The Factory Magazine

Unbelievable

2009-08-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

By: Leon Owen

Can you believe the times that track and field athletes are running? Think about this, Ben Johnson, who was "caught" using steroids, had a World Record time of 9.85, or 9.84, that was stripped back in the 80's. The new WR destroys that time. Now are these athletes juicing? I am not singling out any one person or country. Second and third place finishers are running just as fast. Is there any trainer that will tell you the "secret" of their athletes success? The answer is NO, they don't want to reveal that drugs are a part of the regimen for success.

The days of hard work have been over a long time ago. I wish all athletes in every sport will make a decision to play totally clean. No GNC, No juice, No nothing.
Will it happen......probably not. There is too much money companies are trying to make.

I love sports and then I hate it.

2008-11-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

It has been too long since we have talked about the latest workout trends. Rest assured, we have been working on some new things for the basketball season and the upcoming baseball season. Stay tuned, over the next few months we will be launching some new and exciting workout for all you sports hopefuls

Who has the BEST ATHLETES

2008-01-30T11:32:00.000-08:00

By: Leon Owen

There are more “sports” than ever that are in existence or have been created over the past 20 years. X games, Ultimate Fighting, Equestrian teams and Rodeo, to name a few. They all deserve respect for being competitive, but some are constant reminders that in America, you can create anything. In a scramble to watch every sport, relying on Sportscenter to cover it all, just won’t do. There are so many options out there to be considered an athlete. Some sports are still debated over as to if they are really a sport. But, with all of these activities men and women are involved in, we want to dive into which sport has the best athlete. There are a number of sportswriters that list the top 20, top 50, top 100 athletes of all time, but can you really deem you athlete in one sport, superior to another individual in their sport. We are going to view which sport has the greatest athletes. To remain impartial to the sport I love the most, we looked at the major sports that have a strong hold on being crowned as having the Best Athletes.

The first sports that jump out at you are track&field, boxing, football, tennis and soccer. I know that I might be missing some other favorites, but for the majority of sports fans, these are your more grueling sports that require a physical specimen to compete at an extreme level of efficiency. In track&field, the focus is more towards runners. From long distance down to sprinters, the training for such events takes a demanding amount of time. Sprinters are assessed in sub 10, 20 and 45 second events. The participant must train for countless hours for a 20 second event. An athlete must put in an astronomical amount of work for only 20 seconds of glory. They don’t have a halftime to come back and do better, no time outs to gather themselves, nor a coach (during the event) to tell them of their faults. Track athletes must be in top shape to run at top speed, sometimes speed that is unimaginable to the common man. If you were to spend a day of training with a track athlete, you will notice that they prepare their entire body for an event. It is not merely the lower body that has to be conditioned to run; it involves the back, shoulder, abs, and back muscles to work as one to perform at peak level. Track athletes look like they were formed from the medical charts we see in the doctor’s office. They make a strong case for holding the greatest athlete title.

Soccer players can make a strong push at having the best athletes in sports. They run approximately 3-4 miles a game. The players have a similar regimen to track athletes, but while they are running full speed, they have to kick a ball. This is a specific skill sport. Those who have tried to play soccer and thought they could just kick the ball far and merely outrun everyone to the ball are quickly introduced to something called “dribbling”. The art of moving the ball around a defender, using only your feet. Once one realized he/she can’t outrun everyone, they understand the skill level necessary in this sport. The footwork and balance that is required for moves of such precision is unmatched. Soccer athletes mix American football, kickball and track all in one game. Not being a soccer fan, jaded my view on the sport, but after viewing a game from the bench, I have a new respect for “football”. Try to imagine a 100m dash with your top runners, but they are allowed to push each other as they are running full speed. This is similar to how soccer is played.

The sport for the refined man, no not golf, tennis. Uncanny reflex muscles are vital for this sport. I don’t think there is a tennis player weighing in over 200 lbs. A thin man sport, designed to make you experience muscle failure or dehydration. If you have ever watched a complete tennis match, without falling asleep, it is a taxing duel of two great athletes. It’s like watching to tigers brawl until the victor, in this sport, usually falls to the ground. Tennis matches last up to 4 hours, with non-stop action. It may not excite you as much as football, but if you have ever played the game, you know that it drains you completely of all your energy. This is also one of the few sports that have professional athletes that are teenagers. Training for tennis starts as early as age 6, and sometimes earlier. Your footwork has to be phenomenal, tremendous hand/eye coordination, your cardio-vascular level must be at super-hero status and you have to have a major league arm. The combination of these factors will convince the masses that tennis players are the best athletes in sports.

