Tag Archives: premier hoops

Basketball Skills and Drills Clinics in Massachusetts this Spring!

Posted on by
Reply

To see all current spring basketball programs click here!

Spring 2013 will be a big season of skill development at Premier Hoops!

Spring Skills & Drills | Our main focus this spring will be to develop the fundamental basketball skills of youth players in Eastern Massachusetts through training in: shooting, passing, rebounding, layups, footwork, dribble moves, and quickness!

Our goal is to combine competitive scrimmage nights with top level basketball skills training nights for ten weeks. This program with produce noticeable transformation in players’ conditioning, skills and court sense!

All programs will have a 1 to 6 coach to player ratio.

We will have basketball skills training locations in Marblehead, Salem, Peabody, and Cambridge.

We expect to see a lot of boys and girls between grades 2 and 12 coming from the North Shore and South Shore of Massachusetts.

Spring Teams | We will also have four basketball teams for boys between grades 5 and 8. The players who are on teams are required to do our weekly skills and drills program. These players represent the towns of Swampscott, Salem, Saugus, Peabody, Marblehead, Lynn, Georgetown, Tewksbury, and Middleton.

Kiddie Hoops | We will also have a early childhood developmental program called Kiddie Hoops, which will be in Peabody and Marblehead. This is for children ages two to six and it is very fun! Kids will learn new drills and will be taught the basics of basketball!

All Girls Spring Skills Program North Shore | The 10-week program is for girls only and will run twice a week for ten weeks. Skill development nights are on Mondays at the Bowditch  School in Salem and scrimmage/game nights are at the Veterans Middle School in Marblehead.

Program Director Tara Driscoll
Coach Tara has been coaching at basketball camps and clinics for over four years. She was a captain at Swampscott High School and then got recruited to play at Salem State College, where she played for four years as the point guard. She is an outstanding coach and teacher and is also currently pursuing a degree in education.

WHO: 2-12 Grade Girls

WHEN: March 29 – June 12

10 Sessions of Monday Skills
@ Bowditch School, 79 Willson St  Salem, MA 01970

10 Sessions of Wednesday Scrimmaging
@ Veterans Middle School, 217 Pleasant St, Marblehead, MA 01945

All Boys Spring Skills Program Peabody | The 10-week program is for boys only and will run twice a week for ten weeks. Players have the option to do the full program, any 10 out of 20 sessions, or just 10 scrimmages. Doing the full program will produce the most results.

Program Director: John Kanarksi
Coach Kanarski has been coaching and training players at for over one year at Premier Hoops. He played basketball at Marblehead High School and then was recruited to play at Umass Dartmouth where he played four years as the point guard. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree physical education.

WHO: 2-12 Grade Boys

WHEN: March 31 – June 16 — Sunday and Thursday Nights

WHERE: Saint Vasilios Church, 5 Paleologos Street, Peabody, MA 01960

10 Sessions of Sunday Skills (75 minutes)

10 Sessions of Thursday Scrimmaging (75 minutes)

All Boys Spring Skills Program Marblehead | The 10-week program is for boys only and will run twice a week for ten weeks. Players have the option to do the full program, any 10 out of 20 sessions, or just 10 scrimmages. Doing the full program will produce the most results.

Program Director: Michael Leykin
Coach Leykin is the founder of Premier Hoops. He has over seven years of coaching experience including four years as the Assistant Head Coach of Marblehead High School Boys’ Varsity. He played high school basketball for St. John’s Prep and was then recruited to play for Babson College.

WHO: 2-12 Grade Boys

WHEN: April 3 – June 16

10 Sessions of Wednesday Scrimmaging
@ Veterans Middle School, 217 Pleasant St, Marblehead, MA 01945

10 Sessions of Sunday Skills
@ JCC, 4 Community Road, Marblehead, MA 01945

Premier Hoops Website: www.premierhoopsters.com

Premier Hoops Spring Page: www.premierhoopsters.com/programs/spring

 

Contact Premier Hoops Director, Mike Leykin:
Direct: 781-724-8125
E-mail: mleykin@premierhoopsters.com
Web: www.premierhoopsters.com

What it Takes to be a Great Point Guard!

