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Does your child want to play middle school or high school sports? ?If the answer is yes or maybe then you should ask yourself these questions to see how many steps your child needs to take in oder to be ready to compete for a spot on the team. ?I usually ask the following questions:
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Dr. Mark Robinson is a personal development expert who helps highly competitive individuals excel in a highly competitive environment.
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One of the unfortunate parts about coaching middle school basketball for me are the days during tryouts. ?The disappointing news I have to give a player and parent on their non selection.? Each year parents and kids attend basketball tryouts hoping to be selected to play for the team.? I have experienced two different types of parents of youth athletes.? You’re either a parent who is investing money and time into your child’s athletic skill development or a parent who is not.? Youth sports is a billion dollar business.??The parents who have not embraced the billion dollar business are usually the parents upset when their child is not selected for the team. ?
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Dr. Mark Robinson is a personal development expert who helps highly competitive individuals excel in a highly competitive environment.
Since 2013 we have delivered news, articles, and videos regarding the personal development of athletes. In 2019 what has changed? The desire to produce more blogs, fewer articles and less interviews. As a result, we have revamped the look and feel of PPD MAG. We provide content convenient and a quicker. More importantly we had to analize athletes and non athletes personal development issues and challenges meeting the common denomnator.
In response to the request, more blog and opinion content on current events regarding the personal development of the athlete. As well as content on other highly competitive individuals from highly competitive environments. Money, power, and status are the common denominators for the athlete and an individual seeking to excel in a competitive corporate environment. Moving forward understanding the personal development of these individuals is part of the personal player development agenda.
A review of our visitor’s analytics pushed the 2019 revamp. Who’s reading our content and why? How long the average visitor actually spent on our site? Interest in PPD MAG original viewership is deep-rooted in the topics we cover. As a result the addition of a serious blog element on the personal development of highly competitive individuals. In-lines us with global players from all professions competing to be the best in a competitive environment.
Dr. Mark Robinson is a personal development expert who helps highly competitive individuals excel in a highly competitive environment.
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Middle school is an important time for youth athletes.? It’s when the foundation and development of skills and understanding begin to take shape.? It is also at this time that key questions and decisions should be made. ?Is your child playing sport as a recreational activity? ?Is you child playing sport to inprove to make the high school team? Does your child want to play in college? ?Is your child playing sport because of mom and dad?
If a child wants to play sport in college. ?Parents should examine the High Schools in the local district. ?Do your homework on the program and coach. This means, find out how many players from the school have moved on to play college sports.? How many of those players played for the current coach?? Does the coach have connections or a network on the college level? ??Does the school have a quality strength and conditioning program?? What does the summer development program consist of? ?Attend a game or practice if necessary. ?All of the above activities will allow you to get a feel for what type of program and coach a child will become a part of.?
School districts have a policy in place regarding boundaries in a school district (if public) area.? You should familiarize yourself with these policies. Understand the reason certain districts allow kids from other boundaries to attend schools in that district.? Most school boundaries are in place for equal enrollment purposes, not athletic purposes. ?
Speak to some of the counselors and find out if they have experience with the NCAA academic requirements and understand what classes athletes should be taking.? Also, find out if they understand the difference between NCAA divisions 1,2 and 3.
If a player is good enough to compete on varsity as a freshman parents should understand that player will be around older kids every day and this could expose a player to the ills of playing sports.? A freshman hanging around a senior is not always a bad thing but from a social standpoint, attending parties and being exposed to alcohol and drugs could be.
Sometimes as parents we want our child to be so successful that we forget it’s not about us it’s about the child.? If your child doesn?t want to play high school sports leave it and find another activity for them to enjoy.? Pushing your child to play sport will only damage your relationship.
Playing a sport on the collegiate level is difficult, and not many have the opportunity. Many parents leave the investigative legwork to others.? While some parents are not educated on the things that will provide their child with the necessary developmental aspects of playing in college.? If a child is willing to put in the effort, a parent need to make sure they are doing their part.
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Dr. Mark Robinson?is a personal development expert who helps highly competitive individuals excel in a highly competitive environment.