Are you ready for some football? Are you ready to play in All types of weather? There are no rain delays or snow cancellations. If it’s not lightning, we are playing. This sport is often referred as a gladiator event. You have a combination of speed, power and quickness. Let’s not forget, you have to memorize a ton of plays. A little different from other sports, where you might have a game plan, but you don’t have a game book. Football players battle with each other on every play to reach the ultimate goal, the end-zone. Football, as well as every other sport, is becoming an all year training conquest. They do need more healing/rest for their bodies because of the nature of the sport, but these guys multi-task at it highest level. You have to be able to run, catch, throw, block, remember the play, sometimes while you are on offense, turn around and be on defense, spin, jump, fake, dive, cut back, run out of bounds. So many activities come into play for just one sport.
The thing that might hinder football players as being crowned the best athlete would be the size of its players. If you have players that are weighing in at 300+ pounds, it is hard to say that you have the best athletes. Sure they are strong, and some very agile, but you have halftime to rest, substitution and time outs to help these enormous men. I do feel that football players deserve a nod for having the best athletes.

And no one can exclude boxers from the list of great athletes. Muhammad Ali, Roy Jones Jr., George Foreman (young George) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are just a few of the talented boxers that our generation has had the privilege to see. All are considered great athletes. Boxers go through a rigorous training season to prepare them for their next match. Blood, sweat and tears, literally, happen in this sport. These guys and girls run marathons to make the required weight for a match; they train using weights, train their entire body for beat down battle and watch video tape of their opponent. Organized boxing, and we can throw in Ultimate Fighting (it’s organized) have always grabbed the attention of the world when a good bout takes place. Now, with HBO’s 24/7 television show, highlighting the training camps of the top boxers, the common man now has insight on what type of training occurs for boxers. The countless sit-ups and sparring rounds they endure, for a shot at the title. We also see the mental toughness that boxers must posses to train for such a long time. Away from their family, away from friends, in solitude where their will-power is tested. Concentrating on numerous skills too reign victorious in the ring, is the goal of a fighter. We were able to see boxers on the speed bag, the heavy bag, and Ricky Hatton on the “body bag”. A fighter has to have athletic ability throughout his entire body, from his legs up to his neck. They have spidey-like reflexes (most of them) and have an undeniable power that will put you on your hind-part.

So who is the winner for being the “best athlete”? Before we give you the answer, consider we are not viewing what athlete has the most titles, or has the best longevity in their sport. We are focusing on the sport and the spectrum of its competitors.
And the winner is TRACK&FIELD. After careful examination of the training that’s involved, including the difficulty of the sport, track and field athletes hold the title for the best athletes. Now, I have to exclude some of the field athletes because some are not really in shape, but the runners, in particular, have unmatched ability. This is the only sport, where the competition one is involved in has a zero error degree. When you race, you only get one shot to win. There are no best of three, no time out, no coaches, no 12 rounds, nor halftime intermission. You have one shot to win. Football players have 4 periods to try to win, including time-outs, halftime, substitutions and other factors that give them numerous opportunities to win. The same applies for basketball players. Baseball, even though I love it passionately, has some of the worst athletes in the sporting industry. There are football linemen that are better athletes. Yeah, I know hitting a round baseball with a round bat is the hardest thing to do in sports, but so is drinking kegs of beer and performing the next day.
Tennis and soccer fall under the same umbrella of having numerous chances of scoring/winning. 45 seconds and under is the amount of time you have to complete the “sport”. This is the main component of crowning track athletes as the BEST ATHLETES.

2008-01-12T08:50:00.000-08:00

Warming Up:
New trends to get yourself ready for the gym or the field

By: Carl Payne

You get out of bed and look outside to see a layer or frost on your car. So as your morning coffee is brewing, you go outside and start the car so it gets the oil flowing throughout the whole engine and it doesn’t stall when you hit the gas. The same is true for your muscles. Follow these tips to help get your internal engine going…so you will be ready go to work when you get to The Factory.

