BASKETBALL TRAINING AND ADVICE by Fred Crowell: NBC Camps President and Founder
Do you know what UW coach Lorenzo Romar emphasizes as crucial to success?
I just had the privilege of working with former National Championship coach, Jim Harrick and UW coach Lorenzo Romar at our clinic in Maui, Hawaii in November. Here are four skills Coach Romar emphasizes to his players.
1. Work on quickness and balance.
Coaches want quick players: quick feet on defense, quick mind identifying ways to create, and quick moves able to break down the defense and score. Balance is critical for top athletes. Learning to land well and finish strong using your body well in traffic helps elevate you to become a stand-out player.
Coaches notice how you land.
If you land off balance, they take note and consider it a weakness. Learn to land in two foot stop every time. It’s not flashy or exciting. It just needs to happen– every single time. Coach Romar and Coach Harrick believe landing on balance in a two foot stop is critical to eliminating costly turnovers.
2. Take care of the ball.
So many inexperienced athletes dribble the ball too high and too much in traffic. When in traffic it is critical to dribble the ball below the knee. Become a master of handling the ball.
3. Become a great Shooter.
Bottom line, coaches want players who can shoot. NBC Camper Brett Kingma became a disciplined student of shooting and now is in the top 50 Washington athletes heading to play at the University of Oregon– why? Because he became dedicated to becoming a pure shooter.
4. Attitude is king.
Coach Romar wants athletes who great attitudes on and off the court. If you don’t want to work or play with a great attitude, you will have a hard road and turn many coaches away. Coaches want great players and athletes with great attitudes.
Take these messages from top coaches and pick one way you can improve in each of these areas. Write them down and have your mentor hold you accountable.
NBC Camps: Dreams come true when you wake up and go to work.