I Can Feel It In The Air...

A new season is upon us. The summer days are coming to an end and cooler air is passing through. All the off season workouts are behind you and now during workouts, you are envisioning your opponent in front of you. I was at my daughters training session earlier and began to reflect on last season and was thinking of new ideas for this upcoming season. I know for me , my main focus is going to be on fundamental skill sets. Shooting, passing, dribbling and defense. The little things that a lot of people overlook. The importance of the fundamentals of the game has been ignored by most players and coaches. And us coaches expect players to already be able to do some of the things that we ask them to do. But during the offseason, a lot of the kids are not being taught that and it tends to be an "out of sight, out of mind" mindset. Last year, our varsity team was not a good shooting team. Quite frankly, we were a terrible shooting team. Our opponents would play us zone all game and dare us to shoot, and we fell right into that trap. We couldn't shoot the ball. They would pack the paint and  we would force the ball inside. Without an inside presence, you know how that ended. And if you don't know, well it ended in another loss. This year, I plan on working on those fundamental skills everyday. Getting lots of shots up before, during and after practice. Creating muscle memory. We as coaches need to get back to teaching the kids the game of basketball. Where to be on the court, what to do in certain situations. How to make the proper cut at the proper time. Making the smart pass to the open player and not shooting the ball just to shoot it but shoot to make. I like to use the term, "play smarter, not harder". Whats funny is, I was watching this training session and the instructor was saying that he likes to develop point guards. So he was doing a 5 on 5 drill and as im watching his drill, I was asking myself, "If he is building point guards, then why is the point guard dribbling with his head down and looking for his shot first?" It baffled me. I thought a point guards job was to see the floor. Be a floor general. Make plays for your teammates. Make sure they are where they need to be, not dribble, dribble, dribble until you see a shot you like. It all starts there.  Teach the kids the game properly. Some kids have natural ability but don't have the knowledge of the game. Others that may have the knowledge , may not have the skill set. It is what it is but if we teach them the right things, they will prosper. So think back to your off season workouts, the shooting, the sweat, the hard work, because very shortly, it will all come into play. Are you ready?????? Me?, I CANT WAIT!!!!!

#DoMore
~Coach T

What are you made of???

Defense, loose balls, taking charges, making that EXTRA pass to an open teammate, are the little things that can take a player and his/her team a long way. The game is won, inch by inch. Each second is valuable. The game of basketball is all about runs and more times than not, the team with the momentum or the team that goes on that run at the right time, is usually the team that wins the game. As mentioned before, those little things can be a spark to get that run started for your team. Not many players these days take pride in doing the little things that are necessary to win and the ones that do, are probably hard workers, blue collar players. They are the ones spending endless hours in the gym during the off season, doing drills, extra conditioning, extra work, period. Working on the little things and strengthing the skills they have to become a better player. Most people call them "Gym rats" but I call them "Players". A coaches job is about teaching and putting players in a position to be successful, and making sure the players understand [the game] and make the game as easy as possible for the players. But the players job is to use those tools and thru repetition, have those things become second nature. You practice to create habits that will make you successful at the end of the season. Some people want it to happen, others wish it would happen and then there are those specials ones that make it happen. The sport of basketball doesnt only build character but it reveals it. What are you made of???

#DoMore
~Coach T

What is your "Y"????

      What drives you to do what it is you do? Whatever it maybe that you are passionate about doing, why are you doing it?  What is your motivation behind it? Is it for the love of it, is it just for fun, is it for someone who believed in you at one point in time that is no longer around or no longer living? Ask yourself these questions, what is your passion? what is your purpose.????? Think about it. It could be the answer that your looking for.

#DoMore
~Coach T

Summer Schedule for Basketball Dreams Skills and Conditioning Training.

Basketball Dreams Skills and Conditioning Training Schedule

Every Saturday at the South Ave Recreation Center (12 School across from Highland Hospital)

10am-12Noon

June 29

July 6

July 13

July 20

July 27

August 3

August 10

August 17

August 24

August 31

And once school starts back up, I will need to be sure no changes have been made. If the gym is closed any of these days or if I am not able to make it, I will send a text or email a couple days prior so that I don’t inconvience anyone. Thanks for your consideration and trust that I can and will improve your childs game by building confidence and proper skills they need to become a better player.

Coach T

585-353-0945

Coachtnowden78@gmail.com                                  

Big Dreams and Hard Work...

