The Unheralded Heroes of Basketball
When focusing on player development, many look at the programs players have been a part of: high schools, colleges, and even NBA teams get critiqued on how well they develop players. However, a group of people across the US and abroad have made their careers in developing skills and being the backbone of many athletes across the NBA. The unheralded heroes of basketball, skills trainers spend countless hours of work with professional and amateur players. Skills trainers are often known for their summer pro runs or camps, but it is not the moments in the bright lights that make trainers so impactful.
In this piece we will learn what makes skills trainers so effective and how they go about helping these athletes become the best pros possible. For insight, I interviewed three different pro skills trainers at different levels of the game on their process and their relationships with their clients. David Lam is a trainer with Blair Academy in New Jersey and has worked with players like Immanuel Quickley and 5-star Duke commit Mackenzie Mgbako. Shaun Belbey is a player development coach with OTE’s City Reapers, and is a former Syracuse University basketball player who has trained players like Isaiah Thomas and Danny Green. Aaron Miller is a Houston-based skills trainer who has trained players like Jimmy Butler, Patrick Beverley and Collin Sexton. For full disclosure, he was also once my trainer, back when my hoop dreams were alive and well (they are now dead and gone). All three of these trainers have different perspectives and approaches, and all have seen success in their work. Their insight was essential in getting a well-rounded view of the skills training space and their process.
Mutual Connections
With many skills trainers across the nation specializing in different aspects of the game, players have a wide variety of potential partnerships for training. However, this relationship is unique to most other trainers in their career, as a team often provides them with outside interests and a forced connection. This luxury of being able to formulate unique relationships is a two-way street. “If [a trainer has] the luxury of selecting [their] clients, [they’re] already way ahead of the game,” said Shaun Belbey.
Private trainers can work with athletes personally and understand the players’ habits at a level as deep as their teams. Each player has a different learning style, and with so many skills trainers, it is easier to find someone that they gel with. “Everyone has their own perspective, theories, and mindsets on how players can improve,” said Aaron Miller. “Whatever works for [one] player might not work for the next; find the trainer that fits you.” The one-on-one workouts and long hours allow for fine-tuning of areas of a player’s game that the teams may deem optional. However, skills trainers are able to spend the time to pinpoint weaknesses and freely train improvements.
Creating a Training Plan
When training a professional athlete in a team setting, many workouts are team-goal-oriented. However, when working with skills trainers, players can work on aspects of their game that THEY feel needs improvement. This is because the majority of this training occurs in the off-season when players work independently to improve their game. Most of the time, players will approach trainers with some outlook: a series of skills they want to have developed and goals for the upcoming season.
David Lam sees this initial meeting of the minds as a way to get a baseline of understanding for the player’s tendencies and current abilities. “Determine it myself first through talking with the player and seeing where they are with various skills after the first workout,” said Lam, “then talk to coaches if feasible.” Trainers will then look back to the coaches for guidance on how to deal with the player, the team’s goals for the player, and areas of focus. “The coaching staff is an excellent resource to provide direct feedback on exactly what the team is looking for the player to improve on,” said Miller.
Belbey, however, goes about the meeting of the minds with his clients in a unique manner. “[I] typically create a SWOT analysis. I will make one & also have the player make one to see what we agree & disagree on,” said Belbey. A SWOT analysis, standing for “Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat”, is often used in consulting or investing to determine a business or idea’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats moving forward. Here, Belbey uses it to get a better understanding of the player, what they can improve to be, and what their weaknesses are. Having that mutual understanding with the player is key to having success with one another.
Developing Professionals
When players approach trainers, they often have two parts of their game they want to see improved: shooting and ball-handling. With how the NBA is trending, shooting is something all players “must be able to do now,” per Shaun Belbey. Aaron Miller believes that players should focus on guarding multiple positions just as much as they focus on shooting. These two attributes have become very important in today’s game.
While many players often go through “big picture” drills, sometimes there is work on micro-skills. Lam feels like focusing on micro-skills overwhelms a player and tries to fix certain things only when necessary. Miller feels like tweaking micro-skills is an accumulation of work over years of progress. “Micro skill refinement is the focus, but it is also a variable that is tough to measure in the short-term,” he said. “Continuously circling back during the summer and season for years and opportunity can provide tangible evidence.” This constant work year in and year out helps drive progress for players, and when the micro skills are nailed down, the rest comes easier. However, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are NBA players.
Training Styles
When in the gym, it is time to drill. However, there is no correct way to approach this. Many trainers have different styles and approaches, and players react to these styles in their own ways. David Lam’s style involves “a lot of trial and error.” “I’ll make stuff up on the spot a lot and see if it helps the player understand the skill better,” said Lam. Lam likes to give players fairly similar drills, with different points of emphasis. When the drills get too easy, Lam will throw in random practice. “Control what you can control,” Lam says, using the phrase as his mantra. This approach is what Lam takes going into training, and is the approach he tries to take with his clients. By having them control what they can control, Lam shifts their focus to development rather than immediate results.
Belbey goes about training players a bit differently. “Game skills, game results,” says Belbey. Belbey tailors his drills for each player, based on their aforementioned understanding of Belbey’s SWOT analysis. Belbey practices in game situations with his drills, often involving defense in live game-like reps, such as attacking off the catch for a wing or quick post decisions for a big man. Focusing on what they will be doing in game helps players become the best in their role, rather than trying to have everybody learn how to play like a superstar. “Players who are the 8th-9th man on a team do not need to be focusing on 1v1 isolation moves with 19 dribbles in one spot,” he emphasized.
