Top Competition at NXT Up Series: NorCal Fall Invite

We stepped up the competition level last weekend at the NXT Up Series: NorCal Fall Invite which not only featured the top teams in Northern California, but also out of state programs from Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. It was our most competitive tournament to date which gave our athletes a chance to stretch their comfort zone and see how they stacked up against some of the best on the West Coast. Some highlights were the 4th Grade Goers going 3-1 on the weekend with Ryan Dong earning Player of the Game honors in a win over Lakeshow Duckett. He had the gym buzzing with these two moves below!

It was also a strong showing from the 6th Grade Goers who were the only team selected to play in the most competitive NXT Up Division. They walked away 2-2 with wins over Idaho Premier and West Coast Elite. Congratulations to Liam Jones who was named Player of the Game in the win over West Coast Elite!

Introducing Saturday Competitions

You might have noticed some new events on TeamSnap labeled as Saturday Competitions! We’re excited to introduce a new format to our Saturday practices to allow for more playing opportunities on non-tournament weekends. For these 90-minute sessions we’ll be having some open gym-style games utilizing both side courts. We’ll be merging grades (3rd/4th, 5th/6th, 7th/8th) to fill up the gym and push some teams against older competition. The schedule is below:
3rd/4th Grade Black: 12:00-1:30pm

5th/6th Grade Black: 1:30-3:00pm

7th/8th Grade Black: 3:00-4:30pm

We tested the format last season with our 7th and 8th Grade Black programs and received lots of positive feedback among athletes and families. It allowed players a chance to play with new teammates and try out some new skills in a lower stakes environment. We also understand that families might be more prone to missing Saturdays due to other activities and this won’t put an athlete behind if they have to miss. We’re excited to start this Saturday and see our athletes in action!

BLACK CLUB TESTING WEEK

For the parents who were at practice Tuesday or Wednesday, you might have noticed our second Black Club testing session of the season. At the start of these practices, we test a few metrics to gauge where our athletes stand in order to measure how they’ve progressed throughout the season.

We first track two separate shooting metrics with our 72 and Star shooting. In our 72 drill, athletes shoot two shots from seven different spots and see how many they can make out of 14. Our Star drill tests an athlete’s ability to shoot on the move, as the shooter will take 10 shots from 5 spots while running spot to spot. You can check out the Star Drill here. 3rd-5th grade shoot from the mid-range (~15 feet) while 6th-8th grade shoot three-pointers. The goal is to shoot 50% or higher in these drills, with 75-80% being an elite score.

Next we test an athlete’s ability to move in tight space with our NBA Box Drill. We mark out an NBA-sized key and require an athlete to slide across the key, sprint to the elbow, slide to the opposite elbow, then backpedal to the baseline. After touching the baseline, the athlete will sprint back to the elbow, slide to the other elbow, backpedal to the baseline, and slide back to where they started. It’s a box going both directions and tests the ability to change directions in short space.

Finally, we test our athlete’s cardio and endurance with our 17 drill. All this requires is an athlete to run sideline-to-sideline 17 times. Always easier said than done, but fairly simple to execute.

All of this data is collected and our top performers each month will be honored on the wall at SportsHouse. Be sure to be on the lookout when we return from break!

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Current College Alumni

For this week’s alumni spotlight we wanted to showcase all of our Team Esface athletes currently competing at the collegiate level! With 21 athletes spread across the Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and Junior College levels, we’re excited to see our Team Esface family take the court this season! Can’t wait to see our list continue to grow with our current Black Club members.

BASKETBALL 101: INCREASE PARENT’S HOOP UNDERSTANDING

For this week’s segment, we wanted to pull a quote from two-time NBA MVP and NBA Champion Nikola Jokic on the importance of failing and pushing your comfort zone. “If you want to be successful, you need to be bad, then you need to be good. Then when you’re good, you need to fail. Then when you fail, you’re going to figure it out.”

When it comes to being a successful athlete, or succeeding in any field for that matter, we always believe nothing great can be achieved in a comfort zone. As a result, we encourage our athletes to seek out top competition or even play older competition if they are having success at their own level. While it might take time to adjust, players will learn the details and fundamentals it takes to succeed. When playing lower levels of competition, sometimes these deficits can be hidden due to added levels of size or athleticism. While playing older or more athletic players, athletes are forced to use all the details necessary to perform. This will require mistakes to be made, but someday those turnovers turn into assists and defensive lapses turn into steals. Like Jokic and the Nuggets, sometimes it takes years to build up a young core into a group of champions!

COMING UP…

We’ll be having our first edition of Saturday competitions before taking next week off from Black Club practices. We’ll return to practice on Monday, November 27th and hop back into the tournament scene that same weekend on December 2nd-3rd at the G365 Holiday Classic. For the full list of Black Club tournaments, you can view the schedule here.

While we might be off court for Black Club, we’ll still be on the court November 20-22 for our Thanksgiving camp. This will take place at the Arrillaga Family Gym (600 Alma St., Menlo Park, CA) from 9am-4pm. We’ll also be offering free AM and PM care from 8:30-9:00am and 4:00-4:30pm. You can register for ONE DAY sessions and save 5% when signing up for three days or more using the code 3DAYS2023. These are offered at just $195/day at a rate of $28/hour. For more information and the registration link you can click the button below!

We crave to learn and grow. The best way for us to grow is with your valued feedback. Please use the above link anytime to let us know how things are going (positives and negatives) for the Black Club. There’s an option to get in contact with an HQ member in the link as well. We look forward to hearing from you!