Posted on by
Reply


As a part of our “Point Guard Camp” curriculum, we lecture our players on what it takes to be a great point guard. These notes have been taken from Bob Hurley’s video “Point Guard Play” and they provide an excellent description on what all great point guards have in common:

Notes taken from Bob Hurley’s DVD “Point Guard Play”

All great point guards:

  • Dreamed the dream
  • Played more than everyone else around them
  • Played with enthusiasm
  • Every one of them believed that their size was not going to be a disadvantage
  • Outwork everybody
  • Talents – had no week skill level (only area that you can be average is shooting)
  • Think pass first – shot second (we guy)
  • First step in every situation is towards defense basketball (take a step back)
  • Be a pest – annoying – people don’t like to play against you
  1. Draw charges
  2. Stripping the ball
  3. Dribble north and south
  • Get inside the defense, get in the lane
  • Get the feet in the lane on offense (be under control)
  • Get dribble to mid-thigh level
  • Change of speeds when dribbling and moving
  • Fore arm is a position to protect and accept
  • Accept the challenge personally when team is pressed. Consider it a personal insult to you.
  • Be an extension of your coach
  • Always know the score and time
  • Game face at all times – never crack, have a stone face
  • Be the best communicator on the floor
  • Success is from neck up, not neck down.
  • Must be a good foul shooter
  • If you can shoot the three that makes you different – this stretches the defense because defense has to play you
  • Have your own style, be your own player and play to your strengths
  • Make your teammates better
  • Success = Titles

Remember, the point guard position is one of the toughest positions to play because it takes a unique type of player. This player must be great in all skill sets and must think “we” first. He is a floor captain and an extension of the coach.

 

Pre-Season Basketball Training Tips :: Track Your Progress!

Posted on by
1

With only about 4 months to go before try-outs and the start of the season there’s still time to make a significant impact in your game!

Of course, it’s important to set goals, but now is the time to track your progress! For example, if one of your goals is to improve your shooting, track your shooting percentage.
How many attempts does it take you to make 50 shots with one step inside of the foul line?
Or How many foul shots can you make in a row?

Track your progress so that you can see if you are actually making improvement!

The same can be done with a lot of different aspects in the course of your fall pre-season training. This article gives tips on drills and things you can do to be in top condition for the start of the season!

1. USE YOUR FRIENDS AND PARENTS!
When ever you want to go workout ask your parents or friends for help! For example, if you want to get a lot of shots up ask your mom or dad to help rebound for you or ask a basketball friend to workout together (that way you can rebound for each other)!
If you want to practice ball-handling drills ask your friends or parents to help time you!
If you want to increase your speed, ask your friends or parents to time how long takes for sprint the full length of the court – there and back!
Doing drills with the help of a workout buddy or parent is a great way to track your progress during the course of the pre-season.

2. DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO SOMEONE ELSE!
There could be players who are quicker than you, better at shooting  or more athletically gifted, but it’s important not to get stuck comparing yourself to them. There is still 4 months to go in the off-season and a lot of things can change. As long as you set your goals high and work to achieve them everyday, that’s all that matters and that’s all that you can control! After all of your hard work, you will notice that the peers who were better than you are now not as good as you thought! This means you have outworked them!

3. PLAY AS MUCH BASKETBALL AS POSSIBLE!
This pre-season make it a goal to play basketball every single day and have a basketball with you everywhere you go!

  • Dribble the ball on your walk to school and back!
  • Play pickup games at local parks
  • Challenge better players to play one on one
  • Work on dribbling/ball-handling drills at least 15 minutes every day
  • Find a team or league to play on/in
  • Attend skills clinics
  • Practice dribble moves, trick shots, and floaters (pretend like you are trying to make someone off balance when you are practicing)
  • Jump rope 5 minutes every day (try to get 100 in a row)!
  • Do 100 pushups/100 situps every day (middle/high schoolers)


GOOD PRE-SEASON DRILLS!

1. “BEAT THE PRO” DRILL
This is a great shooting drill that you can customize and work on with a parent or friend!
Track your progress! See how long it takes you to beat the pro (10 minutes?, 20 minutes?). If you are getting better at it then add -2 or -3 for a miss or try to get to +10 instead of +7 for a win!
Elementary Schoolers -  A miss counts as -1, a make counts as +1, if you get +5 you win, if you get -5 you lose!
Middle/High Schoolers – A miss counts as -2, a make counts as +1, if you get +7 you win, if you get -7 you lose!


