years who were ranked in the top 100 in HS (many of which were All Americans) that either didn’t get drafted or have already fallen out of the NBA to play overseas. He showed a similar list of guys who were drafted in the 1^st round of the NBA draft who met the same fate, are either out of basketball entirely or playing overseas. He then showed a list of guys were ranked much lower in HS (150 through 300) and how successful they have become (many of them are starters in the NBA and all of them are making some serious coin). He showed guys drafted in the 2^nd round who are now big time players, like Gilbert Arenas and Michael Redd. His point was clear – just because you are one of the top HS players today doesn’t guarantee you anything. If you don’t continue to work and improve or you get in trouble off the court, you will fall through the cracks and see your dreams fade away. Just to clarify, there is nothing wrong with playing overseas, that is still big time basketball and you can still make a great living… but I think we can all agree, if you are a HS All American people expect to see you in the NBA.

Later in the evening, prior to the championship games, LeBron signed autographs for everyone in camp. He is truly a class act and deserves all of the success he has attained. It was in honor and a pleasure to work his Academy and his license plate on his all white Maybach Benz is right on the money, “KNG OF OH.”

Train hard. Train smart.

Alan