TrueLeague Newsletter 12/14/2023

What a great first two weeks of the regular season! I have already seen some huge improvments amongst certain skills we have been focusing on, but still have a long ways to go to get where the League is going to be by seasons end. No Stay Hungry Players this week, we will resume next week! Lets take a look at what we have been working on in TrueLeague.

League highlights:

  • Focusing on WE, not ME

    • I want to get players to understand that you must try to do things a certain way to enhance the team’s success, where the WE comes from. Any player who is only about themselves (ME) will only create less desirable outcomes for their teams.

    • Great point from the video we watched in our skill review from George Karl” Great individual players that are selfish are beatable, great individuals who work as a team are unbeatable”

  • Attention to Detail

    • This is so incredibly important for any player's growth in basketball. You have to have a high understanding of the game to try and get the details down as best they can.

    • This skill also requires a high level of discipline, which is a particularly big focus of mine going forward for the rest of this season. I want players to be disciplined as that is a skill that creates success in life, not just in basketball! The sooner they can identify that, the better!’

  • Footwork/Finishing:

    • I also put focus on players’ footwork this week. Right now, many players have issues having proper footwork with the ball in their hands which can lead to turnovers or bad shots with bad form. Basketball is a finesse game, so if your footwork is rough, then it makes it hard to become effective when games are going.

    • Working on finishing was something that as a coaching staff we agreed needed to be even more of a focus going forward. So many players make the game more difficult simply because they don’t know the proper way to finish layups. Using the backboard should be the default for every player; most of the time it should be the only option. My hope is on Friday that I see this change and the percentage of makes improves!

We’re excited to announce two upcoming Esface events this month with Team Esface teams competing at halftime!

On Sunday, December 17th come out to Maples Pavilion to watch Stanford play Idaho at 2pm. Our 5th Grade Black teams will be competing at halftime while Esface alumni Miles Klapper will be suited up for the Idaho Vandals. We’ll meet at the Town & Country Village beforehand at 11:30am to eat and depart for the game at 1pm. You can purchase tickets for the event using this link.

REMINDER THAT THIS WILL REPLACE TRUELEAGUE PRACTICE ON DECEMBER 17TH AS WE WANT AS MANY PLAYERS TO BE AT THE GAME AS POSSIBLE! A great opportunity for players to grow closer in a more social setting!

On Saturday, December 30th you can make the trip to Haynes-Prim Pavilion to watch Menlo play UC Merced at 3pm. Our 4th Grade Black teams will be competing at halftime while Esface alumni Jon Taylor will be suing up for UC Merced. Menlo will also feature Landon Seaman who coached our camps and transformation sessions this summer. All kids wearing Esface gear will get in free while adults can purchase tickets at the gate or beforehand using this link.

Increasing parent hoop knowledge 101:

Another great message this week from a College Basketball Legend in University of Kentucky coach John Calipari. In this clip, he speaks about how important toughness is and how toughness is shown in different forms than just being a hustle player or getting rebounds. In particular, showing bad body language can disrupt a player/team’s rhythm. There are going to be days that the ball doesn’t go in and in Calipari’s opinion, you can either let that fill you up with anger and resentment that will ultimately have a bad impact on the team. Approaching it instead with a positive outlook and the mentality that a player will try to impact the game in other ways than scoring the ball! Parents, continue to encourage your young hooper to have good body language and have a next-play attitude!

Next week we will have one practice before our Holiday Break taking place on December 2-0th. We also have some drop-in transformation options that we just opened up for December 15th, December 17th, December 18th, and December 20th. You can find more information and register using the button below.

Also as a reminder, we’ll be having free open gym slots during the break on December 27th and December 29th from 4:00-5:30pm at SportsHouse. We’ll also be having our Holiday camps from December 27th-December 29th and January 2nd-January 5th. You can find more information and register for camps on a day-to-day basis using the button below. We’ll be excited to get back on the court on January 8th as we prepare for our first tournament back from break on January 13-14. Let’s have a strong week of practice before enjoying the holiday break!

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 TrueLeague. There’s an option to get in contact with an HQ member in the link as well. We look forward to hearing from you!

Oladele Sobomehin