Edge Elite
How the Elite Basketball Camps Teach You to Think
Elite basketball players may compete in the winter, but they are made in the summer at elite basketball camps like 5 Star, Point Guard College, or Nike. These camps focus on not just the physical aspects of the game, but the mental aspects as well, because they recognize that gaining a mental edge over the competition can spell the difference between an average player and an elite one.
One example of this is the Point Guard College. They spend some of their session time on the court, but they also conduct video analysis, classroom training, and leadership mentoring to develop a player’s game beyond just shooting, dribbling and passing. Much of Point Guard College’s philosophy comes from legendary basketball thinker Dick Devenzio, who always thought the elite basketball camps should teach the mental aspects of the game as well as the physical. (His book, “Think Like a Champion” counts John Wooden among its fans, for example.)
One of the chapters in Dick’s book is called “Chess-Game Vision”, which starts as follows:
“One of the main reasons an athlete practices and plays over and over again is to learn to see the action unfold clearly, almost as if it were on camera in slow motion. This I call chess-game vision, essentially the ability to see the whole field or court at once, and watch a play unfold, slowly. It only happens with experience. In fact, sometimes you seem to have it on one level only to realize that you don’t have it when you move up to the next level.”
Dick’s point is that making the game appear to slow down is a technique that top players have been using for years, and the key is to be able to think several plays ahead – much like a chess game!
This is just one of dozens of techniques that elite basketball camps show you throughout their sessions, but the moral of the story is that while learning how to play the game is important, learning how to think the game can mean the difference between an average season and a championship.
Make sure you work on both this summer!
About the Author
Born in Toronto, Sefu is always excited about talking Xs & Os to share his passion for teaching, learning and motivating. He has studied the game internationally having travelled to Serbia, Slovakia and Spain; and instructs at various camps, clinics and schools in North America. He is also a development coach for the Canadian men’s and women’s national team programs. Sefu will direct the Advanced Concepts course and co-direct several Essentials courses on the PGC ‘09 Summer Tour.
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