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Our society has always been a competitive one ? however, the personal development of individuals competing in competitive environments. Compared to individuals competing in competitive athletics may have more in common than we recognized. More importantly, the personal development methods used in athletics to combat personal issues could be useful in assisting the everyday competitive employee.
We often see athletes as competitors and while this is true many in the tech industry, as well as other parts of the corporate world, are struggling to thrive in these competitive areas. Having the right resources accessible is essential for these individuals to make sound decisions, understand the power they hold, and the status that comes with that power. The common denominator between the weekday competitive employee and the competitive athlete is how they function and manage to achieve desired outcomes in the workplace or the athletic arena.
A few years ago, I volunteered to be a mentor for a matchmaking mentor company for corporate professionals. My intended purpose was to use my method of working with athletes and apply them to a competitive fast pace environment. I wanted to determine if my theories and practical application for personal player development was useful.
Throughout the course of six months, I met with my mentee from twitter at convenient locations close to the Twitters downtown San Francisco office. Our specific topic centered around how he could become more competitive in pitching his concept to Twitter Executives. He explained to me that the competition in tech is fierce, relentless, and high turnover. On one occasion, we had a session at Twitter. ?As he gave me a tour, I noticed people on Macs everywhere. ?Diligently working, while centered around coffee bars, al la carte meals, and flat-screen televisions. He was correct the competition was fierce and relentless, which mirrored the competition on a football team at a power five conference for a starting spot.
During our sessions, I delivered the techniques I use with athletes, and the results were extremely positive. He pitched his idea, they loved it, and he ended up receiving a new position as well as an increase in pay. Ultimately he left Twitter and took a higher paying position with another tech company in months of his initial pitch to Twitter.
My encounter with my mentee from Twitter allowed me to validate that people working in competitive environments can not only benefit but thrive from the personal player development pillars of success. As a result of this experience, I slowly began to include this population in my practice and continue to see the vast similarities in helping the competitive employee and the competitive athlete.
Dr. Mark Robinson?is a personal development expert who helps highly competitive individuals excel in a highly competitive environment.
The first perspective of the athlete?s worldview is termed the Initial Perspective. At this point, the athlete has usually played club sports, youth sports, Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sports while in high school, and has entered their first year of college. These athletes believe they have a very good chance of competing in professional or Olympic sports once they complete college. The entitlement contributors reinforce this belief as discussed in the previous chapter.
The mentality of these athletes relates to the sports they play. This mentality began in elementary school, and in many cases continued on into college. Once in college, these athletes see school as a way of fine-tuning their athletic skills to enable them to play professionally. As far as the athlete is concerned, attending college is only a means to an end. Academics and any non-sport related activities are of no real interest to athletes in this stage, primarily because the main reason they are attending college is based on their athletic ability. The elements that make up the athlete?s mindset in the Initial Perspective are outlined in the figure below. In this perspective, athletes possess a serious thought process focusing on athletic development, a feeling of personal freedom related to being away from home for the first time, and a cautious approach towards academic and professional development.
Although their academic pursuits assisted these athletes in gaining entry to college, athletics was the number one reason they were recruited. More importantly, athletics is ultimately the reason they will continue to persist on campus. Lack of academic or athletic performance could result in the loss of a scholarship, unless the student is attending college on an academic scholarship. Therefore, the number one priority for college student athletes is maintaining a mental focus on their sport.
The student athlete attending college on an academic scholarship also has a state of mind connected to the Initial Perspective. According to Athena Liao, a former student athlete at Yale University in swimming from 2009-2013:
All of the Yale athletes are smart and work hard in the classroom, [and] although they don?t give athletic scholarships, people still complain about being so busy in sport. But at the end of the day, we are really students first, and that?s a big difference between scholarship athletes and non-scholarship athletes. Another difference is how the scholarship athlete is tied to the university through sport. If I wanted to quit the team and just continue to go to school, I could have at any time and my decision would not have affected my status at the institution. This is something that happens with non-scholarship athletes all the time. I guess the pressure is less to perform in some cases, because you know your sports participation is something you can walk away from at any time. People come and go all the time. If someone decided to leave, there?s really nothing the coach can do, and you can continue to attend school.
