Hoop Dreams

SPARQ Testing Continues

Ok everybody we may have some competition in the best athlete so far category... I will let you guys make your own comparisons but as they say... The Numbers Don't Lie

I think I am going to have to find a way for these two to compete head up to determine who is the better athlete. Hmmmn... anyone else think they are the best athlete in the state? Step up and show me on November 17th. 

Dexter Strickland St. Patrick's H.S.  6'3  172

Vertical Jump 34

3/4 Court 3.15

Lane Agility 10.75

Multi-Stage 85

Kenneth Ortiz Science Park H.S.  5'11  173

Vertical Jump 33.6

3/4 Court 2.88

Lane Agility 10.41

Multi-Stage 87

For those of you who have been under a rock and still don't know what SPARQ is:

Their better will continue to be better than yours if you continue to not train harder than your opponent during the off-season. If you want a discount on SPARQ Equipment go here

Hoop Dreams

Today's Cautionary Tale for those who honestly believe that they are the best and their basketball future is paved in gold because of a few moments of gratification earned in Summer League, AAU and even High School!! If you have or haven't seen this movie please take a moment to share this movie with a young person you know.

Better hit those books and become a well-rounded person.....just in case you never get to live your "Hoop Dreams"

The Killer Crossover

Can I take you guys down memory lane for arguably one of the greatest signature moves of all time? Long before there were signature moves on NBA 2K whatever, or those non-defended ridiculous violations called streetball, this was the ultimate move. Class is in session, quiz on these moves at the next workout:

P.S. Let us not judge, we all make mistakes.. just learn the moves.

You Tube Baby

Came across this and had to share it with everyone. Let me know your thoughts. 

I have my own thoughts but would love to hear your comments and opinions as many of you are living in this world.

The Ratings Game

So summer is officially over, players are taking visits and coaches are convinced they have the fool-proof plan to prepare their team for a winning season. Time will tell as the new season is right around the corner. Each morning that you wake up to fresh dew and fog know that basketball season is that much closer. I know quite a few of you are serious about the season because you took the first step by getting your SPARQ Ratings. I'm coming out to test many more of you in the next couple of weeks so if you haven't been tested and you would like to be tested please contact me so that we can arrange for you to get your SPARQ Rating. For those who have already tested I am submitting all your scores, look out for your email from SPARQ. The most exciting day so far had to be when a coach came all the way from Chapel Hill and witnessed first hand the best athlete to test so far. He even went so far as to tell a story about a skinny freshman whose vertical jump he measured back in 81-82...When he told me it was a 34 we both laughed and agreed that anyone boasting a 40 inch vertical would have to let us witness it first hand before we actually believed it. If you got it, I want to see it so let me come out and test you to find out. Before I go any further, I have to take a moment to recognize a few individuals:

Best Athlete So Far:

34 Inch Vertical, 10.75 Lane Agility, 3.15 3/4 Court Sprint, 85 Multi-Stage Hurdle



Most Spirited Team:

Columbia Boy's Basketball




Best Full Team Participation:




Ok so you heard the stories, you see the fun what are you waiting for? Don't do it for me, don't do it for you, do it for your athletes who need to be measured in order to benchmark where they are against their national competition. If you don't test, you can't compare if you don't compare than you can't compete. If we both are good players the coach is going to take the better athlete every time.

Not to say I told you so but......


These tests do kind of matter if you are interested in going to that next level. 

I'm Back......Bearing Gifts

Hey Everybody!!!

Glad to connect with you once again. Lot of happenings since we last spoke. Summer is officially over and getting stuck behind school buses is back in effect. I'm refreshed recharged and ready to get back training again. A quick trip to Vegas and a little bit of R&R did just the trick. Actually, I was working but since I love what I do so much how could I possibly see it as work. Besides, it's not everyday you get to shoot jumpers with...2 Olympic Gold Medalists, a Rookie of The Year, 2 NBA Champions and two guys who almost upset the 2008 NBA Champions by pushing them to 7 games. Imagine that, one minute I'm instructing you in drills and then next thing you know I have two of the premier shooting guards in the NBA running through that drive and kick and roll-up drill we always do. What a joy to watch this year's NBA MVP Runner-Up execute an L-Cut to perfection, cross-over and dunk on somebody. When that kid from B-More did the mid-post inside pivot move the way I teach it and drop-step dunked...I realized just how far I'd come. 

