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How to run a successful basketball camp
6 Tips For Hosting A Successful Camp
- By Joe Haefner
With basketball camp season approaching, it's crucial you are getting ready for your basketball camps.
Here are some helpful tips to hosting a successful basketball camp...
Make the camp purpose clear!
What are you trying to accomplish with your basketball camps? Is it to just have fun and create a passion for the game? Is it to have an intense skill development camp for serious players?
If you don't make this clear in your camp information, you can get players and parents who will not enjoy the experience because they're looking for something different. Younger players (typically 12 years and younger) need to be exposed to fun camps to build the passion for the game. While advanced kids who are ready for the next step, might prefer a more intense basketball camp.
Be organized
Being unorganized can be the death of a successful basketball camp, especially if you are new to hosting camps.
It's vital that you know the size of the gym, how many hoops there are going to be, how many campers are going to be present, how many coaches are going to be there, what your camp schedule is going to be, and some back up drills and skills in case you get through things quicker or you need to abandon a drill that isn't working well. If you figure these things out ahead of time, you'll look like a seasoned vet.
Use drills that keep everybody involved.
Nothing drives a kid to boredom quicker, stunts player development, and prevents parents from signing their child up for your next camp than standing around doing nothing.
Even if it is a drill that requires one player to do the drill at a time, have them be involved in rebounding and passing. If there are too many kids, set up stations that allow you to keep more kids involved at once.
Taking the time to develop drills that keep kids active and parents happy will lead to more happy campers and more campers returning to your next camp.
Teach skills and drills that players can do at home.
Your goal for every camp should be to teach players skills and drills that every child could do at home or at the local gym.
Players and parents will appreciate you a lot more if you show them how to become better players beyond the days at your basketball camp.
Keep the camp moving.
Just like a practice, you shouldn't spend too long on any particular drill. Otherwise, you will lose interest and intensity from the players at your camp.
Even if you still want to work on the same skill, just use a different drill or a different format of the same drill. For example, you might want to work on form shooting. An easy way to keep working on that would be to vary between wall shooting, partner shooting, line shooting, backboard shooting, and shooting at the goal.
The younger they are, the quicker you usually need to progress to another drill. I try to keep all drills under 10 minutes. Typically, my goal is 5 to 7 minutes.
Incorporate character development
A quality camp isn't just about developing basketball players, it's also about developing these young people into successful adults. Incorporate things such as attitude, hard work, loyalty, and kindness into your camps. Parents will appreciate you helping their children become better people. And when the children become adults, they'll appreciate you as well.
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...
How to Run an Effective Basketball Camp
By Don Kelbick
I have run hundreds of basketball camps. Some camps were as large as 700 players per week for several weeks and others as small as 1 week with 20 players. There are common threads that run through all of them. I am not an expert on the finances or marketing of camps, though. So, I'll stick to the administration of the camp...
The Type of Camp Affects Your Decisions
First and foremost, you have to decide what type of camp you want to have. This philosophy will affect every decision you make, from staffing to schedule to equipment. Teaching camps require more staff because it is to your advantage to have a smaller staff to camper ratio. If you are going to have a camp that is primarily "play", you only need 1 coach per team.
Creating an Effective Schedule
Next, you need to organize your schedule. You must plan your activities that not only match your philosophy, but provide enough variation to keep your campers interested and eager to come back.
We used to use activity blocks, as opposed to times. Our blocks would be instruction, competition, scrimmage, choice and games.
Our instruction block would be when we had coaches in front of the players teaching and the players drilling.
Competition would be for practical application of the teaching. They might be shooting or ball handling games or other activities where players had to enact what they were taught in a higher intensity environment.
The scrimmage block would be for team integration of the skills. We would use a 3-on-3 league, control scrimmage (where coaches would stop, teach and correct in a scrimmage type activity) or team practice.
Choice would be where we would have several activities being conducted and the players could choose which one they would want to take part in.
Games would be where we played our 5-on-5 league games.
Then, all we had to do is decide which activities we wanted to conduct inside the blocks and place those blocks in the daily schedule.
How long are the blocks and where do you put them?
How long the blocks are depends on your available time and the number of campers you have. I typically would like to have 2 instruction blocks, 2 game blocks and then one of each of the other blocks per day. By changing the activities inside the blocks, it created an interesting but very organized camp day.
Administration of Activities (Important to Get Right)
The administration of your activities is extremely important. This needs to be flexible and responsive to the participants in your camp. You might like to structure your teaching a certain way, but if the players in the camp cannot respond to your method, you have to look at your method.
Often, the manner in which you teach your team won′t fit the teaching necessary in a camp. This is because you will find a larger variation in skill level, maturity and concentration level in a camp. On your team, you have consistent reinforcement for your teaching, which allows you to progress. In a camp situation this might not be true.
You also have to structure your game rules to you campers. How long are the games, will the clock stop or run, do you shoot foul shots? What are your substitution rules, how many players on a team? There may be rules you like to play by because you feel that they are the best way to play for you. But, often you have time constraints that will prevent you from playing in the matter you like.
Remember, this is camp; everyone pays to come so they should all have equal experiences. You might like to have 8 on a team, but if that creates more games than you have time for, you might have to go to 10 on a team.
Adjust Game Rules to Improve Efficiency
You might like to administer your games as if they are regular season games. But, you may have to play with a running clock. Do you want your campers to spend a significant percentage of the games shooting foul shots while the clock is running? Remember, that lessens the actual time that the campers get to play.
The rules we always played by were, the only foul shots that were taken while the clock was running were shooting fouls. All non-shooting fouls were inbounded. In a situation where there was a shooing foul and the shot was made creating an opportunity for a 3-point play, we awarded 3 points and treated it as a made basket where the other team takes the ball out. With the clock stopped, we shot everything.