Warm up is an essential part to any workout regimen. Is has long been the theory that you should sit on the ground and stretch until you are ready to go. Recent studies have moved away from this out-dated model and started towards movement preparation. Instead of stretching the muscles statically (i.e. standing up and touching your toes to stretch your hamstrings) the concentration is on stretching the muscles through movements that will put the muscle on tension.
Stretching the muscle through normal means helps to elongate the muscle. This is necessary if the muscles’ tightness is compromising the ability of the athlete. When you stretch the muscle, not only does it elongate the muscle(a good thing in most cases) but it also relaxes the muscle and makes it less capable of producing maximum power (a very bad thing in virtually all cases). Studies have shown that vertical jump scores were tested after they stretched for an extensive amount of time and the athlete scored less than his normal jump. While this news may suggest to eliminate stretching altogether, this is not the case. Stretching has it’s place outside of the realm of pre-competition and is a crucial part of cool down and general body maintenance.
Dynamic Warm-up and movement preparation are terms used to explain the warm up that should be done prior to a practice or competition. The purpose of these are to bring your body up to speed by completing movements that are both functional and energy intensive. Movements will increase your heart rate, which will increase blood flow and warm the muscles naturally. Muscles become naturally more elastic and pliable when they are heated by this method. The athlete’s nervous system also benefits from these types of dynamic activities. Just as your brain can benefit from browsing the material before a test, the neurons to your muscles get to participate in actual motion similar to what you’ll be doing, before you have to do it in practice. It is in this way that the term “movement preparation” came into being. You are preparing you body by doing controlled reps of the movements you will need to use during the upcoming session.
Here is an example of a dynamic warmup and movement preparation routine for basketball:
20 yards x 2 (down and back)
Forward Jog
Backward Jog
Butt Kicks
High Skips
Knee hug

Get Ready

2007-12-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

By: Leon Owen

After the last pitch has been thrown and the season has ended, it is now time to take a break. Baseball has one of the toughest seasons to endure, if you look at the amount of games played. Now is the time when you start to see players expanding their bellies and relaxing a little. The body is given some time to heal and so has your pride, if you didn't win the SHIP.

As Halloween candy is finally scoffed down, it's time to start getting ready for Pre-Season. Time to focus on obtaining your goal of reaching the finals and winning it all. As most of you college students know, the first day back, the coach is going to run you. The coach is expecting you to come into pre-season, not at peak shape, but have a good "base" to build upon. So what constitutes a good base? At this point in the season, an athlete should start to do some long distance running. Somewhere in the mile to the 1.5 mile range. You want to build up your stamina to sustain yourself for a long season. A good number of players, trainers and coaches realize that your body funtions similar to the learning curve. It starts out gradually increasing, until it reaches a peak and then starts to go back down.

Think about the long season of every sport. Athletes build up their strength and stamina and then later during the season, they look tired or perform a little less than par. Trainers realized that they want their athletes to peak at the right time, which is the playoffs. The Florida Gators basketball team is good for this. Last season, they started off o.k. and then the playoffs came and no one could hang with these guys. Very similarly the Boston Red Sox accomplished the same thing. So you baseball players need to realize that you want your performance to peak at the right time. Now is the time to build up your bread and butter (legs and forearms) in order to be ready for pre-season workouts and ultimately for the playoffs.

Because of the winter season approaching, for the Northeast in particular, the treadmill should become a good friend of yours. If you are blessed with good weather, running outside is best. Please understand the treadmill should be used as a last resort. The treadmill gives runners a false sense of progress. Remember the treadmill assists you with your running as compared to running outside. The treadmill is moving, and allows you to use less force and decreases the total body weight that is being propelled. So use the treadmill if necessary, but outside running is the most efficient.

So You Want to be a Track Star!

2007-11-17T17:18:00.000-08:00

By: Nython Carter

If you have participated in more than one week of track practice in your lifetime, you know that track and field is not a leisure off-season activity used to simply get in shape for another sport. Some may argue that the training for a track and field event is the most physically and mentally intensive training in athletics. Unlike many other sports where the team’s style of play may hide your individual deficiencies, a track athlete is very aware that the clock does not lie and will expose all inflated claims. In other words, whether you’re fast or not will be known by the “time” you complete the race, leaving little to no room for speculation.