The Initial Perspective of the student athlete is compounded by the desire to please the coach or coaches. These student athletes will virtually do anything the coach asks because in their mind the coach or coaching staff is their ticket to the next level. Attending extra film sessions, shooting extra shots, running extra sprints, etc., are all done with one goal in mind: to play as much as possible. In certain situations, athletes will agree to redshirt or not play their first year of college just to stay in good standing with coaches. They will ignore the fact that coaches will still recruit athletes for the following year. This places the redshirt athlete in a position to battle for a starting spot or playing time, reinforcing the fact that nothing is guaranteed.
The Initial Perspective of the athlete?s worldview can be deemed as genuine and normal for student athletes, particularly competing in signature sports such as football and basketball. Athletes who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to compete in these environments worked hard to get there. Through hard work, they deserve the scholarships offered based on their athletic ability. Student athletes in the Initial Perspective are still naive to the realities of sport.
A highlight of Dr. Mark changing athlete behavior in one of his presentations.
The pursuit to become proficient in every aspect drives athletes to eat, sleep and breath excellence. Since a young age, the idea that ?practice makes perfect? is drilled into their mindset, but where does striving for perfection draw the line between healthy and unhealthy?
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. ?Vince Lombardi
There is no doubt that sports carry many benefits including discipline, team work, decision making, goal setting, and dedication. Nevertheless, this competitive environment also has the ability to aid in the downfall of the individual. For the athlete that spends countless hours seeking improvement, they have become their own worst critic. Left dissatisfied when the outcome doesn?t meet their expectation, instead of recognizing their ability to progress. What athletes really mean to say is that they seek perfection, the unreachable notion of being flawless. But what is perfection? Is it the no hitter? Is it the ideal body image? Is it doing what we never thought we could?
Vince Lombardi said, ? Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence?. To the athlete seeking perfection, communication and education is key. We are so fixated on the little things that we fail to see the bigger picture of having a healthy, balanced and positive lifestyle as individuals. That includes letting go of what we cannot control. Behavior such as this is more common than we realize, especially in athletics.
Sports culture is obsessed with perfection; from performance to appearance, athletes are statistically evaluated and under the constant pressure to meet expectations. The higher the level of competition, the more pressure there is, and while we understand that less than 2% is what separates the good from the great; when do we reach a point where we are satisfied with ourselves?
The combination of various factors can lead athletes to partake in unhealthy behavior that is self-destructive. High-risk drinking, drug use, and eating disorders are just some of the better-known behaviors that athletes fall vulnerable to when they internalize stress and don?t know how to properly approach these situations.
In an environment that prides itself on mental toughness, any sign of weakness that could impact performance is negatively looked upon. Athletes feel too proud, fear, or deny that they are struggling and in return it becomes internally damaging to the individual and the athlete. The inability to be perfect does not discredit them as a person, it only allows them opportunity to develop and progress.
Let us redefine how the sports culture views perfection. Perfection is the point where a person?s satisfaction starts and ends with them. As an athlete you cannot allow others to define your success or your self worth. Sports are about your passion and ability to reach your full potential, no one else?s. So should we stop trying to achieve perfection? No, chasing perfection gives us direction and motivates us to do better. For some, that athletic identity may extend for a longer period of time than others, but at the end of the day they all eventually come to an end. When that day comes we want athletes to continue to view perfection as their distinct ability to live a positive, balanced and healthy lifestyle.
As for our imperfections, they are what make us perfectly imperfect. They make you the athlete that you are, but more importantly they make you the person you are. Vince Lombardi was right, perfection is unattainable, but teaching athletes to reach their full potential, that is its own model of excellence.
Article written by?Danielle Gleason,
Founder of DNG?and?Personal Player Development Specialist
Danielle Gleason is a former collegiate swimmer for Colorado State University. ?She has a?Bachelor of Science in Health Exercise Science and a?Master of Education in?Higher Education. ?Danielle was a graduate assistant in the Student Athlete Development office for Arizona State University, which is where she realized her true passion is working with athletes in the personal development arena. ?Since then, Danielle enrolled in the Institute for Personal Player Development?(IPPD) and has received her Personal Player Development (PPD) Specialist Certificate. ?We wanted to get feedback on her IPPD experience.