These are all issues that need to be solved before the first camper walks into the gym. To conduct an effective, high quality camp that can be enjoyed by all, you need to be prepared and focused on the goals of the camp. Be flexible, but be clear. Confusion is a camp killer.
Find a Basketball Camp Near You
Breakthrough Basketball offers a number of camps across the country. Check out this camp map to find the camp closest to you.
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...
Russian guy gets advice from LeBron and plays on the same team with Bronnie. Getting to know Timofey Rudovsky - Interception - Blogs
Editor's Note: You are reading the user blog "Interception", where you talk to interesting people from the world of Russian basketball. Do not forget about the pros, they make the world a better place.
There is a prestigious Sierra Canyon school near Los Angeles. Her academic program is very strong, which is why the children of celebrities such as Alec Baldwin, Will Smith and others study in it. Famous basketball players also send their children to this school, and LeBron James went further - he took patronage over the school basketball team. Both of his sons play there, along with Scotty Pippen's son and several other five-star players.
We are interested in this school because the Russian basketball player Timofey Rudovsky is studying there. The pupil of the CSKA sports school went there in transit through the Spanish Estudiantes and now plays with Bronnie James in the same team.
I talked to Timofey himself and his father Dmitry Rudovsky. Dmitry Olegovich is a famous Russian producer who worked with Fyodor Bondarchuk on the film "9th Company". Among his films are ZHARA, Duhless, Stalingrad. But he is not just Timofey's father, but, if I may say so, his manager.
I packed the whole story into a 43-minute video. I would be grateful for your thumbs up and comments - they help promote videos on YouTube.
If you like reading more than watching, then below is the text.
How Rudovsky got into basketball
Timofey started playing basketball at the age of 6, it was the most ordinary school section. So common that Rudovsky's crowning exercise there was the "spider". By that time, he already had all kinds of uniforms at home, balls, he really burned with basketball. But the section at the school is the section at the school, so it was difficult to demand something special.
Therefore, soon Timofey found himself in the school near Moscow "Panther" - the same one that Pavel Savkov and Nestor Dyachok went through.
Timofei Rudovsky: “I started before Panther, it was a small section. My dad sent me there so that I could start somewhere. Maybe he loves basketball. We had a small action at school - who wants to, come, teach, work out. There I began to play slowly, and so it came to the "Panther". I trained at this school for two years and then went to the training camp in Vatutinki, in CSKA. And it so happened that the coach liked me and he called me to the team.
The history of Timofey's transfer to CSKA was not without chance. The plans were to continue playing basketball in Khimki, because it was close to home, but one day Dmitry Rudovsky played basketball with the coach of the "army" sports school Ivan Kucherov, who was just recruiting children born in 2004.
Dmitry Rudovsky: “We ran in the CSKA playing hall, and there the referees, coaches, in particular, the coaches of the CSKA sports school, played with us. They were just recruiting boys in 2004. Denis Rami says: "You have a son of 2004." I say: "Yes, there is." And he: “Can you give it to the training camp in the summer? Let's look at him. " He was not yet 8 years old, he went to the training camp and after that they offered him to study. We will consider that this is such a starting point, more or less meaningful and organized basketball.
He played at the CSKA sports school for 6 years, during which time they won both Moscow, and the Russian championship twice, and the Baltic Children's League, this is a regional competition where Finns, Latvians, Lithuanians, Estonians, we participate. The European Youth Basketball League, EYBL, in which more than 30 European countries now play, was also won. We won once, lost once in the final to Zalgiris by 2 points, took second place.”
From CSKA to Spain
After six and a half years that Rudovsky spent in the CSKA system, his dad had an understanding that some heights in basketball had already been achieved here in Russia, and it was necessary to move on. Tim also wanted to keep practicing and progressing. CSKA did not particularly believe in him, because he was skinny and weak, besides, many believed that Rudovsky was getting time at the expense of his enterprising dad.
But at the same time, he began to be involved in the training camp of the national U16 team - the national team began a two-year preparatory cycle for the European Championship. Spaniards, Serbs and some other countries have been doing this for a long time, starting to prepare much in advance, but for the Russian “youth team” it was a new experience. The team played several tournaments, tested the line-up, worked out the backbone, and Timofey gained a foothold and found his place in the team. The European Championship did not take place due to the pandemic, but the call to the national team is a serious intermediate result.
Dmitry Rudovsky: “There was an understanding that we need to move on, I consulted with Lesha Savkov, we have friendly relations, and with Volodya Dyachok. Everyone chose their own path for their guys, Volodya chose for Nestor to study and play in the USA, and Lesha said: “Our guys are so dead, late, they have skills and understanding of the game, skills too, but physically they are not ready to stomp with black guys for a place . Therefore, Europe is the best option.” Pasha left first, we actually went after him. By coincidence, it turned out that we were helped by the same agents who arranged for Pasha in Baskonia. Just a little different way: we went to Spain to train in the summer, attended a Spanish summer camp for several years, adopted the culture of advanced European basketball, this is speed, fast transit, activity in attack, in early attack. It was all useful to study, we saw many advantages in this. One such summer camp had an agent who represented the agency that recruited Savkov. We met, they say: "Well, let's take your boyfriend, we'll see."
Timofey Rudovsky: “My family and I went for several years in a row to have a rest in the summer on the island, in Mallorca, where we held and, I think, there is still a camp called Summer Liga. […] There we met the founder of the camp, and he introduced us to the agents. I don’t remember the name of the company (You First Sports - approx. “Interception”), but they offered us two teams - Joventut and Estudiantes.
The Rudovskys first went to Badalona, to "Joventut". Everything was very good there: excellent organization, good attitude, everything was like in a family. And, importantly, continuity: the sports director of the club was once the president of the school himself, the current president is a graduate of the club academy himself, who simply decided not to continue his career, but to stay at Hoventut.