One aspect that is great about track and field is that no matter how fast you are at the beginning of the season, with hard consistent work you will always improve. But this improvement will not come without a sustained dedicated effort on your part. If you want to impress your coach and enhance your chances for success in the sport of track and field then you must be committed to the process of becoming a better athlete.

Outside of raw talent, commitment is the greatest virtue of a track and field athlete. You must be committed to coming to practice and working out with the desired intensity everyday. There is nothing more frustrating to a coach than when a potentially good athlete either inconsistently comes to practice or inconsistently puts forth effort in practice. If you miss practices in basketball or don’t work out hard in football you probably would not expect to start. The same holds true for track. Don’t expect to hear your name called the day of the track meet after blowing off a practice during the week.

Furthermore, always keep in mind that unlike many other sports, if you miss a number of practices due to illness, suspension, or ineligibility in track and field, it will be readily apparent to you and everyone else. Upon returning to the track you will notice that your performance has suffered and the clock will gladly verify your less than desirable results.

Conversely, if you attend practice regularly it will not only make each subsequent practice easier, but it will pay dividends for you during competition. Furthermore, your commitment to the training process may also land you a spot on a coveted relay team over someone less committed on your team. As a coach knows, “hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard”.

Fear of Failure

2007-10-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

By: Leon Owen

All athletes have a goal they want to achieve. Some, just to do well during the season, some to make it to the next level and some want to merely stay in shape . You have your coach there to help motivate you, and you have an extra drive that is instilled in all of us that just wants to be competitive and hopefully win. But what separates each individual athlete? Is it the great coach that you have, or is it the individual? It is a combination of both, but lean towards the individual. With all these tools laid out for you on the internet and through seminars, and through camps, what happens to the athlete that mentally decides to give up on becoming better.
Sure he/she has the talent, sure he/she has the drive, but what about the fear that is imbedded inside this young person. The fear of losing, the fear of chasing a dream, and then there is the fear of beating the #1 team or person. The mental aspect of athletic competition is very essential. Mentally, young athletes feel inferior to the ace, the #1, the man, the legend. Physically you are competing and chasing victory, but mentally you have already lost. You have already conceded the win in your mind before you actually compete.

Most, if not all athletes have this moment in their career. They ask themselves, "am I doing all of this work for nothing", or "what if I don't make it, or don't win". These mental blocks are common to every sportsman and sportswoman. The mind is unbelievably powerful. As competitors continue their regimens in the weight room and on the field they must remember that this fear that they are experiencing is universal. A question that arises in an athlete's minds is "why is he/she better than me. We have the same strength, we do the same workouts, we have similar styles, and we have similar habits. The answer: YOUR MIND. A few great examples of this are Bernard Hopkins, Barry Sanders, Chad Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Paul Lo Duca. Individuals who have been, or who are in professional sports, who were not the biggest, strongest, or fastest, but mentally they were monsters. Everyone knows the workouts, everyone knows what to eat, everyone knows who the top trainers are, but what is the reason some athletes succeed and some fall to the waste side. Their mind. Jordan believed that no one could guard him and no one could get by him. He would play himself in the mirror and play both sides of the ball. B-HOP would ensure that he would not allow anybody to make him second guess himself. And the same mental toughness that you hear so much about are used by many other athletes.

So when you athletes start to think twice about summer workout, lonely weight room schedules and fatigue, remember your mind is you most powerful tool for your sport. Sometimes you have to trick yourself to help motivate your body, but the mind controls the body. Coaches are there to motivate, your body is there to compete, and your mind in there to execute.
There is a famous commercial where the theme is "there are two kinds of athletes, those that THINK they can and those that THINK they can't, both of them are right.
Which answer do you have?

Basketball "It's Good"

2007-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

By: Leon Owen and Jerry Wimberly

Picture a stadium with thousands of people, it's the 4th quarter and there aren't but a few seconds left on the clock. Sweat peels down your face and all over your neck. You can hear the crown counting down the time as the passed basketball is creeping towards your nervous hands. You can see the beads on the ball as it twirls in the air. It almost seems as if a spotlight is on the ball. In one moment the noise from the crowd, which is deafening, turns into complete silence. You feel the ball resting in your hands and you turn to look at the hoop. 3.......................2........................................1...........................

Did you make it or..........