2. “10 RHYTHM DRILLS 1″
These are great ball-handling drills that will really improve your ball strength! They help for dribbling, rebounding, catching, and passing! You can do these drills anywhere… as long as you have a basketball!
Track your progress by seeing how long you can do these drills by finding a rhythm and not messing up, but you have to go your absolute hardest in every drill!
Have you parent or friend time you for these drills! If you are start off by being able to “around the backs” for 3 seconds without messing up, try to improve to 6 seconds, and then to 10 seconds!


3. MAKING SHOTS IN A ROW!
Great shooters are consistent, this drill requires players to make mid-range and 3 point shots in a row before they go on to the next spot!
Track your progress by seeing how long in time it takes you to finish the drill!
Elementary Schoolers  make 3 shots in a row from spots 1-5
Middle Schoolers  make 5 shots in a row from spots 1-5
Elite Middle Schoolers  make 5 shots in a row from spots 1-5 and 3 shots in a row from spots 6-10
High Schoolers  make 5 shots in a row from spots 1-5 and 5 shots in a row from spots 6-10
Elite High Schoolers make 7 shots in a row from spots 1-5 and 7 shots in a row from spots 6-10

FOR MORE HELPFUL DRILLS VISIT OUR YOUTUBE PAGE!

http://www.youtube.com/thepremierhoops

Top 10 Ways To Get Better at Basketball This Summer

Posted on by
Reply

If you follow these guidelines, you are guaranteed to get better at basketball this summer!

  1. Play basketball every day!
  2. Set goals for the summer and post them in your room on your wall – create a summer training regiment for yourself based on your goals
  3. Work on your weaknesses/master new moves at least 20 minutes a day
  4. Carry a basketball around with you everywhere you go
  5. Go to basketball camps and clinics
  6. Play in basketball leagues (against better players)
  7. Play in pickup games at local basketball parks (against better players)
  8. Stretch before and after you play
  9. Lay off the junk food! – try not to eat fried foods, sugary foods, a lot of cheese
  10. Stay hydrated – drink lots of water!

Also, here these are some helpful drills to work on!

Off-Season Nutrition and Training Tips by MG Lifestyle Solutions

Posted on by
Reply

The off-season is right around the corner. Are you ready to get better, stronger, faster, more confident?

What are you willing to do to reach the next level?

What is YOUR next level?

  • Are you a bench player that wants to play more next year?
  • Did you come off the bench this year and want to be a starter next year?
  • Are you a freshman that wants to play varsity next year?

At Premier Hoops, we understand the importance of setting and meeting goals. Our Strength and Conditioning Director and co-founder of MG Lifestyle Solutions, Ilya Gluskin (click here for his bio), has provided basic tips for our players on off-season nutrition and conditioning. We believe that endurance and proper diet are significant factors in reaching the next level!
Like Coach Ilya and MG Lifestyle Solutionson Facebook - Click Here
Follow Coach ill @iworksfitness – Click Here
E-mail for more tips – Contact@mglifestylesolutios.com

5 Basic Nutrition Tips

-          1.   Hydration! Proper hydration is the back bone to adequate nutrition and   performance. Being in a state of dehydration impedes performance by decreasing nutrient delivery, heat regulation, joint integrity and much more. Effective hydration starts 24 hours prior to performance.

-          2.   Replenish energy stores (eat) after training. This means that you should consume a balanced meal after your training session to help with muscular recover and growth. Ideally you have about a 2 hour window to replenish in order to optimize your training session.

-          3.    Avoid foods loaded with sugar. As much as we all love our sweets, they supply us little nutritional value. They typically spike our blood glucose levels and give us a quick boost of energy that proportionally fades away leaving us in a deprived state. Try eating more fruits that have natural sugars as well as a diverse mixture of vitamins.

-          4.   Don’t skip breakfast. I’m sure you have heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In some ways it is, but really all that matters is that you have a meal in the morning when you wake up. This not only gives your energy to tackle your morning activities, but it also gets your metabolism fired up and working. The sooner you make this happen by introducing food into your body the more efficient you will be in digesting and utilizing the food for energy.

-          5.  Avoid training right after a meal. Give your body anywhere from 30-45 minutes to digest a meal before training. This allows for proper digestion to take place providing your muscles the energy needed to perform at your maximal capacity. Not allowing this process to take place will leave your stomach full of undigested food during your training depriving your muscles of their much needed fuel source. This happens due to a central nervous system reaction that shunts blood away from your major organs toward your muscles to aide in muscle activity.

5 Basic Training Tips

-          1.  Goals! After your season is over it is time to sit down and reevaluate your season and decide what you plan to improve for the following season. Make a list of goals with a timeline and plan of action. Once this is accomplished attain the resources necessary to make these goals a reality.