Dmitry Rudovsky says that during his stay in Badalona, it was felt that the attitude, approach, methods - everything was at the highest level. But there was a “but”: Timofey was then 191 cm tall, and the director of the Hoventut school considered that they already had their own players. The Spaniards take only those whom they lack, and at this moment they lacked a center. It turned out to be Kirill Popov - now he plays in CSKA, and then he went to see it with Rudovsky.
Or rather, it was Rudovsky who traveled with Popov. Kirill could close the position in the three-second zone both by his age and by his senior, so Hoventut took him. There was only one place left in the school, and there was none for Rudovsky.
Dmitry Rudovsky: “But the agents who brought him to the screening and organized all this were at training and looked at Timofey more closely. Before that, they didn’t pay much attention to him, it was such a push, this trip to Badalona with Kirill. But they said that he has a good throw, he has skills, he is intelligent, and they can find him a school in Spain. And the next immediately was an invitation to Estudiantes.
We were there for two days, he was immediately offered. The picture was beautiful, the arena itself is located not far from the Santiago Bernabeu, in the central area of Madrid, a beautiful area, they didn’t take us to the residence, but they showed it from afar, it looked like a small castle, a mansion, with its courtyards, an English school nearby. It was very reminiscent of Badalona, only without the sea. It seemed that this was the best option, so, of course, they accepted the offer with pleasure. In the summer, we intensively prepared for a month, arrived there and became part of this team.
The poverty of Estudiantes
It was 2019, and even then Estudiantes was a loan club. There was talk in the press about his impending bankruptcy. The "students" - that's what this team is called, if its name is simply translated - had 18 million euros of debt, and this is a cosmic amount for a club of this caliber.
On the one hand, this is a plus for players like Timofey Rudovsky. This means that Estudiantes will rely on its sports school and should be very much interested in bringing young guys to the right level, giving them a chance in the first team and selling them to more successful organizations. But, on the other hand, this same poverty created problems in everyday life and provoked a lack of training.
Timofey Rudovsky: “When I arrived, they had problems with money, and it turned out that they couldn't even provide us with a gym every day for additional training. Although I’m not talking about additional training, we even trained with the team 4-5 times a week. So there was a big problem."
In general, the number of training sessions is an important point in Tim's development. When he played in CSKA, his partners had 5 lessons a day, and he had 13. Dad paid for additional classes for his son, and before the games he went with him to the so-called shootaround is pure shooting practice on game day. Such activities are needed for players to aim at the rings.
So, in "Estudiantes" not only there were no "shooter rounds", but in general there were not enough trainings.
Dmitry Rudovsky: “The demo was great, but the reality was a little different. I didn’t have much time to study, and this is my mistake as, relatively speaking, a manager - after all, I’m not just a parent, but I did a lot of preparing Timofey.
In order to provide the morning training that we were promised, we need coaches, and they did not have coaches, because a coach who can come and conduct classes in Spain needs to be paid a full salary. The main part of the coaches in Spain are volunteers who work for 300-400 euros a month, they work somewhere, and in the evening they come to train. The same story was in Estudiantes. There was a head coach of the U15 school team, who also worked in the youth team and was the fourth assistant in the main team. He was up to his ears loaded with seniors and, of course, did not even think about dealing with us. Therefore, this “window” that was there in the morning, it was not filled with anything, unfortunately, at the age of 14, a very limited number of people have an understanding that the salvation of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves. Basically, these are guys who are deprived by God of growth, physical data, they begin to gnaw not thanks to, but in spite of. And if you have height, skills and some kind of authority, you start to live so a little on easy. Moreover, when he started playing for this team, people came up there, the father of a guy from the Spanish national team of the same age, Daniel Casarrubios in 2004, he said “juego de los listos”, which means he is already a ready-made pro - in thinking, in skills . He played in CSKA number one, immediately began to steer the team, scored a lot, it was clear that a qualitatively different level.
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Four sessions a week is a nightmare for a young player who is used to a completely different load. But Rudovsky was saved by the national team: if in six months at Estudiantes he played a total of 16 matches, then for the national team - more than 20. And the rivals, of course, were not from the championship of Madrid, but the “youth team” of Spain, Turkey, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia . It was a good help that helped keep Timofey in good shape and, so to speak, test himself at a higher level.
Return to Russia
It all ended pretty quickly: in March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic hit, and the pupils of the Estudiantes school were asked to go home. Rudovsky left and never returned to Spain.
Timofey Rudovsky: “The pandemic has begun, the first cases have appeared in Madrid. They closed a couple of schools. I had a roommate, an Estonian, his mother was Russian, so he spoke Russian almost fluently. We spent almost the whole year together, and we are told at the same moment: “You have to go, such are the rules. You can not return for a while, we will tell you when you can return. Go home." This was a week after the start of the pandemic. I assumed I wouldn't be back, but I wasn't sure. Because I thought that at least the season should be finished. Moreover, the contract and everything else. On the other hand, I didn't want to go back at all. Meaning? Therefore, I would say that I was lucky that the pandemic began and I was able to leave there.”
Timofey had an agreement with the school. It was not even a contract, because at this age players cannot sign contracts, but a training agreement. According to this document, he could not play for anyone else. But no one can forbid changing a school for a child, and the Rudovskys understood: this is just our way out.
Departure for the USA
Dmitry Rudovsky: “During the pandemic, we were in Moscow, training and preparing for something, for a brighter future. At that moment, one of our friends - his son also plays basketball, we often crossed paths, became friends - said that he had a good friend who himself coaches a junior college in California, at a good level there for many years, and he knows many trainers. He said: “We found a decent option through him, if you want, you can contact him, send him a video of Timofey, and he can find something there. ” We got in touch, got to know each other, I sent a video and literally 3 days later I received a message that the Sierra Canyon school coach wants to talk to you and invite you to come and join his team. We saw that Sierra Canyon is very well listed, one of the top teams, many children of former pro players play there.
