Some people recently made their schools team (whether A team, Varsity, etc), while others didn’t or were put on the B team. This can be devastating, and I know first-hand.

What will you do with your opportunity? Whether you made the team or not, today you have a chance to get better. You have that opportunity every day!

Will you take the pain and disappointment and use it as motivation? Will you push yourself to a new level?

I went to LaSalle College High School my freshman year of high school. After 2 days of tryouts with 80+ freshmen, the staff posted a list of athletes that would be at tryouts the next day. My name was not on the list, and that is a moment I will forever remember. That meant I didn’t make the first cut…

I knew I was good enough to compete at that level, but I was not even given a 3rd day of tryouts. I immediately started training the next week at a school I had never heard of, Chestnut Hill Academy. My father had found an ad in the newspaper for Matt Paul Basketball clinics, so I jumped at the opportunity to work on my game.

I ultimately made the choice to transfer to Chestnut Hill Academy where I repeated freshman year. I played for the freshman team that was coached by Matt Paul. Our team went 18-3, but one win I will never forget.

In the championship game of the Springfield Christmas Tournament we faced off against LaSalle College High School. LaSalle has more kids’ tryout for the freshman team than CHA has in the entire freshman class, and WE BEAT THEM!

Never give up!

I have talked to a lot of kids about how to prepare for their tryouts. Therefore, I realized the need for a post about how players can stand out in tryouts. I am going to keep it simple and make it easy to remember.

In the moment you can only CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE. Don’t try to do anything you haven’t practiced or change the way you play. Do these 5 things and you will standout in Tryouts.

1.     Hustle

Give 100% effort every play and do that from the start until the very end.

In a drill, scrimmage or sprint, be the best you can be and hold nothing back.

Every loose ball or rebound is yours to get!

2.     Listen

Make eye contact and listen to direction carefully, as you want to show the coach you are locked in and there to get better.

Don’t make the coach repeat himself. If he corrects someone else, he is talking to everyone so listen.

3.     Talk

Have the confidence to TALK on the court, whether on defense or offense.

Talking helps your teammates and it shows you are a good teammate and confident enough to have a voice – and you’ll stand out.

Introduce yourself to the coach and thank them after the workout. Make sure they know who you are!

4.     Defend

·        Work hard and talk on every possession.

·        Finish every play with a rebound.

5.     Next Play

·        Basketball is a game of mistakes! Move on to the NEXT PLAY!

·        Don’t hang your head at any point, no matter what happens.

You have trained hard and are ready for this moment. Tryouts are a chance for you to showcase what you can do. View it as a challenge to showcase your skills, not a test to see if your good enough.

Good Luck!

Keep me updated on how things go and if you have any questions text me @ 215-83-8820.

This is a message I relay to every athlete I work with!

For example, most somewhat experienced players can bounce the ball from hand to hand (commonly referred to as a crossover) without much difficulty and rarely ever lose the ball. However, if you pound the ball as fast and as hard as you can, to the point of discomfort, then you will lose the ball far more often.

Which method will allow you to dribble the ball faster and improve your ball handling? The method that requires less effort and results in less mistakes (losing the ball less) or the method that requires maximum effort and results in more mistakes (losing the ball more)?

After failing again and again, you will begin to succeed and you will now be able to perform a faster and stronger crossover dribble in practice, but more importantly in games.

Just like LIFE in basketball you grow more in those times you push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

As you can imagine this lesson fits any situation. To make my point I will list a few:

 1. Would you become a better reader if you always read the easy books that were effortless and didn't push you outside your comfort zone?

2. Would you get stronger if you always lifted the light weights that were easy and comfortable?

3. Would you get faster if you jogged at a comfortable pace that didn't cause you any discomfort?

Those are just 3 basic examples, but there are infinite examples.

This is an important lesson for any basketball player to learn, but more importantly for anyone to learn!

As Vince Lombardi said “To achieve success, whatever the job we have, we must pay a price.”

The word can't is used far too frequently. We tell kids anything is possible, yet when they say 'I can't do that', we fail to even notice.

Over my first year of training individuals I noticed players saying this. It wasn't a 2nd grader commenting on his ability to dunk or a 5th grader commenting on his ability to make a full court shot. Rather, it was players at all ages/ levels, using the phrase 'I can't' when a drill challenged them outside their comfort zone.

Why did I notice this? Why did this phrase bother me so much?

In order to understand the answer to that I must tell a quick story about my 4th grade teacher (The best teacher I ever had).

One day, Mr. Kukla had our entire class write a list of things 'we can't do.' He took each list and put them in a box. He sealed the box and told us, "There is nothing you can't do" and from that point forward we weren't allowed to say 'I can't.'

It didn't end there. As a class we went out to the woods with a shovel and we buried that box. This was a symbolic action that left an impression. I will never forget that lesson.

Now no matter who I am coaching, whether they are a 6 year old, All state player, or 33 year old...even my 62 year old mother at the gym. If you say 'can't', I say 'Five push-ups.'

 Why did I choose to be a coach? When did I know I wanted to coach?

 Coaching and teaching was something that I enjoyed from a young age.

In middle school at St. Alphonsus, I would help coach my peers who were not as experienced at the sport. At the time, I just thought I was being a good teammate and helping our team improve.

In high school at Chestnut Hill Academy, I competed at basketball, track, baseball, and XC, yet I still found time to help coach other teams such as CYO basketball and baseball. In class, while most of the time I focused on the teacher and listening to the lecture, I often did draw inbound plays and quick hitters in my notebooks. 

In college at Davidson, I started out as a manager and practice player, which meant I did anything the team needed me to do in practice to help prepare the team for our upcoming opponents. Through hard work I earned a spot on the team and in my new role I continued to work every day to help make our team the best we could be.

I spent a year playing in Belfast, Northern Ireland. While over there I did a lot of coaching and working with youth, and I loved every moment of my time there. I saw the impact I could have and the knowledge I could share with the next generation.

I returned home to Philadelphia ready to figure out what was next. Landry Kosmalski, one of my assistant coaches at Davidson College, was now the Head Coach at a local college, Swarthmore College. 

Landry, asked me, "Do you want to help out with the team?" 

Without hesitation I said, "Yes!" 

The rest is history! I have now coached at Swarthmore for 3 seasons and I have trained hundreds of athletes as I share my passion and knowledge of the game with anyone from young to old, beginner to professional.

Now I get to spend each day on a court doing what I LOVE!