Rafael H.

Over 15 years of coaching experience in Los Angeles, training athletes 9-18 across high school teams and private settings. I've coached at top tier programs and worked for 8 years at Coach Harvey Kitani's renowned summer camps. My core philosophy blends tempo and pressure defense with strategic offensive spacing. In recent years, I've integrated performance analytics into my coaching, using shot charts, efficiency graphs, and progress tracking to help players visualize and improve their development. This data-driven approach makes each workout purposeful and measurable, helping athletes reach the next level.

Former Defensive Player of the Year and 2nd-Team All-League selection at Santa Barbara High School. Played one year of junior college basketball before beginning my coaching career at just 19 years old. As a coach at Santa Monica High School, I helped lead the team to a CIF Championship, Regional Title and State Runner-Up finish. My background as a defensive minded player continues to shape my coaching style, teaching athletes how to compete with intensity, discipline, and purpose on both ends of the court.

Each session is thoroughly tailored to the athlete's age, experience, and goals. We begin with dynamic stretching to activate key muscle groups and prevent injury, followed by a high-intensity skills segment focused on ball handling, footwork, finishing, or shooting-depending on the player's needs.

Sessions are both physically demanding and mentally challenging, pushing athletes towards autonomy by strengthening their ability to read and react in game situations. I regularly incorporate decision-making drills and situational breakdowns that mimic live game flow, with an emphasis on defensive awareness and offensive spacing.

For players working through specific challenges, like inconsistent shooting mechanics, we can dedicate time to skill correction using proven technique and progression based drills.

Sessions end with static stretching and recovery work to reinforce muscle memory and reduce post workout soreness.

Optional: For players on a long-term training plan, I offer data tracking to monitor performance trends and ensure progress over time. However, I don't recommend using this for one-off sessions, it's most effective when built into a structured development program.