In the summer, before leaving for the USA, Rudovsky trained with the youth project of CSKA. If suddenly, for some reason, he did not manage to leave for America, then he would continue his development precisely in the “army” system. Two coaches from the U16 team Alexander Gerasimov and Ilya Kuznetsov just arrived at the club, who knew Timofey and his capabilities very well.
But everything worked out with the USA.
Timofey Rudovsky: “I heard about Sierra Canyon about two weeks before there was any information that I would go to America at all. When I watched all sorts of highlights on YouTube, it seemed that the guys there are really tough, they play very well. And suddenly it so happened that a familiar coach went to talk to the coach, showed him my highlights and said: “The coach is interested.” I was very surprised, shock, one might say. I can’t even imagine, from the word “absolutely”. Then I just prepared, trained, I would say, I even forgot. It seems to me that I went almost with a clear head, because all the time before leaving I was just preparing.”
Dmitry Rudovsky: “Timofey studied at CSKA, then in Spain, and the logical continuation was to go to a strong school program in the USA in order to stay at the same level as development. Therefore, we accepted the offer, especially since it was accompanied by significant financial bonuses - "scolarship", which, in principle, is not offered to foreigners, but it was offered to us. We didn’t lose anything financially, we didn’t have to pay for anything, while Tim plays in the top team, studies at the school where the children of Alec Baldwin, Will Smith studied, the Kardashian family was noted there, Kendal Jenner, who is now Devin Booker’s girlfriend She is also a graduate of this school. That is, it is a cool school in terms of academic, educational. Therefore, there was no doubt, we went there.”
Timofey Rudovsky: “When I arrived, the first day I went into the hall, got acquainted with the team, I was just trembling. It was really uncomfortable. The funny thing is: I thought I knew English, but when they started talking, I couldn’t connect two words and didn’t understand anything. So for the first couple of months I was a little lost.
Training began, at first I was not distracted, but on the contrary, very concentrated. But he did not understand very well what the coach was saying. I got confused on the set. Suppose now the situation there is like this, you need to give a pass diagonally, and he just shouts: diagonal! I don't understand what he is crying about. I give the same transmission as the previous time - he yells at me. Here they have such a scheme: if you make mistakes, they shout at you. And every time. And maybe the fifth time, when you just say you don't understand, maybe he'll explain. And so it is necessary to grasp everything on the fly.
Game with Bronnie
Rudovsky went to the USA in the 10th grade, and there are 12 of them in all. True, the first year was very conditional, because the students spent almost the whole year in quarantine and studied remotely, there was almost no training. They began in February-March, and the entire school season was compressed to a month and a half. And here's the bad luck - Timofey could not play for the school for the first month, and not a calendar month, but a competitive one. Such rules: you changed school, you already played for the national team, so please sit for a month without matches. And so it turned out that Rudovsky missed the entire 10th grade.
Sports activity began in the summer, when school teams began playing in the AAU - a kind of Summer League for high school students. There, Timofey was first declared for one team, and then sent to be strengthened in Strive For Greatness.
NBA fans have probably heard some familiar phrase now. Strive For Greatness is a documentary about NBA superstar LeBron James. And at the same time, this is the name of the team, the backbone of which is assembled on the basis of the Sierra Canyon school and in which, for example, the son of Scotty Pippen and the son of LeBron, Bronnie James, performs. And in general, this is a very stellar team, from which five NBA players have come out over the past six years.
Timofei Rudovsky: “The first time I met Bronnie was on my first day, when I first came to the gym. I’m already worried - I don’t know, there was such a feeling that he would come now, but I can’t even imagine what kind of person he is. Interesting. But it was like that, with an experience, so to speak.
The first time he comes, and I understand that he is already late. I think maybe it happens, maybe it doesn’t happen, but he can do it, maybe he’s not forbidden. After a week, I'm quite used to it.
By the way, last year it so happened that we didn't spend much time with the guys together at the basketball court, because the pandemic and everything else, we had all sorts of rules. So we didn't talk to each other much. I hardly spoke to Bronnie at all, probably for a month, well, sometimes, maybe in training - hello, what's up, everyone. When we started spending a little more time with the team all together, we started talking to him. Well, anyway, with the fear that maybe I'll do something wrong, I'm covered, I'll go back home. Such. (laughs)
Then, of course, everything got better, everything is everyday, Bronnie and Bronnie. Our team spirit is like this: the coach tells us that we are a family, we are all for each other, we all consider each other brothers, the team consists of brothers. It doesn’t matter what is there, we don’t betray, we love each other, surprisingly we don’t have any disagreements at all, no quarrels, nothing.”
Dmitry Rudovsky: “What I see is that everyone has equal relations with everyone in the team, they have nice relations. There is no one against whom we are friends, who is not friends with whom, we still communicate, there are many team events where the guys spend time together. Tim communicates with Bronnie in the same way as with the rest, but you need to understand that Bronnie has a specific life, he has been a celebrity since birth, and this leaves an imprint on his character, demeanor, relationships, he does not seek to get close to people, he has an even relationship with everyone, it is impossible to single out what is friends with this or that. He has friends, but they are from a different field, eSports, there is a team that is very famous and popular in America (the FaZe Clan team - approx. "Intercept"), Bronnie's career in this team is no less popular than Bronnie the basketball player.
Tips from LeBron
LeBron James himself comes to Sierra Canyon matches. If in the season he is busy with his affairs with the Lakers and, in principle, even when he comes, he follows all the rules, then in summer matches he can calmly sit on the team bench and start giving advice - either to the head coach, or . .. to Timofey himself.
