You can view the previous episodes of Journey to Memphis Next Top Baller.
The first two weeks of training has been awesome. It is overwhelming to see the growth of my training sessions. I can think back to early last year when some days I only had 1 or 2 players working out with me. By the time I completed hosting sessions, I was averaging about 12 players per session. This year, over the past two weeks I have been averaging over 20 players. I’m excited for the amount of young ladies interested in learning the game and growing in the sport.
I am equally excited to have my nieces involved. They are ages 5, 7 and 11. I’m enjoying watching them take a love for the sport and growing in the game.
This year I’m offering 2 levels of classes, Basic and Junior. Basic classes are for beginners, players who are interested in trying out for the school team in the fall, and girls currently on a team but with limited experience. Junior classes are for more experienced players looking to gain confidence and skills.
Over this past basketball season, I watched a lot of basketball games. I attended games for all levels of basketball – elementary, middle school and high school. As I watched, it was more than about entertainment but about studying how players play. As I watched, I thought about how can I help beginners adjust to the sport more quickly and how can I help experienced players take their game up a level.
That’s what I think about as I develop my training sessions. It helps to have young nieces involved in the game. They are always asking me questions which give me insight on things I need to introduce to players new to the game. It really makes training extremely exciting.
This video is from my March 8th session. You will see the players going through the ball handling and agility stations. Here is the breakdown of the drills:
1) Two-ball Pound/Stop and Go
2) Cone Jumps
3) Speed Dribble/Stack-Unstack Cones
4) Speed Dribble/Retreat