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D-TRAIN Speaks at UCONN
April Fool's Gold
After much rumor and speculation, the NCAA has officially eliminated the April viewing period from the men’s basketball recruiting calendar beginning in 2009. This means that tour de force that is the Division I college coaching herd will not be allowed to watch prospects compete until the July live period. The impact of this announcement was both drastic and immediate, and although some event organizers were holding their breath while they hoped for a reprieve, their bubble has now officially burst. “What’s the impact?” Trey Robinson, Director of Scouting Operations asks rhetorically. “The good teams are not going to the April events. Listen, it’s really a simple formula: Too many of the April events relied on getting teams to come simply because the D1 coaches would be there. MANY of the April events have digressed into poorly run, disorganized spectacles that simply relied on the live period to draw teams. Now that hook is gone and teams are going to save their money to attend well-run, quality events. Quite honestly, many of the April events have gotten lazy and now many of them may not survive. There’s no bail out plan here.” Robinson’s emphatic predictions appear to be on the money, as April events from Texas to the mid-Atlantic, to New England are reporting registration numbers significantly down from last year. “The model has changed,” says Robinson charged up as if he’s ready to dive on a loose ball.
“It’s no big secret that money is tight in every sector of the economy, and AAU basketball is certainly no exception,” says Tom McShea of Scout.com. “Choices will simply be different this year. The removal of the April live period will clearly factor into plans. I can definitely tell you that teams from metro Chicago, Boston, and New York will not be boarding planes to travel in April.” All signs seem to point to the fact that in response to tighter budgets, teams will travel to fewer events and stay much more regional than they have in perhaps the last decade. This trend impacts not only the parent-financed teams but also the sneaker company sponsored giants. Both Nike and Adidas have dropped teams from their stables. In addition, the budgets are not limitless. “Trust me, it’s not a bottomless pit of money by any stretch of the imagination,” says one mid-west based Adidas sponsored program director. “Don’t get me wrong, we love the sponsorship and the access that it gives us, but most teams get less than $15,000 plus merchandise. That sounds like a lot of money, but when you consider that our contract calls for us to travel to three events that will require plane tickets, hotels, and meals for ten kids and three coaches, that money starts to dwindle pretty quickly. We will still play in the right events, but everybody’s going to have to be smarter about what they do and where they go.”
What does all of this mean? It depends, do you take April Fool's Gold and continue to pay for and play in meaningless non-competitive tournaments, or do you use the time between April and July wisely to train and develop yourself so that you can actually get noticed? July's events will now take on much greater meaning. Don't squander the next 3 months. Development before exposure or else you will get exposed. The next workout I'm having is on Monday.
5 Essential Training Tools For You To Use This Off-Season:
- Kettlebell: The kettlebell is a traditional Russian cast iron weight looking somewhat like a cannonball with a handle. The kettlebell has become a popular exercise tool in the United States. Kettlebell workouts are intended to increase strength, endurance, agility and balance, challenging both the muscular and cardiovascular system with dynamic, total-body movements.
- Foam Rollers: Foam rollers are cross-over equipment from rehab training. They are inexpensive, lightweight and versatile. Very simple pieces of equipment (nothing more than a cylinder made of high-density foam) foam rollers are put to all kinds of uses, such as stretching, self-massage, body support, and stability exercises.
- Coconut Water: 100% pure coconut water with natural flavor essences. With five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, low acidity, no fat, no sugar added, and no cholesterol, A natural, refreshing way to hydrate and replenish
- Resistance Bands: Use resistance tubing routinely to prevent and rehabilitate overuse injuries by strengthening often smaller, neglected muscle groups.
- A Functional Movement Screen: Performing The Functional Movement Screen and implementing corrective exercise will help to alleviate injury and improve overall performance.
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