Dr. Mark: Why did you enroll in the IPPD, PPD Specialist Certificate program?
Ms. Gleason:?I was originally referred by Jean Boyd, Sr. Associate Athletic Director at ASU?to contact?Dr. Robinson?and after speaking to him, I decided to enroll in the IPPD, PPD Specialist Certificate program.
I felt that the work that was being done would have of not only benefited me greatly during my time competing, but more importantly after. This program has the endless possibility to help former, present, and future athletes. By enrolling in the program, I was?able to gain the proper knowledge to assist athletes?live the positive, balanced and healthy lifestyle that the IPPD program so adamantly teaches.
Dr. Mark: What did you think about the program curriculum?
Ms.?Gleason:?I thought that the program was very well researched, it was relevant, and it provides a lot of value to those who are taking the course. The curriculum allowed me to learn from a number of professionals in the field and apply the concepts in multiple ways.
Dr. Mark: Would you recommend this program to other people who want to or are working with athletes??
Ms.?Gleason:?Definitely! Regardless?of?the capacity that a helping professional works with athletes, it is always a great opportunity to get professionally trained to help athletes?develop as an individual in a positive, balanced, and healthy way.
Dr. Mark: What was one of the most important things you learned through the program?
Ms.?Gleason:?One of the?most important things I learned was that, PPD specialists help athletes?realize their maximum potential as an individual, not just as an athlete. IPPD has provided the framework to assist would be helping professionals?in the best possible way.
Dr. Mark: What are your plans moving forward within the PPD industry?
Ms.?Gleason:?Moving forward, I plan to start my own consulting service as a Personal Player Development Specialist. I also plan on developing workshops and presentations geared towards the female athletic identity and transitional phases.
Dr. Mark: Why did you write a book?
Coach Hendrix: I started writing the book because I was in a really bad space at the time mentally and I thought it would be therapeutic.? As I got into my story I thought that this could be a good tool to help young athletes navigate through the ups and downs of high school and college athletics.? Many young athletes have no idea what it takes to be prepared for college in the classroom and in their respective sports.? Many of them have never even thought that their preparation may not be sufficient.? I believe that my story could be a tool for them to use in order to be better prepared for any obstacles that may be put in front of them.? If my journey can make these young people take an honest look at themselves and evaluate where they are academically, and athletically, and say ?I need to buckle down to get where I want to be?, then the book was used for its proper intention.
Dr. Mark: What message can readers expect from your book?
Coach Hendrix: I believe there are a few messages that readers can take from my book and the first one is perseverance.? I have been through a lot because of the game of basketball, but I still devote lots of time and energy to the game because it?s what I love to do.? I love to teach the game, and help young people become better players.? The message I took from writing the book is that life is not perfect.? There will be things outside of your control that may attempt to block you from getting to your goals, but you have to learn to deal with those situations and not let anything stop you.? It also teaches that even if you put your all into it, you may still have to take an alternate route to your destination.? Lastly, we should always take an honest look at ourselves, evaluate the part we played in the outcome of all the decisions we make, and learn from our mistakes.
Dr. Mark: You took a run at D1 coaching, what happen?
Coach Hendrix: I could write a ten-page paper on all of the things that happened while I was pursuing a college coaching job, but I will try and summarize what happened.? College coaching is a network, and if you are not in the network or highly connected within the network, it is very difficult to get into the business. There are hundreds of guys that hold all the spots in the network, whether they perform well or not.? If one staff gets fired for not doing well at a particular school, many times all of those coaches land on their feet at another school where they have a connection.? It makes it difficult for any new coaches to get jobs because all of the available jobs are filled by guys who just got let go, want to move schools, or guys who were in part time positions such as graduate assistants, or director of operations.
