About Coach Joe Haefner

Joe is the co-founder of Breakthrough Basketball and has written and developed hundreds of articles, books, and videos on BreakthroughBasketball.com and various basketball websites..

Joe has head coach and assistant coach experience at every level from 3rd grade to High School Varsity. He has worked with players from 5 years old to the college level. Most notably, Joe was a varsity assistant at Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park, KS for the 2010-2011 season in which they finished 2nd at the 6A Kansas State Tournament.

Joe currently coaches teams for the Spiece MO-KAN Elite basketball program.

Joe started playing basketball when he was 5 years old and he played all the way through high school where he was an All-Conference player as a junior and senior at Anamosa High School. Joe also played in the Big Bend / Big East All Star Game and won the 3-point shooting contest.

Not only did he learn a ton about basketball by playing with dozens of different coaches for over 12 years, but he also knows first hand what works and what doesn't work with young players. (He should, because he lived it.) He knows what will burn players out and how to deal with this tricky and dangerous trend of aggressively starting kids on basketball at such a young age.

Joe is also very passionate about athletic development and spends a few hours every week reading and watching DVDs. He also became certified as "Level 1 Youth Fitness Specialist" by the IYCA (International Youth Conditioning Association).

Joe has also been fortunate to learn from some of the best basketball trainers in the world over the last several years...

Joe's job over the last 8 years has been to study the game of basketball and develop content for Breakthrough Basketball. He has viewed and studied thousands of articles, books, DVDs, and resources about player development.

He has also been very lucky to become friends with and get mentoring from some top college and PRO coaches in the country...

One of the biggest influences on Joe's basketball training program has been professional player development coach Don Kelbick. Many of Joe's teaching methods come from Don Kelbick, a pro coach that works with NBA players like Raja Bell, Carlos Boozer, Guillermo Diaz, Rasual Butler, Carlos Arroyo, Tim Hardaway, Bruce Bowen, and others. Don also works with younger players and gives training camps all over the world. Joe has been fortunate enough to become good friends with Don and learn his training techniques. Don has probably been the most influential person on Joe's training program.

If you have any questions, you can email Breakthrough Basketball.

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