I Know What You Did Last Summer

For all who remember the cult classic movie and one of my childhood favorites I Know What You Did Last Summer, about a group of teenagers who were being punished by a psycho for a crime they had committed the previous summer.

The moral of the story is that failing to take advantage of the summer months to improve as a player is a crime. Although you won’t have a psycho chasing, you will be punished just as well by opponents and teammates who took advantage of the upcoming months.

When we arrive to next winter, our skills should make evident the level of work we put in and cause our coaches and competitors to say, ‘I know what YOU did last summer!’

Don’t allow the psychotic tendencies of inconsistency, weakness, lack of conditioning and/or confidence terrorize you next year. Its essential that we put in the proper work now to reach our next level for next season.

Here are a list of things you should be doing to become the player you need to be:

Shooting

Shooting is a different skillset from any other facet of the game. If players didn’t have time for any other component of skills training they should be shooting. This one skill alone can get you on the court and make you vital to any team’s success.

Your shooting sessions should be very efficient and focus on form (Checkout Drew Hanlon’s video on form shooting here). These aren’t necessarily hard workouts (free throws and paint shots count too!) but more about gettng the reps in.

Here’s how: first you need access to a goal, any goal. Whether its an outside goal, one at your school or local rec center (remember all JP3 members get free Open Gym access throughout the week. Click here to checkout new Open Gym times for April).

The next best thing is to add a Rebounder, whether this is a friend, teammate or parent. IC3 Trainers are available for less than $500 and will allow players to shoot over 100 additional shots within the same time period.

Players should aim for 1,000 makes per week. This could be 250 over four days, five hundred over two days, or even 300+ over three days. Typically, it takes most decent shooters under an hour to make 150-200 shots with a rebounder, so even if 1000 makes is unreasonalbe, get as close as you can. The most important aspect is to focus on form and track your makes.

Alternative: If you dont have access to a goal or gym, 1000 form flips from a chair or even on the floor can be just as effective at establishing form mechanics. There is no excuse to not be shooting this summer.

Skill Work

The next most critical component of your summer training are skill-based workouts. Skill based workouts are intense sessions designed to challenge your skills and take them to a level above where they currently reside.

When you come to JP3 Training the focus is on your skill work component of your training.

Skill work is completed at a high intensity which accentuates deficiences. This is where we aim to make you uncomfortable so we can ultimately strengthen weaknesses. Whether it’s learning how to execute a skill correctly, with speed or against pressure; your ability to execute technique will largely be determined by your skill work, so do not lag on this step this summer.

Here’s how: Skill workouts should take place 2-3 times each week (my 9th grader trains 3x per week, my 5th grader 2x/wk.). Check out our pricing packages here so you can take advantage of group rates.

Alternative: Still, there are no excuses this summer, if you can only attend one skill session per week or are out of town, you can still get your skill work in. Skill work can be completed in a garage, driveway (Checkout NBA Guard Payton Pritchard getting work in his garage here!) or at any available court you can find.

We structure our workouts with a dynamic warmup that includes stretching, footwork, core work and plyometrics to accentuate athleticism. Then we shift the focus to ball-handling and finishing around the rim. Lastly, we get into shot-making off the dribble or catch.

Players can easily follow this rubric to get in their skill work for 45 minutes to an hour. Although they may not get as much out of it, this is not a step that can be skipped, so get it in any way you can.

Strength

Spring/summer is the best and possibly only time you have available to increase your phyical strength. With the grind of the winter, it is nearly impossible to increase strength during the season. However, the offseason is less taxing on young bodies and offers ample time to really focus on pushing weight.

Here’s how: Strength workouts should take place 2-3 times per week from 30 minutes to an hour at a time. This could be using body weight, light dumbells or kettlebells or actually going to a weight room to incorporate other lifts.

Alternative: If you don’t have access to a facility, YouTube has some great at-home programs that will absolutely increase strength by just following along (I like Juice & Toya’s workouts because they are Tabata style which includes cardio.). Otherwise, we can help you come up with a weekly program that you can take to a nearby weight room and perform.

Players should focus on a full-body workout that prioritizes leg excersises like squads, lunges, and dead lifts. Include chest and back workouts next and conclude with shoulders and core.

Small-Sided Play

Small sided play is critical to causing your skills to come together. There’s something about competition that causes elements to season and come together, much like the ingredients of your favorite recipe.

Small sided play are short games of 1 v 1, 2 v 2 or even 3 v 3. This type of play ensurers players are getting lots of touches and are constantly being forced to use their skills. In other words, they cannot hide. In small-sided play your skills will be tested in a fun and competitive way, so be sure to add this element to your training.

Here’s how: 1-2 days per week invite a friend to a gym or local court. You can even do this after a school or AAU practice several days per week. Prioritize playing through contact and shooting game like shots over a hand/body. The focus is on learning how to shift the defender’s weight to create openings that you can attack for scores. This type of training is both physicall and mentally demanding thereby causing you to become rentlenless as a player.

Alternative: If you cannot find a workout partner or group, play 1 on 1 against yourself by performing one move at full speed until you make 5 shots. Between sets perform a 30 sec to 1 minute cardio excersise like wind sprints, jumping jacks or burpees, then choose another move and make 5 more. Repeat this for 20-30 minutes and you will simulate small-sided play.

Speed

Speed is the ability to create force for your body to move. Speed is essential for athletes because it allows our skills to become even more dynamic. Speed (ie force) increases our ball-handling, defensive, and shot making ability, as well as anything else we aim to do on the court.

Here’s how: Simply performing 10-20 hard sprints over a normal sprinting distance, 1x per week can do wonders for player’s explosion. Obviously, this can be done in a full-court setting, on a track or open field. Also add in 30-50 reps of jumping exercises.

Alternative: However, a large space isn’t required to increase your speed, ladder drills, high knees and jumping drills. All of these workouts require that you focus on the mechanics of movement. Similar to other skills like shooting, a little focus goes a long way.

These drills can be completed in a garage, back patio, or even your room. Again, you can always search YouTube for things like At Home Speed Workouts or something similar.

Stretching

It does us no good to put in the work this summer and not care for our bodies. The added stress on your body will cause breakthrough but not before it causes breakdown. Prioritize recovery like streching, sleep and supplements to help revitalize your body after taxing workout sessions.

Here’s how: come up with a 5 to 10 min stretch routine that addresses all major muscle groups in the legs (hamstring, quads, calfs) as well as any other areas where you tend to hold soreness. Foam rollers and massage guns are a great addition to this. Also, don’t be afraid to try ice baths, although they take some getting used to, the recover results are immediate and undeniable.

Alternative: if you aren’t the stretching type, use a wall to help lengthen you muscles and increase blood flow. Simply butt-up to the wall with you legs stretching up over your head and against the wall, hold for 2 min. Implement variations by bending one leg, or two legs (butterfly or squeeze to chest) at a time.

If you are needing help of developing your off-season or even in-season Performance Plan, email us at jp3training@gmail.com with the Subject Line: Performance Plan Help.