As a basketball player, these moments allow us to flourish or to diminish in our game. Every coach loves someone who can "shoot the lights out", but fatigue plays a major role is a shooter making the shot or missing the shot. Usually in the 4th quarter, your legs are tired, you feel weak, your shot is falling short and wish that you would have listened to your coach when he told you to run another suicide because it's going to help you at the end of the game.

The following basketball drill is designed to help players gain endurance for shooting and for overall play. There is a video example to help you visualize how the drill is ran.

First... cones will be placed at the five locations on the court as displayed in the picture. The same set up will be on the other end of the court, shown in the picture displayed to the right. There will be two baseline cones, two wing cones and one at the top of the key.
The drill requires at least 2 individual (the shooter and the rebounder). If you have an additional person that can assist in this drill, then that person can be used as another rebounder. If there are 3 participants in the drill, the two rebounders will remain at their designated baskets, while the shooter performs the drill and the rebounders rebound the basketball.

If you only have 2 participants, the "rebounder" will now become the passer and the shooter, who is performing the drill will have to get his/her own rebound. The video that is displayed uses the 2 man version of this drill. *You must be in shape to perform the drill this way*

Now....the shooter will start at the baseline cone, without a ball, and proceed to run to the other baseline cone, where the rebounder will give him/her a lead pass as they go to the cone and shoot *see video*. Immediately following the shot. the shooter will run to the opposite cone and take another shot. This drill should be run for 3 minutes total at each cone, with the shooter running at a competitive speed throughout the entire drill.

This drill is designed for muscle endurance for jump shots and for cardiovascular endurance for basketball players (for time purposes, the video only displays this drill in 45 second intervals). After the shooter finishes with a particular set of cones (example the baseline cones) the shooter must immediately shoot a 1 and 1 free throw shot. If the shooter misses, he/she is required to complete a suicide run after the end of practice.
Next, the shooter will proceed to the next set of cones (the wing cones), remember, each cone interval is ran at 3 minutes increments (if you are not in shape. you can change it to a lesser time).
Following the wing cones, the shooter will proceed to the top of the key cones.
And finally, the shooter will repeat the three set of cones on the other side of the court. *Water breaks are recommeded after the shooter completes the first top of the key drills.

Do I Have Shin Splints

2007-09-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

Do I have Shin Splints?
By: Carl Payne

Whether you are a world class track star or an everyday athlete doing some normal conditioning, shin pain can put a painful damper on your running routine. Getting rid of shin pain quickly can help you get back on track and back to your routine as soon as possible.
When you notice that first sign of shin discomfort, you must ask yourself a few questions about the location and the type of pain you are experiencing.
Sit down and look at your leg to find where it is that you hurt:

When looking down at your leg, rub the front until you find a hard and pointy bone that goes straight up your leg. This can be considered the middle of your leg.
From here, see if your pain is on the inside of your leg (towards your other leg) or on the outside.
If the pain is outside, most likely you have a minor strain of the muscle that lifts the top of your foot up in the air. Just like the soreness in your biceps the day after a heavy lift, this will go away after time and a little rest.

Pain in the back of your leg near your Achilles’ Tendon, your calf muscle, or anywhere in between can be a few different things and can be read about in the article “Ain’t that a Pain in the Calf”.

If your pain is on the inside of your leg, you most likely have what is now known as Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome…or shin splints. This can be a very debilitating injury and if not treated carefully. It could lead to a stress fracture, and in severe cases, a substantial break in the bone.
If at any point the pain is more than mild or you cannot run, stop and see your doctor. Doctors can prescribe orthotics or other devices (to go in your shoe) to help. Remember, an athlete on the “Injured List” is not a happy athlete, so make sure you don’t let a small problem turn into a big one.

Now that you figured out that you have shin splints…what do you do next? The first thing you want to do is determine if you can rest. Rest, above all other treatments, will be the key to a full recovery. But if you are like most athletes, rest is not an option you have the luxury of taking. Rest, however, is all relative when training is in session. If you run 3 times a week, trim back to running once, biking 3 times a week, and doing an extra 10 minute abdominal workout after each biking session. You are an athlete and adaptation has to be something you are capable of both on and off the field. Alternatives can be found in our article “Break the Boredom: Variations to keep you going”. Rest can also mean lightening up on the amount of hill running because running downhill can increase shin pain.