He stands 6 ft 9 in and 200 lbs. Led his team Bishop Kearney to a NY State championship and into the semis of the federation tournament. And he is 15 years old. That's right 15. I introduce you to Thomas Bryant. Thomas has only been playing basketball for 6-7 years and look where he is now. A few years ago, I saw this kid in a gym and looked him up and down and said damn you skinny. We laughed but I am skinny myself. This kid has been selected to represent the USA in the USAU16 championship in Maldonado, Uruguay. This is a big, big accomplishment not only for him personally but for the city of Rochester. This young man has made me proud and still has many miles to travel in life. He doesn't only excel on the basketball court but he also keeps his head in the books. From what I know and from what others have told me, this kid works hard on and off the court. With this opportunity, he has a chance to make a real name for himself outside of New York. Playing under a great coach Don Showalter (Iowa City H.S) and other selected great players from around the nation, he has a chance to learn and compete with some great talent. In an article I read recently after the team arrived in Uruguay on June 8th, Coach Showalter is excited to coach this group of young talent. He said that the defense is coming together and they are starting to gel as a unit. Coach Showalter thinks it will be very hard for teams to score on them. They open up the FIBA Americas U16 championship preliminary round playing against Mexico tomorrow at 4pm and can be viewed on live stream at www.fibaamericas.com . They will be streaming all of the games. Schedule is as follows, Tomm against Mexico at 4pm, Argentina June 12 at 6pm, and on the 13th against The Bahamas. Im interested to watch Mr. Thomas Bryant compete against the world. Best of luck to you and no matter what, you already made a lot of people proud. Go get em young fella.... Go USA!!!!

`Coach T
#DoMore

Nike Coaching Clinic review...

A week ago, me and a few other coaches went to the Nike Coaching Clinic at Turning Stone Casino/Resort in Verona,NY where there were coaches from around the country who spoke on different topics such as defense, transition offense and other practice drills. There were a lot of othere High school coaches in attendence from all over the eastcoast that were eager to learn more just as much as I was. Excited to see and listen to some of college basketballs best coaches from Chris Mack, head coach of Xavier University to the most intimidating man to coach the game, Mr.HuggyBear himself, Coach Bob Huggins of West Virginia. He had some great stories that he shared about practices and players who didnt give it their all and was asked to go home, not just back to their dorm but like ALL THE WAY home (lol). I have heard stories of the "treadmill" thats to the side of the court during his practices. When a player doesnt make the time for sprints or isnt going hard or is messing up in a drill, he sends them to the treadmill. He says "you cant cheat the treadmill". He sets it at 17mph and when you get on it, if your not ready to go, it will throw your ass right off. He shared some of his bloody stories that i thought was pretty funny. He is a great guy that has a no nonsense attitude when coaching. I picked up a couple of interesting drills from him. One of my favorites is the Iron man drill, where the player denies the wing, then sprints back to the paint for help side defense, then takes a charge, then he rolls the ball to one side of the court and after taking the charge, the player has to hustle to his/her feet to dive and try to save the ball before it goes out of bounce. I feel thats a good drill to do if you want to have a tough minded defense. Its always good to have players that are willing to hit the floor for a loose ball, or be able to take a good charge. Hard nosed players are my favorite. I will take a player who is willing to do all the little things over a scorer who doesnt help the team defensively anyday. Another one of my favorite coach/speakers was Coach Bruce Webber of kansas state.I have been a fan of his since he was the head coach at Illinois, when he coach Derron Williams. His style of coaching is something that I have picked up. He likes to set high goals and has a vision that focuses on team goals more than individual goals. Your best player must believe in you. He or she must buy into the system and your ways. Once that happends and the other players on the team see that, it becomes a better team, and they are willing to "share the juices". Everyone must be assigned a role and must be willing to accept it. That gives you your best chance to compete. Other coaches who spoke included Drexels head coach Bruiser Flint, Gonzaga's Mark Few, and Leonard Hamilton, Coach "Ham" from Florida State. Coach Ham used to be the head coach at University of Miami while my good friend Clint Hurtt coached football there, so we shared some stories after his lecture. Coach Ham is a defensive mastermind. He went over some close out drills and team defensive schemes that you can practice. He highlighted practicing good habits and always being ready to anticipate. I always tell my players, "dont let the offense do whatever they want to do, dont let them go wherever they want to go". Coach also talked about accountibility which I think is big in a team game such as basketball. (Speaking of which, I need to email his assistant coach Dennis for this checklist worksheet we were discussing.) Defensively, your goal should be to prevent easy fastbreak points and keep the ball out of the "redzone" (inside the arch) as much as possible. It was interesting to hear that his teams have always been in the top5 for least points allowed, holding teams to 35% shooting. Pretty damn impressive. All in all, it was a great clinic and I learned a lot of little things and lets not forget the casino. Of course I played..lol. Started out on the bottom and was down a good Hundred but went back and made all that money back, plus some. Now thats whatsup. I cant wait to incorporate some of these drills and lessons into my practice plans. Im always looking to get the best out of my players and after this clinic, I have more ways to do so. SO until then, no days off. The season starts now.