-          2.  Improve your endurance. The off season is a great time to improve your cardiovascular endurance. Once the next season starts it is too late to get “in shape” for the season. When training endurance don’t automatically think run 10 miles. Instead think more specific to your sport. Think about the type of movements required during a basketball game. Typically there are frequent changes of direction accompanied with a high intensity sprint down the court. So ask yourself is a 10 mile run really that applicable for my sport? Instead try running 100 yard sprint, change of direction drills, and plyometric drills such as box jumps. This being said long duration cardiovascular exercise is still a great training method to build general cardiac fitness.

-          3. Strengthening. The off season is the best time to really get stronger. The regular season makes it very difficult to apply an adequate strength training program. The season is more appropriate for maintenance and not improvement. Becoming stronger can be accomplished in many using a variety of techniques. There are many different suggestions and guide lines for strengthening different age groups. However, the most important aspect to any training program is safety. Make sure that you have had the proper education and training prior to starting a strength training program. A few basic exercises that are safe for all ages are: Air squats, push-up, and pull-ups. Since you are only using your own body weight there is a reduced risk for injury as long as you maintain proper form. Mix these three exercises within your 100 yard sprints to increase the intensity and put your body to the test. Remember that in order for performance adaptation to take place your body must experience a high enough stressor.

-          4. Practice skills after cardio or muscular training. This strategy really puts your skills and endurance to the test. Practicing your skill such as shooting and dribbling at the end of your training session requires you to focus and concentrate on a different level similar to a 4th quarter situation when your body is fatigued.

-          5. Stretching. Mobility is a key factor in performance and injury prevention. It is important to warm-up your body and muscles prior to training. Also include static stretching after your training to prevent muscle soreness and improve your tissue extensibility. Overall it is important to maintain a proper balance in muscle length, stability and mobility. To achieve permanent muscle length change it is recommended that each stretch should be held for at least 30 seconds for 2-3 sets. This should be done after each training session or game.

The Truth About AAU Basketball

Posted on by
Reply

Winter basketball season will soon be over… what’s next?

Spring AAU Basketball tryouts are being held everywhere for players of all ages.

Premier Hoops is not an AAU Basketball Program, but our team knows a great deal about AAU and we are writing this post for members and non-members of Premier Hoops, who are thinking about playing on an AAU Basketball Team this spring or summer.

Pros of AAU Basketball

1. Playing more organized basketball – In addition to working on your basketball skills we highly recommend playing on a team and in refereed games where there is structure. It’s important to combine the skills you practice in a game setting.

2. Exposure – It’s crucial for players who are looking to play at the collegiate level to be seen by college coaches. Coaches of all college divisions (D1, D2, and D3) come watch rising talent at AAU Tournaments.

3. Making new friends – You can make life long friendships from any basketball team that you play on. AAU Programs can create lasting bonds between players of different locations.

Cons of AAU Basketball

1. Quality of Coaching – For many AAU Basketball Programs money comes first and quality comes second. It’s not rare to find that an AAU coach arrives to practice late, has poor communication skills, and has a poor coaching background. Sometimes the coach might even be a parent of player.

2. Quality of Play – Because AAU has turned into a “money maker” the quality of competition has become very saturated. Many AAU programs will not make cuts, but instead create more teams. This results in a poor quality of play at tournaments, where  you will find very competitive teams playing beginner level teams (which is not good for either team).

3. Travel – Make sure that you are ready to make a big travel commitment. AAU basketball tournaments can be interstate and up to 3 hours away. If you are on a team where you are only playing 5-10 minutes per game is it really worth the time, travel, and money?

Things to Remember About AAU Basketball

  • Anybody can make an AAU Program or Team… all you need to do is buy an AAU Membership. All information is on their website http://aausports.org/JoinAAU.aspx
    Find out what separates one program from another.
  • Do your research and find a program that offers good coaching, team practices and tournaments. Don’t be fooled by AAU advertisements and high coaching credentials. You may only see some of these coaches one time during the course of your season. Ask the program to e-mail you references of previous clients and the season schedule (practices and games) before you make a decision.
  • Make sure that your son or daughter will get a lot of playing time on his or her team.
  • AAU will help you play more basketball, but will not improve your skills. For example, you may shoot 20-25 shots in a weekend tournament… this will not improve your shooting.

E-mail PremierHoops@gmail.com for any questions or recommendations.