What about stretching? Stretching can be very useful but it must be done at the right time. Stretching should be done after a run, and anytime before your run, as long as it is at least an hour before the activity. Stretches should include the calf muscle and the muscle under the calf. Stretches should be held for 15-30 seconds and repeated 3 times.

After you run you should always ice. Cold temperatures shut down the area so that your body can start to heal. Cold treatments can be any of the following:
Bag of ice or ice pack (with a cloth between your skin and the pack) placed on the area for 15-20 minutes.
Ice cup for 5 minutes. An ice cup has to be pre-made by taking a small paper cup, filling it with water and putting it in the freezer. After frozen, rip the top half off the cup so that you expose some ice and rub it up and down over the area.
If you have access to a cold whirlpool (55 – 60 degrees), place your shins in it for about 10 minutes.

The last step is exercise. Like stretching, exercise should be done at a time that will not interfere with running (more than 2 hours before running). Exercises include sitting with both feet in front of you and tapping your foot up and down. This may seem easy but after 30 seconds, you’ll feel it. Do that twice and, while sitting, take a towel and place it under your feet. Lift and spread your toes and then grab the towel with your toes and try to curl it up under your foot. 10-15 “crunches” should be enough before you have to straighten out the towel and start again. Don’t worry if the towel doesn’t move much, just go through the motions and eventually your toes will start to get the hang of it.

Now that you know how to deal with shin splints, you can get back to training and trying to bring yourself…..to the next level.

Up and Running

2007-09-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

How Do They Do That?

Written by: Nython Carter

You may ask, are great sprinters born or made? The answer is………both! Yes, it is true that some athletes have what is referred to as “roll out of bed talent”. Meaning, they may win many competitive races with little to no training or understanding of proper running technique. However, even a naturally talented athlete will lose to a comparably talented athlete who has an understanding of the most efficient and effective running techniques. In my discussions with perennial Olympic gold and silver metal winner Carl Lewis and Olympic gold metal winner Lamont Smith, I have discovered that great sprinters are not just genetically gifted but have developed their running technique to the extent that they know exactly where and how each arm, leg, and overall body should be positioned when sprinting. Both Lamont and Carl were trained in college and professionally by Tom Tellez, a highly revered coach in the Track and Field world. Through my conversations with these two exceptional athletes I discovered the following about their running techniques and “how do they do that”:

1. Lamont Smith revealed to me that the only difference between when he runs a 54 second 400 meter dash and when he runs a 44 second 400 meter dash is how hard he pushes off the ground. His running form remains the same whether he is warming up or running all out.

2. The placement of your foot should always be close to your center of gravity or underneath your hips.

3.Your foot and ankle should always be cocked upward throughout the entire run (as if you’re trying to make your toes touch your shins). This is known as a dorsiflex foot. A dorsiflex foot increases the power that you exert into the ground, which allows you to travel farther between each step without over striding.

4. Do not try in to increase your stride length by over striding. Over striding has an adverse and counterproductive effect on speed, causing you to apply the brakes inadvertently as you take each step.

5. The knees should not be driven up high, but should be brought up to a natural running level.

6. Arms should be swung at the shoulders in a relaxed and powerful fashion. The pumping of arms is a one-way street. Your arms are always pumped backwards, never forward. The arms will naturally pump forward on their own. Therefore, why waste useless energy.

7. The body should be positioned upright at top speed with a slight lean from the ground. For example, stand straight with your lower and upper body aligned. Then, while keeping your body aligned lean forward, from the bottom of your body, which should require you to come up on your toes. This is the body positioned that should be sustained when sprinting.

Last but certainly not least, sprint relaxed. A tight face and tight arm pump will result in slower times. Sprinting relaxed is a difficult technique to perfect for most sprinters because it goes against logic. Just remember, the faster you want to run the more relaxed you must remain.

Basketball

2007-09-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Without any further delay, we have the first installment of The Factory Magazine, "We Make The Pros". Our first article will focus on all of those basketball hopefuls. The following week, we will expose our Drill of the Month to try to help get those hoop dreamers on to the next level

By:Edward Presha

So you want to make it to the next level; whatever level that may be, be it college or the professional ranks. Where do you begin? How do you start? The answer is both simple and complex. But this is what I have learned. First off, let me begin by saying that the process is difficult and not for everyone. But if the game of basketball is something that you truly love and are willing to work at, in order to achieve your dream of making it to the highest level you can, then we are here to provide you with the most current and innovative tools to get you there.

