Hi Peter -

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you... for some reason I haven't been notified of your post. Junors? Do you mean juniors in high school? At 14? Or is that just your level of play? Did I amke MJs quote a Million and ONE? LOL

There is a saying..... Players are MADE in the off season and teams are made during the season.... so use this time to become better players. Work on all your fundamentals.... become quicker and stronger... and become great shooters.
Thats the trouble with you young kids, you are too darn impatient LOL :-)

They think DUNK.... thats just great... tell me, how many dunks do you see in games vs mid range jumpers? Don't worry about them, You will pass them up quickly. 3 Pointers.......... thats ok IF you can shoot around 40% right now.... otherwise, better off using the entire court... takes, pull up jumpers... Js around 15-17 feet also,... in other words, be a complete player. Trust me, the coaches WILL NOTICE you. You can work on your 3 ball too.... nothing wrong with being able to knock down a few of them during games as long as it isn't the only thing you do. Have 3 point shooting contests with Matt... if he can break himself a way from his GF. LOL

The worst lay ups in History huh.... I would love to see some of those. They just make you look better.

A thought for you regarding DEFENSE ......... Don Kelbick says .... DESTROY THEIR RHYTHM.....I put it this way, TAKE THEM OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONE.... make them do things they are not good at. Both ways, you will be a good defender.

Good luck and keep working on your game. When does your season strart? How about this as a goal or two.... Be the BEST 14 year old player at your school and in NZ??

My game's going good me and Matt are dominating (modestly as matt said bfore) lifes great as well. Nice to know their repairing your house. Yea i meant juniors in high school me matt and this Philippine boy named jethro dam he can ball are the best juniors. Me and matt are also teaching this chinese guy how to play ball he's quite tall and since defense is one of my specialities i taught him how to block and play defense. My season starting soon but i dont know exact time. Best in NZ sounds like a challenge.
P.S Juniors are 13-15 years old

There is no modesty in your home or Matts home.... you guys have it all. LOL You mean Matt has found time to practice / play with his new squeeze hanging on to him? LOL I know he doesn't write anymore, does he need an English class now? ( I love to give him a hard time )

Glad to hear that you guys are on top of the pile.... keep working at it, if you stand still - they definitely will pass you by. I understand from a coaching friend of mine in China that they are pretty athletic but don't know a lot about the game... true?? Playing good defense is important but blocking shots all the time can get you in foul trouble.... pick your spots. Challenging shooters might be better? Force them to alter their shots.

I bet you guys are looking forward to the season.... the games are fun!
Do you like that CHALLENGE? Best 14 year old in NZ? I think that if you use that as a goal... you will continue to work at your game.

They just started the repair this morning.... after 7 weeks, about time don't you think!!

Good luck and let me know how things are going.

Hi Ken
Nice to know their finally repairing your house. Yes we are definitely looking forward to the season and building our on court chemistry now we know what each other are going to do b4 they do it. Matt used to shoot a lot so i told him he was a SG so now he's passing it more and is becoming a PG. Today a guy from the Philippines told everyone to block me and guess what i did the next play... I STUFFED HIM. I am confident that our junior team will be really good. At the moment me and matt are playing against older guys and we are doing pretty good.

Hi Peter -

I agree, after all, its onl been 8 weeks. Probably take another week or so to finish up.... they had to special order the window.

So, you're telling me that Matt never met a shot he didn't like? LOL Its nice that he has confidence on his shot... but if he is a PG, then he needs to run the offense and take his shots when they find HIM. That will make him more dangerous and also opem up the court for others such as yourself..

Let me tell you something about this game and trash talking.... that only makes the other team more aggressive and play harder. Let YOUR GAME do your talking. Remember what I said about blocking shots..... pick your spots, don't get yourself in foul trouble.... hard to score or play good defense if you are on the bench. :-)

Next time he wants to block your shot, give him a good head and ball fake, crossover and take him to the basket or put yourself in a good position for a wide open jumper. Glad to hear that you and Matt are playing vs older guys... that will improve your game - it will force you to play harder and smarter...... then when you are playing guys your own age, it should be a lot easier.

Keep up the good work and remember this.... the recipie to scuccess is to be fundamentally sound. How long before your season starts? Will you and Matt be starters? Let me know how things are going.

Peter.... here is something for you and Matt -

Success isn’t something you chase. It’s something you have to put forth the effort for constantly. Then maybe it’ll come when you least expect it.”

– Michael Jordan -

“Winning means you’re willing to go longer, work harder, and give more to your sport than your opponent.”

Here is something from Coach Darren Bowen - I like to think that these are some of the things I tried to instill in my players... I hope I am getting this message across to you and Matt also.

As a Coach, my goal is to affect change in young men and women, teaching them to be selfless and showing authentic concern for every person they come in contact with, and to show them that they can make their dreams reality, by doing the right thing.”

Here is something else that makes for good reading.... helping you by giving you some ideas. While I don't think Don Kelbick travels to your side of the world.... he does have some great ideas and fundamental drills.

http://www.drillzandskillzbasketball.com/

Read this carefully, we are going to have a test.; LOL

Hi Ken
definitely agree with u respecting the players u play with and against is very important.
Thanks for the Don Kelbick page it was very helpful it gave me some good drills to try and helped me find out how to get the most out of practice. Me and matt are definitely starters and we are going to have a great team.
Matts goin 2 come over 4 the weekend so a lot of practice 4 us. Ive been practicing everyday 4 2 to 4 hours each day. Im very fit (100m in 11 seconds) but im wondering if i should run everyday what do you think?

Sounds like Matt and yourself are pretty good players.... keep up the good work.... and don't forget to be leaders..... the kind that set an example by what you do more than what you say. I hope you have a great year. let me know how things going during the season and don't forget the academics LOL

I hope that you and Matt play great defense also.... you two should be able to make other players lives miserable... IF either one of you can make the offensive player turn his back... thats a great time to come up for a steal.

You are serious about the game, I can tell.... 2-4 hours every day..... work a lot on ball handling.... and even harder developing a killer cross over.100 m in 11 seconds at 14? I think the world record is 9.58 or something like that.... for a man.

http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/blog/index.php/dont-be-this-guy-the-dribbler-and-tips-for-being-a-better-ball-handler/?utm_source=MailingList&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=78Oth&utm_newsid=823

Not sure about the running every day.... you do have to give your body a chance to recover. When you lift weights you workout every other day unless you are doing upper body one day and lower body the next. When I coached football, one day we sprinted a lot - t he next day we jogged after practices. Listen to your body, if you start to feel pain, its time to back off. Hope this helps.... you can always talk to the track coach at school and the basketball coach. I doublt very much that you are out of shape at 14. :-)

Hi Ken
Nice to see you still have a great sense of humor. We hav an overdribbler that we play with and sometimes i joke with him about how he uses his fancy dribble moves but goes nowhere he usually misses the shot too. I always tell matthew to use the fancy dribbles when it will help u score eg. when u drive 2 the rim but need to change direction quickly bam use the behind back dribble. I am very fit and strong (which matt always claims it helps beat him 1 on 1 but hes right it is a massive advantage.) Me and him aren't really trashtalkers we just let our game do the talking. Yes we are both great defenders as well he's the man to man specialist and im the block/alter shot specialist.