Michael A.

I have coached athletes from ages 7-18. I started about 20 years ago at the age of 12, working with the YMCA as a basketball coach and have continued through out my career. I have coached students one on one, as well as teams. I created and coached a middle-school travel basketball team in 2011, ages 12-15 in the Bronx, NY. I also have experience has a volunteer and assistant basketball coach with middle and high school athletes. I have also assistant coached football and have been a swim instructor. I approach all my sports the same, being honest with my athletes and working on the "hard parts" that in term make them truly better.

I played basketball and football through out my whole middle school and high school. I also played and trained at the Pocono's Basketball Invitational Camp. This is where I also began to see the difference coaching makes. At the camp I would come across a coach who graded me on my basketball skills and was very honest and open as well as positive. Instead of criticizing without teaching, like many other coaches, he actually taught me how to turn weaknesses in my game to strengths and coached up my potential. I took the experience with me and ran with it from playing to coaching. After high school, I worked hard to increase my skills and continued playing and made my community College basketball team at Suny Ulster College. The experience further help me understand my competitive nature and how vital coaching is. I was able to understand that many athletes carry similar skills, but that who they meet and how they are coached are so critical to their growth.

I work out my client based on their strengths, weaknesses and overall fundamentals of the game.
For example, If a client is really weak with their left hand we are doing drills such as...
1: Standing on the baseline. Teaching the client to bend their knees so they have a lower sense of gravity. Next, dribbling the basketball with head up, staring at a specific place. Next, hard dribbling with one hand. Next, going down the sideline slowly between cones with their week hand dribbling, keeping head up. As client increased in skill drills would increase such as...Laying on back, dribbling with weak hand & 2 ball dribbling down the sideline head up, no cones.