First Week of Training

I started my skill development sessions in Memphis, TN on August 1, 2023. 

It felt great to be back on the court teaching the game. 

My first day of training. I actually did a 2-a-day.

I had an 8:00am session that morning. Then, I had a 7:15pm session that night. 

I was so exhausted by that evening! It’s been over 8 months since I last participated in a 2-a-day practice. So, I have to get in some shape. LOL

I’m excited about sharing what I learned on the college level and creating my own workouts  from that experience. 

There is nothing like having the opportunity to be creative and sharing what you love. 

I’m also excited to watch the growth of the players. Their first session they are so nervous. But as they return to each workout, you see their confidence and skills grow more and more. 

That’s what it’s all about!

Highlight Video Tips


I’ve seen tons of highlight videos on social media. The most common mistake I see in the videos – they mainly show layups, layups, and more layups. 

When you use highlight videos to get recruited, you should show more than 1 skill. You also want to paint a picture in college coaches’ minds that you have skills that they can use at their school. 

Here are 4 tips to help your highlight videos stand out from others:

  1. Keep it short. You can show a lot in 3 minutes. College coaches’ time is limited. If a coach had to choose between a 7 minute and 3 minute highlight. They’re going to choose the shortest one, especially if they don’t know the player.  
  1. Show where you shoot from on the court. You shoot more than layups -Show that! College coaches recruit to add specific skills to their system. Offensively, they may be looking for a 3 point shooter, pull up shooter, shooter off ball screens, shooter off stagger screens, someone that can create their own shot, back to basket post, face up post, lane line driving post. There are so many examples of scoring in basketball that’s beyond layups. Show all that you can do!
  1. Don’t limit your highlights to just offense. Show defensive skills also. There are college teams that play intense defense, contain defense, trapping defense, zone defense, etc. If defense is a strength of yours, show that in your highlight. Other examples to show is playing defense full court, your team pressing, you playing different spots in the defense, you getting deflections or steals.  

  2. As your skills increase, update your highlights to show your new skills. If your 1st highlight is limited because your skills are limited, that’s ok. That’s why you want to update your highlights as you grow. College coaches want to see growth as they continue to recruit you. Growth in a player demonstrates that you are in the gym working on your skills. That’s what college coaches call a worker. College coaches love players that stay in the gym and work.

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how I can help:

I welcome you to always reply to my weekly emails with questions or comments. 

Thanks for reading! Tell your friends to subscribe to Rise and Grind also!

Talk to you next week!

-Coach Po

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