Timofey Rudovsky: “When the playoffs were over for the Lakers, LeBron started showing up a little at games, attending. We played with Strive near Los Angeles, we had a few games. He came there for the first time. Then I had a story that a friend decided to cut my hair, saying: "I can cut, don't worry, let's try." He gave me a haircut, almost bald. I looked like I came from the army. You can imagine: a dude 206 cm, runs around with an army man's haircut and pushes everyone with angry eyes. At those games, I decided to cut myself with the guys, because it was a lot of fun, and hustle a little. The coach then tells me: LeBron asks me my name and then he says he's crazy. It was funny to me, the first impression was that I was crazy on the court in a good way - with dedication, with basketball anger. The next day, he already gave me a little hint during the game, after which I became, one might say, familiar with him.
At that time I was already used to it. He treats us all from Sierra Canyon, Strive like nephews. Uncle Bro, something like that. He called, he said: “Here you could give the pass down to the big one, and if your defender goes down from you for insurance, then you can get the pass back for three and throw it calmly, and not throw it with a pause and with uncertainty after the pass, when you looked down at the ring, down again and threw the airball. As I did at the time. He says - well, you could look there. I listened and the advice just soaked in. I would say so. Ears listen by themselves to such people .”
In addition to Bronnie James, LeBron's youngest son Bryce also studies at Sierra Canyon. He is a little younger and while playing for the JV team, JV is a junior varsity, that is, a junior team. Soon he will grow up to the main school staff.
Of course, all the attention that LeBron James draws to the Sierra Canyon team can't help but spill over to the players. Even despite the fact that Rudovsky only periodically starts and spends not the longest minutes on the floor, the number of his Instagram followers is steadily growing - when he came, there were less than a thousand, now there are more than five.
Cons Sierra Canyon
But playing in a super strong school team is not only pluses, but also inevitably minuses. Among the obvious ones are less playing time, less role and less attention from the head coach.
Dmitry Rudovsky: “Of course, there are difficulties, because the team is overloaded with five-star, four-star prospects and so on. We discussed this with Timofey in the summer, and I told the coach that it was better for us to move on, because there is an overload of stars, in a team of 3-4 people for each position. At the same time, oddly enough, there are not so many big guys, in the summer they took a five-star prospect, a guy who can play in the NBA in a couple of years, Kijanny Wright, under him there is one big white guy, not so advanced in skills, and to the position there is practically no fourth number, they do not formally use it. But we spoke with the coach beforehand, I asked him about the position, because we don’t want to go under the basket, a person has developed all his life as a defender, first or second, well, maybe play third, played in Russia, got the best third number. The answer was that we play 1-4, that is, we have one big and four perimeter defenders who interact, combine, and so on.
I used to call Americans deceitful, hypocrites, etc., now I coined the term delicate - flexible (flexible - approx. "Interception"). They promise very easily, they refuse very easily, they deceive very easily, and they have their own goals and objectives, and any price is justified. But there is no need to wring your hands, cry, you need to understand this and, proceeding from this, very carefully and carefully evaluate everything that is said. Therefore, in the summer, when it started again - you will make a big mistake if you leave, Timofey is an iron player in the starting line-up, etc. - I let it go, I understood that in the situation that we have, he has little chance of playing at the start . In the main team - of course, but at the start - it was cunning. I laid out in positions why they should play, and not Timofey, and even if he comes out at the start, what option he will have in attack. It all looked not very nice in terms of playing time and opportunities to continue to be active on the court.
But it so happened that Timofey stayed in Sierra Canyon. He himself wanted this, said that he would work even harder in training and earn a place in the starting lineup. He was the only shooter on the team and one of the few who could shoot three-pointers with a good percentage - it seemed to Tim that he had all the cards in his hands.
And the season started really well. In the US, there is a Fall League tournament - this is not the official start of the season yet, but pre-season games. In them, Rudovsky played a lot and well, but at that time several key players were absent from the team or were injured at once. As soon as the season began, the guys returned, and Timofey again began to receive 10-15 minutes of playing time. And there is a suspicion that this school will no longer be different - there are too many players who are portrayed not just a future in the NBA, but a stellar future. Bronnie James, Kijanny Wright, Amari Bailey, Shai Odom, the list goes on.
Plus, Timofey grew another 4 cm, and the coaching staff was tempted to use Rudovsky in the "four" - a position in which he had never played before and does not want to play. He does not have the skills of a power forward, there is no size to push in the three-second zone. Only growth, and if at the school level it can still work, then further is the road to nowhere.
Reclassify
But there is a way out. After the end of this academic year, Timofey will have to unlearn in the 12th grade and then it will be possible to go to college to play in the NCAA. In America, there is such a thing as "reclassify" - this is an opportunity to skip the last year of school, spending the summer studying and passing exams in advance. In Russia, this is called graduating externally.
This chance is used by many athletes who have long decided on their future, and the school only hinders them in achieving their goal. A special commission is assembled to decide the issue, and in cases with athletes, this issue is often resolved in their favor.
Timofey Rudovsky: “I think it would be much more efficient to get into the university next year. Because there is a completely different preparation, and they immediately prepare for the NBA. At school, you have a lot of choices - you can be a lawyer, or maybe you will go to engineering, so basketball may not be the most important thing, you go to school, not play basketball. At the university, the situation will be completely different: if I play basketball, then this is the profession that I have chosen. So it seems to me that this is the most normal solution that you can choose from all possible.
True, there is an important “but” in this whole story - in order to use the reclassify option, the student must have good grades, and since Sierra Canyon takes its academic program quite seriously, it is not enough just to go to school .