Welcome to Basketball 101: with The Factory Magazine

I have learned from numerous camps, clinics, seminars, practices, books, and conversations that I have attended by coaches and scouts and these are the findings. We will start gradually, in order to avoid information overload. Then in ensuing editions we will pick up the pace.

Lesson #1

What do scouts or coaches look for in players? Part one of that answer is obvious. Talent. Coaches ask themselves, can this player play at our level and contribute to our team? Coaches will look at what a player does exceptionally well and then what he or she would need to work on to improve. Can the talent you possess mesh with the players on the roster? That question is very important to coaches for the sake of team unity.

Part 2: Athleticism

Is this the type of athlete who can compete on this team, in this program, on this level? Some of you may think that talent and athleticism are one and the same. I do not. There are a lot of guys who can just run and jump out of the gym. They are a dime a dozen. Just go to your local gym or court and you will see a bunch of them just jumping in the air to catch oops. Those are the guys that are good for the And 1 mixtape tour tryout. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not putting those guys down because I love them. I got every mixtape out and watch them when they are on tour. I’m not mad at them either because they have to eat also. All that I am saying is that it is what it is. Coaches want to know a variety of things that are separate from how high you can jump. They want to know if you can (1) Rebound; (2) Get open; (3) Shoot; (4) Pass; (5) Defend or be willing to put your best effort into it.Let’s break each one down a little.

Rebounding- You don’t have to be a big guy to be a good rebounder. Rebounding is 10% physical and 90% effort. You have to want to rebound. If you are unwilling to get in there and mix it up then you don’t serve much of a purpose. Why would I want to play you? They have a spot for guys like that and it’s at the end of the bench, while your friends in the stands make fun of you.

Get Open- A lot of guys can do something when they have the ball in their hands. 80% of the time they are looking to create something for themselves. But what do players do when the ball is not in their hands? Coaches like to watch how players act off the ball. If you are just standing out there counting the seconds until you get the ball back what does that say about you? It tells coaches that you are only interested in scoring. They want to see who sets screens to free up a teammate or how well do you move without the ball to free yourself.

Shooting- This one is easy. Can you consistently knock down jumpers? Not just threes. Can you hit the mid-range pull up, the set shot, and the jumper off of screens? Players become so infatuated with the three pointer that the mid-range game has become a lost art. What about the bank shot? If you can consistently hit that shot you will have really diversified your game.

Pass- Everyone thinks they can pass but, do they truly know how? Anyone can pass from person to person when not being pressured. But how about when you are double teamed. Can you make a post-entry, an outlet pass, a skip pass, or even a full court on a dime? Are you a willing passer, do you pass only when you are stuck, or do you just bully your way to the basket? Are you smart enough to see two passes ahead? These are key attributes to an all-around basketball player.

Defense- Can you defend? Will you take the charge? Can you pressure the ball so that there are no easy passes being made? Can you stay in front of your man, be in proper help position, and communicate with teammates? It is very easy to see if a player is a willing defender. Just pay attention to the effort put forth. Watch the stance they take, the position the defender’s hand are in, and the effort put forth once they are beat off the dribble. You will also hear a player say “ I lead my team or conference in steals.” Now this one is tricky and I’ll tell you why with two examples to prove my point. First off let me tell you that I think that steals are a potentially overrated statistic. On top of that it is also a potentially selfish stat. My first example is this. Allen Iverson is always among the league leaders in steals. How does he get them though? Iverson is the type of player who will gamble on steals more often than not. He will try to jump into passing lanes trying to get them or sneak up behind someone to get them. The problem with this is out of those 2 or 3 steals he does get, there are many more instances where he fails and then leaves his teammates at a disadvantage on defense leading to a made basket. On the other hand, there was a player a few years back at a lower level school that was extremely good at what he did. He was so sound defensively that he did not need to play the passing lanes as much because he was good enough to just take it from you. He had his share of gambling moments, but his on the ball defense was so exceptional opposing coaches refused to have their point guard bring the ball up the floor. He led the NCAA in steals three years in a row at the same time winning his conference’s defensive player of the year award during that span. He drew charges and had an impact on the overall game with his defense alone. Those are the types of defenders coaches love.

So this concludes the 1st lesson on Basketball 101: Catch the next edition when the Factory Magazine comes to town.