Michael S.

I have been an athlete all of my life, and have had the benefit of learning the fundamentals of the game from some of the best coaches in the industry. From a very early age, I was schooled in the fundamentals by Skip Prosser, Dino Gaudio, Jim O'Brien, and Richard Schmidt. I played high school basketball in the northeast, and earned a full scholarship to play at the University of Tampa. My coaching philosophy is simple: leadership, fundamentals, and execution. The beauty of these 3 legs of the stool, is that they are universally applicable in life, sports, and business. I spend a great deal of my training sessions focused on the fundamentals of ball handling, shooting, footwork free throw stunts, jab step, and defense. Yes Defense, I know somewhat of a lost art. Call me crazy, but boxing out, denying the flash, and jumping to the ball still work. I promise! The beauty of what I teach is that all ages can benefit from it, and having been a player I know how to teach, but also how to go live and simulate game situations. For further details, you can visit my Linked In page and get a detailed view of my value proposition.

In high school and college I received many forms of recognition ranging from All State, All Conference, All O.V.A.C., Best Defensive Player, 1,000 Point Scoring Club ( before the 3 point line was recognized) , Leading Rebounder, All Valley, Academic All American, etc. Additionally, I came up through the AAU system and now have a son who plays as well.

A typical session is as follows: I expect the client to be warmed up when he / she arrives.... you shouldn't have to pay a trainer to teach your child how to stretch and get ready. I begin with a series of very comprehensive and very detailed ball handling drills. We will then move to the "ready position" or "triple threat" and work on several moves from there. We will do form shooting, and spot shooting form both hands. Then we will get moving with game speed layups, jump shots, cross over moves, whirl dribbles, and such.... basically shooting on the move and working to fatigue so we can shoot free throws. Then we move to defense, yes the lost art of defense. I teach body positioning, jumping to the ball, see man see ball, staying below your man and the ball, boxing out, how to never have to switch on a pick etc. Each session runs about 60 mins unless the client wants more, and as we progress I work in props.... skill ladder, weighted vests, parachutes, and, and, and.