Dmitry Rudovsky: “For this, there should be good grades, so far there are problems with this. As I said, the school is serious in terms of the academic program. As many people say, in the classroom we read and analyze the Bible, it is not there, there is Shakespeare in the original language, medieval English, which even an American still needs to understand, and romanticism in British poetry of the 19th century with Byron and other authors, and "The Son of Frankenstein" , and Fitzgerald. A serious program, not the English that "mom washed the frame" and "Timofey goes to school." A university level program, so this school has a very high acceptance rate for Ivy League colleges. Therefore, the children of very famous people study there, because it gives serious training. But it is difficult to combine both serious sports training and serious academic training. ”
Interest from the NCAA
In order to skip a class, you need to understand if someone from the NCAA is interested in you. And Timofey Rudovsky is interesting. He was already called in by Anferney Hardaway, former NBA star and current head coach of the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA Division I. But Memphis is still a strong team, the top 30 of the league, so it may be difficult for Tim to get more time there than he gets now.
The way out will be an invitation from a more modest university, but one where a team could be built around him so that he develops. And there is also such a university - the University of California at Santa Barbara with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos team.
Dmitry Rudovsky: “But in Santa Barbara there is a chance to become a start player, play a lot and be noticed, and play in the position that is needed […] We will go to the campus, see if everything is all right arrange, we will see what will be written in the official offer. Perhaps next year it will be possible to skip this pattern.”
Now Timofey's schedule is something like this: getting up at 5:00-5:30, going to the gym, throwing training, which he arranges for himself, and then - the way home, shower, breakfast and school. You can get the necessary physical activity only in this way. In the evening - team training for three hours. But the guys do not spend all three hours on the floor - it can be watching a movie, analyzing the matches played, scouting the closest opponent, and only then training.
The schedule is hard, but which of our guys abroad is easy. I hope everything works out for Tim, and this year we will see him play for the university in the NCAA.
If you liked the text, subscribe to my telegram channel - there I regularly talk about Russian basketball.
Photo: personal archive of Dmitry and Timofey Rudovsky, Good Looks
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Illinois Basketball Academies
This Basketball Academies in Illinois post covers academies in Illinois such as Illinois Storm Basketball, Doug Bruno Girls Basketball Camp, Highland Junior Bulldogs Basketball (HJBB), Road 2 Greatness Basketball Academy and more.
Illinois Basketball Academy
For boys and girls in grades K-12, the IBA provides competitive basketball teams and coaching. We additionally provide training for college and pro players.
We are very pleased to offer a first class program in which your children can grow and develop. IBA has 4 standard size school courts.
Every team wants to create a fun atmosphere in which every player can receive first-class training and enjoy the game of basketball.
DECLARATION OF INTENT
Increase the likelihood that the child will succeed in life.
To teach the important lessons that can be learned by participating in sports activities.
• Develop and strengthen collaboration, leadership, work ethic and discipline.
Create an environment in which children are free to express themselves.
Motivate children to work to the best of their ability.
M14 Hoops Learning Academy in Chicago September 23, 2009 Matt Miller created M14Hoops.
Prior to founding the company, Miller played college and professional basketball. He grew up in Aurora, Illinois. The foundation of the business was built on the values of perseverance, commitment, collaboration and big dreams! Starting operations in April 2010, the company immediately became known in the western suburbs of Chicago.
The only basketball skills development organization in the area, M14 provided private coaching, camps and other services.
“At first I didn't know anything about business. I just wanted to help improve every player I met. It became a fix. I worked hard to hone my technique by constantly learning basketball strategy, physical movement and communication. For the first five years we were in business, I don't think I had any social life at all.
By 14, M2014Hoops was the leading player development organization in the western suburbs. Now the organization annually served more than 500 consumers. They hired their first two full-time employees and rented buildings throughout Chicagoland, which was an important step in ensuring the high standard of all their events.
Flow Basketball Academy
Our goal is to produce successful and happy high school basketball players who gradually learn how to fully utilize their physical and mental abilities.
Sky Basketball Academy, founded in 2012, uses a holistic learning strategy to provide girls aged 9 to 18 in Chicago and the western suburbs with a unified and engaging philosophy of basketball and leadership development. We always respect the life of our girls in the classroom, because we know that they are first of all students, and only then athletes.
For girls aged 9 to 18, we run training, tour groups, camps and clinics focusing on developing individual talent, basketball IQ, mental toughness and team cohesion. In all 4 seasons, we offer a year-round program with age-appropriate blocks:
April and May: Spring
Summer: June and July
Autumn: October and September
Winter: November to February.
Our ideology is based on the concept of flow, that is, a state of complete concentration in which the body and mind work in unison. But that self-awareness is important in areas other than basketball as well. We teach girls to set and achieve goals, as well as to reveal their capabilities both on the court and in everyday life through the game and leadership skills.
Basketball Shark Academy, LLC.
Sharks Basketball Academy is committed to instilling in all players a work ethic, sportsmanship, responsibility and openness so that they have the fundamental abilities to succeed in life and sport. It is with great satisfaction that we offer a friendly and competitive environment for anyone who wants to improve their basketball skills.
Why Sharks then?
There is a good reason why so many of our former athletes are returning to the team as coaches. We aim to help every player realize their abilities through our training system.
Basketball is used at the Sharks Basketball Academy to help players develop self-confidence. It's inspiring to see it as a coach. Three adjectives to sum up our team:
CUSTOMIZABLE
We have a place for everyone at Sharks, whether you're aspiring college basketball players or entry-level athletes. After 20 years of productive coaching campaigns, we believe what sets us apart from other programs is our ability to communicate effectively with players. What sets our coaching team apart is our ability to tailor our methods to a wide range of basketball skill levels.
DEVOTE
We have done our best to play basketball as much as possible during the COVID epidemic. We understand that our program provides our players with a useful outlet for their social and physical lives. In addition, we have enjoyed successful seasons despite the hostile atmosphere of the basketball program while trying to take precautions to ensure the safety of players and their families.
PRIDE
Our employees remember that period with great pleasure. At that time coaching in basketball was the most difficult task. We place high demands on our players, their families and ourselves.
However, we were able to deliver. We have been able to provide our athletes with a refuge from the hectic outside world. Even if it was just a few sessions and games every week. We knew how decisive this moment would be for them. This is important for us.