#DoMore

~Coach T

Welcome Home

This past weekend was a great one for hoops, well minus my NYKnicks losing to the Pacers(lol),  but after my daughter and her AAU team won both of their games yesterday in the Empire Dragons AAU tournament, some of the girls went to School #9 to meet a great icon and role model from right here in their own backyard. They were part of a crowd of many people who came out to show love and support for Rochester's own and WNBA player ,Shenise "MoMo" Johnson. She is a graduate from Rush Henrietta High School who went on the play division I basketball at the University of Miami. She was the leader of that team and scored 2,000 career points and was the 5th pick of the 2011 WNBA draft. She was selected by the San Antonio Stars. During this off season, she went to play ball overseas in Hungury where she says, she had to go and find herself and her game. Shenise said that she was just a spot up shooter for the San Antonio Stars and she said "thats not my game". "I needed to get back to doing what I love to do, get the ball and go". Shenise loves playing a fast pace game, pushing the ball up the floor and playing at a high tempo. This will be her second year playing in the WNBA and she hopes to get back to playing her style of play. She interacted with the young girls who are now looking up to her as a role model. The young ladies saw first hand what a professional ball player looks like. Not only that, but a female pro ball player. "She was cool and had big hands" said one of the girls and while the other ones giggled, they all realized that this to can be them one day, with dedication and hard work. But I also reminded them that you have to have a love for the game to make it that far. There will be hardships and bumps along the way and they need to perservere and climb many mountains to get there. But anything is possible if you believe. Shenise was a good inspiration to these young ladies on their way up the ranks. Keep working ladies and good luck. You are our future.

~Coach T
#DoMore

Basketball Dreams Skills & Conditioning Training Service

Basketball Dreams Skills & Conditioning Training service is committed to coaching youth about basketball, sportsmanship, hard work and dedication; teaching fundamentals of the sport, teamwork, and character, and providing them with the tools to become successful and productive citizens. This training offers an in-depth approach to effectively prepare players to compete at a high level on their select or school team. Coach Terry Nowden (Gates Chili Varsity Boys Basketball Asst.) is the instructor for all skill sessions which are held at any available facility that has a safe and controlled enviorment for the youth. Ball-handling, shooting, offensive moves, post moves and defensive skills are some of the areas covered in the skills sessions. Coach T also trains in life Skills, education and college preparation and can guide them in these areas as well. We do accept all ages, male or female. Please feel free to call or email Coach T to set up your training session today. Pricing may vary. $10 for a single session or $40per month. Locations are Mondays 6:30-7:45pm at the Gates YMCA and 10-12Noon on Saturdays (no sessions June8th, 15th and 22nd)

A New Beginning

I am an aspiring coach and have been an assistant coach at the varsity level for the past 4 years.
Lately, I have been thinking about all of the different ways that I can tap into my passion of coaching. I have had some great experiences and some not so great but that's what excites me about coaching. Its definitely a challenge and I love a good challenge. Working with the youth has been a passion of mine for quite some time. I have coached kids ages of 7 years old, all the way up to the high school level and they all have had pretty much the same reaction to my coaching style. I am able to tap into their potential and get the most out of them as athletes as well as young men. They are comfortable with me and will share any stories outside of sports (girlfriends,social activities,music ect) with me and I can share my own experiences with them. I relate to them in many ways and have been down the same path as most of them, single parent home, not so good grades in school, cool, popular, good at sports, but like me, most of them don't have a mentor, someone to look up to. So what I find is that a lot of these kids are learning from street experiences and listening to music and following the sterotype of what is deemed to be "cool". Like smoking weed, drinking, partying and just enjoying life. But they don't realize that there comes a time when you must grow up. Must become an adult and take care of their own self once they are out of their parents house. Some even give up and revert back to the streets because that's where they feel accepted. Little do they know, the streets have an expiration date. As does life. I often encourage them to find their passion and do something with it.. Tap into their power. Sometimes I have to ask them, If you are not getting better, you are getting worse, so how much time are you wasting? Success means doing the best we can with what we have!! Next season starts now!. You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do. Dont let someone dim your light simply because its shining in their eyes.... blind they ass!!!!
 #DoMore
~Coach T