30 AYB Player Games in 30 Days Tour (What is it?)

I have the privilege of being the basketball trainer for  8 Smithville basketball players including 2 varsity, 2 junior varsity, and 4 middle school young men.  The town, the coaches (Coach Adkins and Coach Bull), the families, and the players are all a very special group.

In the junior varsity game I watched as one of my players struggled at point guard.  He had one of those games that we can all relate to.  The ball seems like a foreign object in your hands, the defense is one step ahead of your every pass, and nothing can go right.   Nick is a talented young player who will learn from that game, flush it down the drain, and work hard on his ball handling and decision making.

Matthew Mick took over at point guard and helped the Smithville Tigers expand their lead by 15 points with solid leadership, great chest passes, and good court vision against a zone defense.   I knew Matthew had improved greatly in our workouts over the summer.  His cuts and movement without the ball is the stuff videos are made about and he really embraced all of our work in that arena.  I had no idea he would be so effective against a zone.  Matthew loves hunting, and he displays a quiet confidence and strength on the court that really rendered that Weimer zone ineffective.

In the Varsity game vs. Weimer I serve as a basketball trainer for played both Peter Marek and Micah Malina.

Micah Malina played a near perfect game in about 15 minutes he played.  Not one bad decision, steady defense, played on balance, rebounded well defensively (a point he focused on) and really crashed the offensive boards.  Micah is one of the best 6 foot and under guards I have seen in the offensive rebounding categories.   He truly believes every shot his teammates takes is going to be a miss, that he will use his combination of heart, strength, vertical leaping ability, quickness, and mind to dominate the offensive glass.  He is a nightmare to box out, mentally intimidating, and just wills his way to success against taller and heavier opponents.  His ability to get his team extra possessions is a strong weapon.  Additionally, Smithville has a very strong post presence in senior Joe Crank.  Every time the opponent double teamed Joe, Micah made them pay with weak side rebounding.

Micah runs the floor very well with or without the ball.    He has great hands.  We are working to get him to run the floor in wider lanes during transitions to take advantage of his strong finishing abilities with either hand, off either foot.  He is fearless finishing now that he has learned to gather under control and explode up toward and above the rim.  Running wider lanes will also encourage easier passes from his point guard Cearan Adkins who has a chest and bounce pass that would make Steve Nash proud.   By attacking the rim at a 45 degree angle from that wide  approach, Micah will always present his PG with a nice passing lane.

Micah made an awesome cut to the hole to receive a pass from his wing.  He is one of the stronger cutters I work with.  It is critical he continues to work on this skill as plays are not really drawn up for him.  The ability to score 10 points per game based on strong cuts, getting to the line, offensive put backs, and the occasional open jumper are what Micah can bring to the table this year for a deep and talented Smithville team.  This summer we will work on expanding his confidence, consistency, and decision making.   I was really proud of Micah on a steal where he pushed the ball up the court and decided to reset after looking at the numbers.  Real growth moment for him in this regard.

Peter Marrick started the game despite an ankle injury that was causing some pain.  We have worked to give Peter a scoring mindset as a zonebusting shooter.  We work on his footwork so he is always ready to catch and shoot and we are always working to speed up his release without screwing up the wonderful mechanics he has.  Peter started off the game shooting kind of flat footed and his body language looked hesitant- perhaps it was the ankle I thought.  I believe he was 0 for his first five shots.  Smithville Coach Cyril Adkins emphatically implored, encouraged and told Peter to stay focused on shooting and be aggressive.  I used to tell Peter he was not in the game for his defense and to shoot the ball, but I noticed his defense has improved vastly and look forward to help building a formidable defender.

Coach Adkins clearly got in Peter’s head and Peter stopped hesitating.  Peter hit 7 of his next nine 3 point attempts.  I am not sure what the Smithville record is but seven  3 pointers on 13 attempts is ELITE SHOOTING.  I was really proud of his resilience, and belief in himself to keep taking big shots.  Peter contributed some rebounds, a nice steal jumping a passing lane, and had a highlight reel floater on the run.  Peter and I will be working harder at getting open in the set offense, becoming a more effective target on the fastbreak, court vision, and going to where the ball will be.  Peter is also going to work on his rebounding this year as Smithville will really need team rebounding next year.

Austin Basketball Trainer Chris Corbett is going to see 30 of his players games in the 30 days of January of 2012.  He keeps this crazy schedule to support their goals, and to gain a better understanding of how they perform under pressure, implement his teachings and to understand their coaches philosophies so he can blend his teachings into making the player a stronger asset to the school program.

 Call Austin Basketball Trainer Chris Corbett today to help take your game to the next level.  512.921.4444