Aaron Miller begins his training by first going through the player’s game film. Finding the sets, actions and tendencies of the player are keys for Miller when it comes to formulating beneficial drills. However, he sees this as an opportunity to sharpen mindset, not just basketball skills. “I believe in switching mindsets while working out,” Miller explained.
“For example; some days I would like to make three in a row at each spot to work on momentum and getting in rhythm. Some days to end the workout by making six out of eight shot attempts to build consistency. Same shots, just a different mind frame.” Miller also employs similar aspects as Belbey and Lam, tailoring practices to a player’s niche while attempting to develop a new fold or two to their game every off-season. This slow outlier development while focusing on the player’s niche is what Miller believes helps players stick in the league.
Here we see three slightly different training styles, all effective in their way and all effective with different people. This is the tale of skills trainers, as just like teams, each trainer has a different style, approach, and mindset that they employ in their training. However, it is clear that the goals of primary skill development and simulating game situations are two keys in pro development.
Pro Runs
Everybody’s favorite part about the off-season, pro runs allow players to test out their recent improvements against their peers in a semi-structured full-game setting. The yearly feature that has given us things like Hoodie Melo, one-legged 3s from James Harden and the quote “Danuel House looks like the best player on the Rockets,” pro runs give players – and fans – an opportunity to see what has been added to their game, and what shouldn’t be.
The benefits of these runs have always been questioned, as there’s good reason to be a skeptic. However, the freedom these runs allow allows players to test their off-season work. “Runs during the summer are a great time to practice the things you have been working on,” said Shaun Belbey. “Never does anyone really tell someone not to do this or that during a run, unless its just something they should never do on the court.”
Aaron Miller ensures the players get put into game-like situations, so this doesn’t become an issue. “Every Pro Run that I have, players have to play out of certain sets and initiations before they go into their own thing.” Miller sets up a shot clock, has players shoot free throws, play in motions, and follow NBA rules in his pro runs. Simulating this experience puts players in game-like roles and situations so that players can test their craft in an in-game experience.
The Pro Trainer Space
Every time you log onto Instagram or Twitter, a new skills trainer explains how “adding these three finishing packages to your bag will make you a next-level player. These days, with an abundance of skills trainers, there are a lot of people with a lot of answers. “[There’s] not enough truth-tellers and too much clout chasing,” says David Lam. A rather intimate profession, skill development is often built on trust, accountability, and work ethic. Being able to tell the truth to players will help them in the long run. We saw University of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson echo this statement recently, stating in an interview, “I do not want to build up a bad shooter’s confidence.” Being honest with players about who they are, what they can add to their game, and what they can’t, is the only way to truly buy into developing in the best manner possible. This is something that the development sector of basketball from youth to pro can improve on.
However, as the pro trainer space grows, so does opportunity. Many skills trainers see opportunities with teams based on their clientele and access to new technology. Programs like HomeCourtAI, which helps map the court and track player movement, Kinexon, which tracks joint and muscle movement and rehabilitation, and NOAH, a shot arc and location tracker, have benefitted both teams and private trainers in improving training quality and impact. With so much data coming out of training sessions, it feels neglectful to not employ this in a way that benefits player development. Luckily, with more access and more programs coming out yearly, trainers and coaches can unlock a new level to player development.
A Personal Profession
Lam believes having a connection is an integral part of being a skills trainer. Spending so much time with their clients, skills trainers need to have personal relationships with them. “The better my relationship with them, the more I can hold a player accountable.” Belbey similarly echoed this statement. “Having a great relationship with them off the court will help you on the court because you know they will trust you.” Accountability and trust go a long way in the basketball space, especially when dealing with development. By establishing this with their players, skills trainers can help them become better professionals on and off the court.
Aaron Miller’s take on his relationships with his players was a bit more passionate. “The major part for me in this point of my career is the players level of focus. I am not looking for a 22-year-old that is just happy to be in the NBA [or a] 32-year old that is content. I am constantly looking for clients willing to push the limits to further their careers and find ways to improve constantly.” I’ve seen this firsthand with Miller and his clients, and how personal his relationships are.
After the Portland Trailblazers v New York Knicks Summer League game at Thomas & Mack Center this last July, Miller told me to follow him around the stadium. We had just watched one of his clients, Josh Gray, get his second straight DNP of the tournament. It was now 11:30 pm on a Monday, and the last of the fans were funneling out of the stadium. We walked to the exit, where we found Gray’s family, waiting for him to come out the locker room. When we met with Gray, we walked around the UNLV campus to the practice gym, where Miller, Gray and Gray’s two little brothers worked, fine-tuning Gray’s game for the next hour and a half. Despite having told me “I’m on vacation” earlier that day, Miller spent time late into the night helping his friend and client. While Gray did not play the rest of the tournament, this dedication to his client at any given time stood out to me. “You have to be SICK about getting better, or we won’t speak the same language,” said Miller.
Conclusion
Pro skills trainers spend countless hours with players throughout the year, fine-tuning their craft and preparing them for the upcoming season. Many also act as contracted scouts or video coordinators, sending their clients game clips or instructions on approaching their matchup for the night. A group of people often spotlighted for their off-season gatherings or high-profile training highlights, these trainers take the time to understand their clients at a deeper and more personal level, to get the most out of their clients and themselves. “My life is my job. These players are my body of work,” emphasized Miller. “It is so much bigger than basketball.” As the season kicks off, trainers can see their body of work in action, watching their players employ off-season teachings to take their game to the next level.
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