TrueLeague Newsletter for Week 5/27-5/31

the trueleague finals are set!

The Semi-Finals were a great showcase of basketball and it was a treat to see how so many players were able to grow exponentially throughout the season. Players have made great strides and that is our hope for every TrueLeague season. The finals should be very exciting and I look forward to seeing these games!

Team Esface Summer HoopCamp is starting soon!

Our first Team Esface Summer Camp is beginning on June 18th! I highly advise every TrueLeague Player who will be here to attend! We will have our top-tier coaches, special guests, and an opportunity for players to stay connected through the Summer. Please register below as spots are still available!

stay hungry players of the week: Dax Kotee and Edward Kaigh

alumni spotlight: Jai Depshande

For this week’s alumni spotlight, we wanted to take a look at 2020 Sacred Heart Prep graduate Jai Deshpande. Jai played in our ReaLeague (TrueLeague) back during his high school career and trained with Esface throughout his four years at Sacred Heart Prep. He was named an All-WBAL First Team selection as a senior and signed to play Division III basketball at Whitman College.

Now a senior at Whitman, Jai scored a career-high 35 points against Lewis & Clark this past weekend and is currently the leading scorer in the Northwest Conference, averaging 19.2 points per game. He’s doing all this while shooting 56.7% from the field, 46.0% from three, and 91.1% from the free throw line. With years of hard work, Jai improved his scoring averages each season at Whitman from 9.1 as a freshman, to 10.1 as a sophomore, and 11.5 as a junior. It’s been great to see his success continue into his senior season!

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!

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!