Basketball Academy Big Break
Chief Instructor and Co-Founder TERELL JOHN
Terell John is a bright and imaginative play instructor. During his coaching career, he has worked with basketball players of all levels, from D1 to Grade 2. When a basketball fell into his hands for the first time at the age of 5, his passion for sports ignited. Since then, his passion for the game has only grown.
He was an outstanding athlete in Larkin High School, averaging 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in his senior year. en route to receiving multiple awards in 2009, including All-Area and All-Conference recognition. at Elgin Community College after a short period. Terrell was a standout at Purdue North Central in Division II, where he averaged 15.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, helping the Panthers to their most successful season ever and earning an All-Conference honor in his senior year.
Tommy Sampson: Instructor
Tommy Sampson is a knowledgeable player. His teaching is extremely original due to his meticulousness, explanation of game scenarios and originality. He has worked with athletes from D1 to first class. Tommy has gone through all the ups and downs that a basketball player can go through. He can relate to athletes in a way that no other person can.
Dewen Nguyen: Instructor
Dewen has been training athletes of all ages for 4 years. He is a competitive, attention to detail coach of the game. Deven became interested in sports at the age of 8. He spent one year at Merrillville High School and two years playing at Ox Sable High School. Deven was supposed to be a coach. Because of his history of injuries.
Deven has extensive experience with clinics, AAU teams, and individual and group programs. Deven focuses on using an athlete's limitations to his advantage. Now that Big Break is installed, it's ready to train!
ALL In Athletics
The premier basketball league in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation is ALL IN Athletics. ALL IN's goal was to develop a basketball program that prioritized the needs of the players. Our approach is based on principles that prioritize the relationship between coach and player, personal development of the player and a supportive learning environment. Our team has extensive coaching and management experience in the youth basketball industry, so we are confident that the ALL IN team will be able to provide your child with the most thorough work and developmental experience.
ALL IN Athletics' goal is to become the Midwest's premier basketball player development program. Through basketball, ALL IN Athletics is completely dedicated to the education, training and development of the individual as a whole. Our coaching team will work hard to give our players the guidance and instruction they need to perform at their best both on and off the court.
Basketball fundamentals are at the heart of the ALL IN Athletics curriculum, which prides itself on this fact. We think that a player's growth as an athlete, student and individual is largely dependent on the values and life lessons we teach.
While our goal is to help athletes improve their individual and team skills, we recognize that the most important lessons we can teach them go beyond the basketball court.
One of the guiding principles behind everything we instruct and teach is hard work. Another thing is determination. The third is confidence.
Basketball Academy Road 2 Greatness
The R2G Basketball Academy is designed for young players of all ages looking to develop their skills. To develop TOTAL basketball players and prepare them for the best competitions, we pay special attention to every aspect of the game. Weekly sessions are currently offered in Chicago's southern suburbs.
Our main goal is to challenge young athletes outside of their comfort zones to perform at their best. Every athlete must realize that in order to achieve greatness and achieve their goals through perseverance, hard work and dedication, a difficult path is needed. It is important for the Road 2 Greatness Basketball family to embrace and appreciate this journey TOGETHER. #IronSharpensIron.
Skills for Life Basketball Academy
Skills for Life Basketball Academy, a prestigious summer day camp open to boys and girls aged 9+up to 14 years old. Top high school basketball players from the Peoria region help Curley "Boo" Johnson, a world-famous basketball player, coach the Academy. .
Academy Goals
Develop Playing Ability
Why give campers the leadership, teamwork, respect and integrity they need to succeed on and off the court.
Most importantly, enjoy!
Academy details:
For vacationers from 9under 14 years old
Boys classes: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
departure at 8:45; 1 pm pickup
Girls session: 2 pm to 6 pm.
Arrival: 1:45; Departure: 6 AM
Highland Junior Bulldogs (HJBB) Basketball
The Highland Shooters were the first HJBB team to debut in 2015. The Founding Board members decided to fill the gap caused by the complete absence of a traveling basketball program that would serve the entire community. We are a non-profit organization that exists to give children in southwestern Illinois the opportunity to compete in basketball.
Through corporate donations and fundraising efforts, HJBB is able to affordably meet the needs of each of our traveling teams for equipment, uniforms, insurance and qualified training. Our organization's core belief is that children should have access to a competitive environment where participation is not limited by financial constraints.
Girls' Basketball Camp with Doug Bruno
More than 84,000 athletes have benefited from Doug Bruno Women's Basketball Camp since its inception in 2022. Visit this stellar coaching staff this summer at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and focus on game strategies, self-control. discipline and methods of development.
Basketball Fundamentals Camp: This camp gives participants of all skill levels the opportunity to take part in an action-packed week of basketball practice and competition.
Power up your Free Throw and Jump Shot at Shooting Camp! The camp includes tournaments, training, individual training and demonstrations.
HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE
Daily basketball practices, practices and demos last over nine hours.
A dorm environment that emphasizes responsibility and communication development
Get two Doug Bruno Girls Basketball Camp T-shirts, a basketball, and other prizes!
Basketball Southern Illinois Storm
Our curriculum is built around teaching the principles of the game and having a great time. Gain more confidence both on and off the court.
IBL
Training Basketball League (IBL) We offer 4 weeks of skill development and 3 weeks of games as part of our 7 week session.
With the right training and encouragement, we can teach game skills at camp and then apply them to real games. Each participant gets an understanding of how to play basketball and use their abilities!
Ability Camps
With the help of our knowledgeable coaches and a proven step-by-step basketball curriculum, you'll be on your way to success.
I try to keep all drills under 10 minutes. Typically, my goal is 5 to 7 minutes.
So, I'll stick to the administration of the camp...
They might be shooting or ball handling games or other activities where players had to enact what they were taught in a higher intensity environment.
By changing the activities inside the blocks, it created an interesting but very organized camp day.
