Philosophy

The goal of my basketball program is to strategically improve the caliber of play of the new generation Canadian basketball player.  Many Canadian minor basketball leagues have a heavy emphasis on games and not enough on the technical aspects of the sport.  This deficiency is a direct result of the shortage of experienced coaches specifically at the Novice, Atom and Bantam levels.  It is only when our kids attempt to move forward from the competitive to the more elite programs (where most experienced coaches congregate) that they realize that they are technically deficient. 

In my humble opinion, I believe that basketball takes approximately 20 years to master.  A major part of mastering basketball, or any sport for that matter, is to consistently combine sound fundamentals with creativity.  The quicker we can correctly teach the technical components of the game, the quicker our kids can begin to add their own flare to their games.  At age 15, most Canadian basketball players have only dabbled in the sport and are in or en route to high school.  Kids in America and Europe at this age have already honed their technical skills and are aggressively trying to elevate their game to a very high level. 

Physically and mentally Canadian kids are no different from their European and American counterparts.  Where we falter is when minor league coaches focus on strategies of winning the game.  I feel this “winning” emphasis is very dangerous to our young players, as they will know more about zones and traps than sound fundamentals.  In my basketball school there is a heavy emphasis on learning the subtle nuances of becoming a dominant offensive player.  What about defense you ask?  In basketball, defense is the easiest thing for a player to learn.  With enough determination, heart and a few basic fundamentals, a youngster can become a great defensive player.  On the other hand, it can take years for a player to develop into a great scorer. 

In high school I was known only as a defensive player.  In university I had the privilege of working with an NBA shooting consultant; but I also studied hours of tape of great offensive players.  I realized that an efficient offensive player always has the advantage over a defensive player.  The offensive player knows exactly what he or she wants to do and the defender can only try to react or anticipate at best.  As a professional, my sole responsibility was to put points on the board but every year I continuously worked on the drills that kept me at the top of league in scoring.

Minor basketball programs in Canada continue to overlook the importance of developing young scorers and are stumped why the caliber of Canadian players is sub par.  If we can somehow begin to stress offensive proficiency shortly after acquiring basic basketball fundamentals, I sincerely believe that young Canadian basketball players can catch up and eventually surpass our friends down south and overseas.