Back home, I just experienced my first and last "Masculine Sunday" where I get to sit on the couch watch my beloved Steelers and relax and do absolutely nothing. Thanks to my good fortune work will not afford me any more Masculine Sundays and it's back to work training anyone and everyone who is serious about getting better. It's all about using the TiVo now so if you see me on a Sunday don't mention any football scores please!!!

So what's new with you? Back to School, Back to Work, Back Overseas or back to Training Camp? Hopefully whatever it is, you are approaching it with good spirits. You can tell when the weather changes here in the northeast because everybody gets a little short and starts to lose patience when the weather gets cold. No bad attitude here, I'm excited basketball season will be here before we know it and that's a good thing. Speaking of good things I have great news to share with you:

• D-TRAINED is an authorized member of the SPARQ Training Network, authorized to give each athlete a SPARQ Rating that can be used to compare and contrast with other athletes around the nation.
• The SPARQ Rating is a number that identifies overall athletic ability and is used by top coaches and trainers around the nation as an initial indicator of an athletes potential.
• The key value of the SPARQ Rating is that it provides athletes with an invaluable tool for staying motivated, measuring results, focusing training, and maximizing their success.

• D-TRAINED will be offering several opportunities to Test, Train and Compete for the SPARQ "Elite Basketball Rating"

Details can be found here check back often as we will be adding more testing dates and locations. If you are interested in hosting a SPARQ Combine for your school or team click here 

Girl's High School Basketball Players please join me on this date


On another note if you can do this:



You now have 66 Million Reasons to avoid the charlatans:








Best Wishes For a Speedy Recovery Monta

10 Reasons Your Training Program Won't Be Effective:

1. Since you didn't test your athletes to provide a baseline from where to begin training, they have nothing to serve as motivation or indication that the training program actually works
2. It's not Sport-Specific, running hills with barrels on your back in 3 feet of snow sounds challenging mentally and physically, I'm just not sure it will help basketball players
3. Fall League doesn't count as a training day, you play in a league, there is no mention of work or training in the words "League Play" besides, didn't we just finish playing "Summer League"
4. No sound nutritional plan to complement the program. Intense training breaks down the muscle, nutrition and rest are what build the muscle back up. If you don't eat right to support your training all that hard work goes down the drain
5. You love Xerox, DVD's and the Internet so you copy every drill, workout,  and tip you can find. The problem comes in when you don't know how to properly administer the drills or implement progressions once the athletes begin to master what you've shown them.
6. Training muscles in isolation is one of the worst things you can do because your body doesn't work in isolation, muscles perform movements in a synchronous manner. Your training movements should mimic your in game movements. How often do you lie on your back or stomach in basketball?
7. Still using LSD, not the acid but the acronym for Long Slow Distance. Basketball is an anaerobic sport requiring short bursts, stops, starts and constant lateral movement and change of direction. Get off the track, get on the court and start sliding, cutting, jumping and sprinting quickly.
8. Training adaptations take a minimum of 8 to 12 weeks to take effect. Don't expect the player who weighs 150 to weigh 200 and don't expect the guy who weighs 300 to weigh 250 by the time the season starts. Training is a constant thing not a quick fix before the season starts.
9. If you can't fit 50 people comfortably in the training zone, then don't do it. There is nothing worse than overcrowded training without specific attention to detail and proper supervision. Athletes need constant motivation and teaching cues to keep them going, if you can't provide them with these things  your training benefits will suffer.
10. You plan on doing the same things you did last year and expecting different results.

Exhale......