The best way to get in as a new guy is to take a Grad assistant job right after graduation, and grind your way to the top.? I didn?t attempt to get into the coaching game until I was 3 years removed from college.? I had an interview with my old college coach who was going to hire me, but the athletic director made him hire another guy that was a graduate of that school.? That is another obstacle, politics play a big part in who a coach can hire.? It has to ?make sense? to the institution to hire a new coach that?s just getting into the business.? So, it is very difficult to get hired unless you can hand deliver a high level prospect, which is how many guys get into the business.? I wasn?t going to attach myself to a player to get a job because once you do that, you have to be able to deliver a player at all times and I think your basketball acumen becomes devalued.? You become a ?recruiter?.? I have put in too much time mastering my craft as a coach to be simply a ?recruiter?.? After 9 years of chasing it, I decided to take a high school head coaching job and put all of my energy into becoming the best coach possible.? It was very rewarding being able to put into practice all of the things that I had learned on my journey, and it further let me know that this is my gift and I need to continue to put my all into becoming a great basketball coach.
Dr. Mark: Is AAU basketball good for the players and the college game?
Coach Hendrix: I used to think AAU was hurting the game, and it was a bad thing for the game.? My views have changed slightly, but I still think it is doing more harm than good.? AAU basketball has become more of a business and has taken away from the development of 95% of the kids that play it.? The top 5% are taken care of.? They have the best resources to improve their game ie. Trainers, elite camp, great instruction, and many of them good quality high school coaching.? For these kids, I believe that AAU has it?s place.? It gives them an opportunity to compete with and against the best players in the country consistently, and it gives the college coaches and accurate assessment of these kids abilities.? With that being said, it also has created the pampered athletes that we see today.? The best high school players get treated like royalty.? They are pros from the time they are 16 years old and are treated as such.? It causes entitlement issues among the kids, and they have trouble taking criticism, being disciplined, and small failures.? I believe that this has led to the 700+ transfers that we have seen at the division 1 level this year.
The EYBL is the greatest and highest level of high school basketball I have ever witnessed.? Nike has organized it in such a way that every game counts and winning is a bit more important, where in the past it wasn?t, it was more about showcasing your talent. Coaches want winners, and when you devalue the importance of winning it?s hard for coaches to see which kids are truly about getting the W.
For the other 95% I believe we are spinning our wheels, creating bad habits, and creating bad basketball players.? I am not saying that these kids aren?t talented, I am saying that they are playing a bad brand of basketball.? Over the course of the summer kids play up to 50 games, vs 30 high school games where there is a little bit of structure.? Hopefully, the high school coaches are teaching good defensive principles, and rotations because on the AAU circuit (outside of the EYBL) they are not.? Many of them sit in a zone and rarely even play man.? There is very little offense being run, and it?s mostly 1 on 1 iso on each end.? It?s hard to watch.? The ball doesn?t get reversed, it doesn?t go in the post, and now with all of the warriors success, most of the time it?s a bunch of kids jacking 3?s.? It?s the worst brand of basketball I have ever seen.
Many high school coaches have to spend the first few weeks re programming their kids to buy into a structured setting.? You have to re teach the good habits, and try to eliminate all of the bad habits they picked up over the summer.? Most high school coaches do not like AAU for this reason.? There is a disconnect between the two, and I am on the side of the high school coaches because if it?s not high level AAU, most times they aren’t? being taught to play the right way.
Middle school basketball is almost like recess.? It is hard to find quality basketball minds who want to teach at that level so most times it?s a dad who coaches these teams, and many times they know very little about the game on a technical level.? This isn?t a bad thing all the time because the elite talent gets scooped up by the better programs who have some decent instruction, but the other kids are left to fend for themselves.
I have a great passion for the game, and I am a bit of a purest, so my opinions may come of as the old guy screaming ?get off my lawn?, but I have been observing all levels of basketball for over a decade now and I can see the change in the athlete.? I can see the change in the game at the college level as well.? I watch all levels of college basketball, and I have seen a decline in the skills, mainly the shooting at the college level.? There is also a lack of back to the basket scoring, a lack of ability to create your own shot, and poor knowledge of how to move without the ball and get open.? I have seen the emergence of the specialist, which isn?t a bad thing.? Every team appreciates and can use a ?3 and D? guy on their roster to spread the floor and hold his own defensively.