But, often you have time constraints that will prevent you from playing in the matter you like.
With the clock stopped, we shot everything.
My dad sent me there so that I could start somewhere. Maybe he loves basketball. We had a small action at school - who wants to, come, teach, work out. There I began to play slowly, and so it came to the "Panther". I trained at this school for two years and then went to the training camp in Vatutinki, in CSKA. And it so happened that the coach liked me and he called me to the team. 
" He was not yet 8 years old, he went to the training camp and after that they offered him to study. We will consider that this is such a starting point, more or less meaningful and organized basketball. 
Therefore, Europe is the best option.” Pasha left first, we actually went after him. By coincidence, it turned out that we were helped by the same agents who arranged for Pasha in Baskonia. Just a little different way: we went to Spain to train in the summer, attended a Spanish summer camp for several years, adopted the culture of advanced European basketball, this is speed, fast transit, activity in attack, in early attack. It was all useful to study, we saw many advantages in this. One such summer camp had an agent who represented the agency that recruited Savkov. We met, they say: "Well, let's take your boyfriend, we'll see." 
“Interception”), but they offered us two teams - Joventut and Estudiantes. 
Kirill could close the position in the three-second zone both by his age and by his senior, so Hoventut took him. There was only one place left in the school, and there was none for Rudovsky. 
It was very reminiscent of Badalona, only without the sea. It seemed that this was the best option, so, of course, they accepted the offer with pleasure. In the summer, we intensively prepared for a month, arrived there and became part of this team. 
And if you have height, skills and some kind of authority, you start to live so a little on easy. Moreover, when he started playing for this team, people came up there, the father of a guy from the Spanish national team of the same age, Daniel Casarrubios in 2004, he said “juego de los listos”, which means he is already a ready-made pro - in thinking, in skills . He played in CSKA number one, immediately began to steer the team, scored a lot, it was clear that a qualitatively different level. 
And the rivals, of course, were not from the championship of Madrid, but the “youth team” of Spain, Turkey, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia . It was a good help that helped keep Timofey in good shape and, so to speak, test himself at a higher level. 
Moreover, the contract and everything else. On the other hand, I didn't want to go back at all. Meaning? Therefore, I would say that I was lucky that the pandemic began and I was able to leave there.” 
” We got in touch, got to know each other, I sent a video and literally 3 days later I received a message that the Sierra Canyon school coach wants to talk to you and invite you to come and join his team. We saw that Sierra Canyon is very well listed, one of the top teams, many children of former pro players play there. :no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/13128999/KELDON_JOHNSON_MBB2018_01_CW_600x900.jpg)
And suddenly it so happened that a familiar coach went to talk to the coach, showed him my highlights and said: “The coach is interested.” I was very surprised, shock, one might say. I can’t even imagine, from the word “absolutely”. Then I just prepared, trained, I would say, I even forgot. It seems to me that I went almost with a clear head, because all the time before leaving I was just preparing.” 
That is, it is a cool school in terms of academic, educational. Therefore, there was no doubt, we went there.” 
And maybe the fifth time, when you just say you don't understand, maybe he'll explain. And so it is necessary to grasp everything on the fly. 
There is no one against whom we are friends, who is not friends with whom, we still communicate, there are many team events where the guys spend time together. Tim communicates with Bronnie in the same way as with the rest, but you need to understand that Bronnie has a specific life, he has been a celebrity since birth, and this leaves an imprint on his character, demeanor, relationships, he does not seek to get close to people, he has an even relationship with everyone, it is impossible to single out what is friends with this or that. He has friends, but they are from a different field, eSports, there is a team that is very famous and popular in America (the FaZe Clan team - approx. "Intercept"), Bronnie's career in this team is no less popular than Bronnie the basketball player. 
.. to Timofey himself. 
He treats us all from Sierra Canyon, Strive like nephews. Uncle Bro, something like that. He called, he said: “Here you could give the pass down to the big one, and if your defender goes down from you for insurance, then you can get the pass back for three and throw it calmly, and not throw it with a pause and with uncertainty after the pass, when you looked down at the ring, down again and threw the airball. As I did at the time. He says - well, you could look there. I listened and the advice just soaked in. I would say so. Ears listen by themselves to such people .” 
The answer was that we play 1-4, that is, we have one big and four perimeter defenders who interact, combine, and so on. 
It all looked not very nice in terms of playing time and opportunities to continue to be active on the court. 
Bronnie James, Kijanny Wright, Amari Bailey, Shai Odom, the list goes on. 
A special commission is assembled to decide the issue, and in cases with athletes, this issue is often resolved in their favor. 
And Timofey Rudovsky is interesting. He was already called in by Anferney Hardaway, former NBA star and current head coach of the Memphis Tigers in the NCAA Division I. But Memphis is still a strong team, the top 30 of the league, so it may be difficult for Tim to get more time there than he gets now. 
He moved to Spain at 16 and trains with the Basque Country 
It became a fix. I worked hard to hone my technique by constantly learning basketball strategy, physical movement and communication. For the first five years we were in business, I don't think I had any social life at all. 
It is with great satisfaction that we offer a friendly and competitive environment for anyone who wants to improve their basketball skills. 
We understand that our program provides our players with a useful outlet for their social and physical lives. In addition, we have enjoyed successful seasons despite the hostile atmosphere of the basketball program while trying to take precautions to ensure the safety of players and their families. 
When a basketball fell into his hands for the first time at the age of 5, his passion for sports ignited. Since then, his passion for the game has only grown. 
He can relate to athletes in a way that no other person can. 
Our team has extensive coaching and management experience in the youth basketball industry, so we are confident that the ALL IN team will be able to provide your child with the most thorough work and developmental experience. 
Top high school basketball players from the Peoria region help Curley "Boo" Johnson, a world-famous basketball player, coach the Academy. . 
