TRU CAMP:

39 participants between the grades 5 and 12 attended the TRU Camp held at Shuswap Middle School this past week.  Good numbers between grades 5 and 8 (30) ... Numbers between grades 9 and 12 were disappointing (9).  We are discussing a change in the format of the camp for next year.  Older players are not interested... - I don't understand that??? - We would like to build towards a Jr./Sr. Group... Coach Clark can do so much more with a group that is similar in age / size / and ability. We will be talking about the camp for next year when we are in the mountains... on the lake ... fishing... Anyway, for those who attended the camp, I thought it went well.  Many messages were delivered to the players... hopefully they learned something.

Basketball is a team game... It is not an individual sport.  The off-season is time to improve one's skills, work on fitness, and get in the weight room to work on one's physical strength; however, when working to improve one's abilities as an individual, one needs to keep the team in mind.  No one person is better than the TEAM... The TEAM is only as good as its weakest link... As Coach Clark said at camp, and as I have said many times before, players/teammates should be doing these activities as much as possible together.  All players who are in town need to take advantage of open gym time...and open gym time should not be wasted... train hard, play hard, ... compete!  Athletes need to work on their areas of weakness.  Identify your weaknesses and work on getting better at them.  Create a plan and train. Remember, before the player goes into the gym, he needs to have a plan.  The plan needs to be written down.  The plan should not only reveal what the athlete will be working on, but how long (duration) the activity will be carried out, the plan should include the number of reps / makes that will be performed. Set goals to achieve success... write them down.  Remind yourself of the examples share at camp about Jay Triano and Kelley Olynyk.  There is no secret to success... there is no shortcut either. Commit... sacrifice... strive to reach your goals.  Failure is a part of the journey... know that it rears its head often... don't let it defeat you... let Failure become part of your motivation.