I hope that the game moves more towards skill development of our young athletes and less playing games.? It hurts the non elite athlete and produces kids that are less prepared for the next level whether that?s Junior college or the four-year level.? With the emergence of the ?trainer?, kids are getting skill instructions, now whether they are getting useful instruction or not is a case by case scenario, but I do know kids are working on their skills. I am encouraged by this movement.? But there are still too many unorganized, yet, organized games being played which is hurting basketball overall.
Dr. Mark: The biggest problem facing HS coaches today??
Coach Hendrix: I believe that the biggest problem facing High school coaches today is a combination of AAU, parents/handlers, some skill guys and the limited amount of resources and funds.? Parents have become the biggest thorn in the side of the high school coach.? Parents have a different lens and feel like every coach needs to cater to their child.? A coach?s job is to do whats best for the group, not one individual.? Parents and players often believe that they are better than they are.? This isn?t a problem unless a parent of a player believe that the coach doesn?t value their skill set.? A player that believes that his coach should let him shoot more three pointers, but is shooting 28%, is a problem.? A parent that says a coach isn?t using his son right is a problem as well.? Players need to understand, you are your skill set, and your production.? If you are shooting in the 20?s from 3, any coach in their right mind will limit your ability to continue to shoot from behind the arc, not because he doesn?t care for the play, but because it?s whats best for the team, and more than likely the player.? I see dad?s coaching from the sideline which is my biggest pet peeve.? The problem with this is, it can confuse the kid, but more importantly, it could directly contradict what I work on daily in practice.? It could contradict the play I just drew up coming out of a huddle, and we need a basket because we are down two points.? Parents should be there to support the coach, and cheer on their child along with his or her teammates, PERIOD.
I have already addressed High school coaches having to break the bad habits of the kids coming back from playing AAU.? They also have to change the mindset as well.? AAU is about showcasing, and less about winning.? The high school season is about winning first, and then showcasing your talents within the framework of a team.? There is some reprogramming that needs to be done, and I have seen coaches not have success to the detriment of the team and the season.? It can be very frustrating.? It makes players difficult to coach when they do not put the team ahead of their own personal agenda, and on top of that you have the parents reinforcing this selfish mindset.? It can tear a team apart.? I have seen it happen.
We all know high school coaches put in countless hours for very little compensation.? There are some coaches that have the passion to push through this and still strive for greatness.? But who can blame a coach who is only receiving a $1200 stipend for 5 months of work for just making it through a season and not giving it his all.? It is a thankless job unless you are winning big, and you have to deal with ungrateful kids who give you attitude, and parents who think you are the scum of the earth because you don?t play their 5?5 son 32 minutes per night.? I have seen coaches get burned out, run off by parents, and frankly quit mentally mid season because of the factors I mentioned previously.? It can be very difficult to power through these things and bring it every day.
Dr. Mark: What does the future hold for you in the basketball arena?
Coach Hendrix: I feel like I have a wealth of knowledge, and I see myself educating young people in many ways.? I believe one day that I will be a division 1 Head Coach.? I believe that I will also travel around the country, and maybe even the globe speaking to young people? about what this game has meant to me, how to achieve their goals, and motivating them to be the best human beings that they can possibly be.? I see my self motivating young athletes to achieve 4.0?s and seek higher education beyond their Bachelors degree.? I believe I will be a household name among coaches. I truly believe that I have the basketball acumen, and the drive to become one of the great coaches this game has ever seen and I will not stop until I achieve my goal.? Everyday I strive to unlock my genius, which I believe to be coaching and educating people on the game of basketball. Whether they are young athletes, or coaches.? I want to share my gift with the world.
Damany Hendrix is currently the varsity head basketball coach for the Justin-Siena Braves.? He graduated from Vallejo High in 1998 and was an All-Monticello Empire League player. After high school, Hendrix accepted a scholarship to play for Gonzaga University. At Gonzaga he redshirted as a freshman, then transferred to Junior College, where he was the conference MVP and an All-State selection.? Hendrix completed his collegiate basketball career at Lamar University where he was selected All-Southland Conference, twice.
Social media links
Instagram:coachdamany
Twitter: @coachdamany