As evidenced by my last post, I'm loving the yoga. It's making me exhale, relax and feel about 10 years younger. This was very evident in the last college workout we had where I singlehandedly beat about 12 D-1 players in shooting drills. Take that back to school with you young people. Speaking of young people, parents you can exhale when the kids go back to school and aren't sitting around watching TV, eating up all the food and taking up space!! Coaches you can exhale before you say anything to your players who have slacked on their workout program over the summer. Save your breath, you're going to need it come October and November, December, January, February but not March because if you're yelling that much you probably aren't winning too many games!!

On a more serious note, how about USA Basketball taking a moment to exhale...didn't we address guarding the pick and roll and help-side defense after the 2004 debacle in Athens? I know we won but man a couple of glaring questions came out of that final game. Where's the help side rotation, why did Kobe gamble and get Dwight Howard posterized at such a crucial point in the game, and can we finally put to rest the notion that the best players come from a hood near you? Let me stop there and digress. Thank goodness for TiVo without it I would have missed the majority of the games as well as this great commercial:



Speaking of games, I was front and center at the 2008 Boost Mobile Elite 24 Classic at Rucker Park. Of course I had to support my guy Dexter "Rez" Strickland and he didn't disappoint winning the Dunk Contest and dropping 19. Man it was just yesterday when he was a skinny 8th grader coming to workout, he was going to kill me after the first workout I put him through. Congrats Dex, going to miss you when you go off to Carolina next year. Speaking of Carolina, unless you've been under a rock you have heard the name John Wall. Check out the videos of him and Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson at the 2008 Boost Mobile Elite 24 Classic:













Well.....Exhale, that's all folks one more assignment this week in Vegas and then it's a little R&R for me. The new fall schedule will be out shortly so check your email and check the site www.dtrained.com/events.html soon. If you're looking to add a little "SPARQ" to your training stay tuned because I will have some very exciting news in the very near future. Test, Train, Compete...How do you rate?

Active Rest

It's August and your legs are starting to feel heavy. It's been a long summer you've been training hard(or not) and playing lots of games and mentally and physically you are worn out. What's a player to do? Most of you will find a remote and a couch hoping to sleep in each day and stay relaxed and asleep for most of the day.

For what it's worth your mind and your body might benefit from a different form of activity that allows you to stay active while allowing your mind and body to recover. Getting your heart rate up helps distribute blood throughout the body, bringing oxygen and nutrients to muscles fatigued from working out. This process will also help flush away lactic acid that has built up in muscles following exercise. Lactic Acid occurs when oxygen can no longer be delivered to working muscles and results in fatigue. So what are examples of Active Rest? Here are a few things you can try:

Bikram Yoga




Foam Roller Exercises




Stability Ball Workouts




Enjoy the workouts, relax your mind and let your body recover. Let's get ready for Fall Training. Yes training, not playing we've done enough of that all summer!!

Because You Don't Practice

So wrapping up the "Jordan Training Tour", I have toured the country being introduced to many a ballplayer. So many look the part. According to SPARQ Ratings a select few were Elite, some were Above Average, but the majority "Needed Training." Some cities represented very well and I enjoyed training over 1,000 kids over the past 6 weeks.

A few observations I must share......

1. Players need to perfect the "Jump-Stop"

2. There is not enough emphasis on proper shooting

3. We need to teach players how to get to the rim quickly with one dribble

4. Basketball IQ is not being stressed enough

5. Footwork and Agility are essential so please don't underestimate the value and importance of training

Overall, I was very pleased with the great turn-outs in each city. I love that you guys are reading my blogs, downloading my videos and implementing my training techniques. It's nice to meet all of you. Thank you to all the young people and coaches who allowed me to impact their lives in a positive way, you are my inspiration and allow me to keep putting all my energy into this training. If I gave you a card please do stay in touch, I want to follow your progress and see how the training helps you. If you're not good at something .....it's "Because You Don't Practice"!!

We have about two more weeks of training and then we'll break for a bit to mentally and physically recover before getting ready for fall training. I look forward to seeing everyone in the gym soon.