What Is the Actual Value of An Investment In Yourself?

What is the most powerful, timing saving, investment you can make in yourself?

The one that gives you the best chance to achieve more than you could alone.

Even if something seems expensive, what is its actual value? Would you invest $10,000 into a high yield savings account to make an additional $400 for doing nothing? In a private education and tutoring that lead to a full-ride $50,000 college education? To save $100,000 in medical bills 30 years later?

Would you invest $10,000 to improve who you are at the core of your person physically, mentally, and emotionally creating greater overall health, happiness, success, and longevity of athletic or professional career?

What is an investment in yourself actually worth?

The point is: it’s not about the money.

Individuals who recognize the value of self-investment are typically outliers. Naturally, through their lifestyle choices they separate themselves from others in a way that can draw negativity as a byproduct of jealousy and doubt.

“You’re going to burn yourself out.”

“You’re going to workout again?”

“That’s not a realistic goal, you should set your sights on something more achievable.”

Finding your people when your goals are uncommon becomes increasingly difficult and lonely. Yet, there are countless people who have done this at a high level and can brandish the unique title of being “self-made”.

DEFINING A SELF-MADE PERSON

Discipline is at the center of a self-made person, and shows up in the following ways:

• Despite the ebbs and flows of motivation, they are willing to show up consistently and put in the work.

• They seek out opportunities, and are willing to courageously ask for and accept help.

• They seek out the competition of others because they know that by testing themselves against others around their level, they gain perspective of where they’re at.

• They are never too good to listen to advice that they may have heard many times before or continue to refine a skill that they’ve practiced hundreds of times.

• Because they are so hungry to learn and love the process of getting better, showing up daily doesn’t feel like a “have to” but a “get to” even on days where they “don’t feel like it”.

Being a self-made athlete does not literally mean you did it by yourself. There really is no possible way to become your best without the push of others.

Even if you are motivated beyond comparable measure, without the guidance of someone with knowledge and experience above your level, it will take you longer to get where you’re trying to go.

A coach or mentor is there to point you in the right direction and save you your most precious commodity - time - by optimizing your time training. There is tremendous value in this.

A LIVING EXAMPLE

There are many athletes who embody what it means to be self-made; however, there is one who I’ve had the great honor of actually watching grow into the person she is today.

I first met Brooklynn Haywood when she was 9 years old. At a young age she stood out because she loved basketball, and loved putting in the work to get better. Her parents were (are still) tough on her and to many people seemed too strict. “They’re going to burn her out,” was something people would often tell me in conversations talking about Brooklynn. My response was always a shrug or a simple, “Maybe.”

When you can’t relate to something, it’s easy to be skeptical. What most people never realized was that Brooklynn has always been on her own path and her and her family were only going to listen to people who understood the vision and possibility of making it a reality.

“It’s not just the kids having to make sacrifices parents have to too! How do you get your kids to believe in themselves and make sacrifices if you don’t show them you’re also making sacrifices because you believe in them!! ”

— Jenn Haywood

The Haywoods moved from Alaska to Washington to be close to one such mentor, Matt Conboy, as Brooklynn was entering high school because they knew that, unfortunately, the reality of trying to “make it big” in Alaska would be extremely hard. Possible, yes, but it’s kind of like planting a palm tree in the tundra expecting it to have the same opportunity to grow as it does in California. Alaska just doesn’t have the access to opportunity that living in the Lower 48 does.

Now, in her junior year at Union High School, Brooklynn’s drive, dedication and unapologetic commitment to her process is paying dividends as Division I scholarships are pouring in along with sponsor deals as a high school athlete.

Though she has had a handful of close coaches and mentors help her, and has attended at least a dozen camps across the country over the years, Brooklynn is a self-made basketball player. No coach or camp is worth anything if the athlete they are working with is not invested in themselves.

The investment the Haywood family has made into helping their daughter become the best version of herself has not only financially begun repaying itself, but more importantly, she now embodies priceless character traits that make her a stand up role model, daughter, friend, teammate, and catch for her future employer, spouse, and family.

The Haywood’s have made many sacrifices on this journey and I know it’s been very difficult in a variety of ways, but for them, the value of Brooklynn’s dreams and the early recognition of her potential to fulfill them had no price. Their story is really special, and something we can all learn from.

So… it’s your turn to answer. What is the actual value of an investment in yourself?

Where Are All of the Girls Basketball Players?

As women’s basketball is on the growing rise in popularity in America, thanks in large part to Caitlin Clark, in Alaska there is an interesting contradiction to this trend. In the last decade there has been a palpable decline of girls basketball players in urban areas and, contrarily, a substantial increase in volleyball players.

A necessary disclaimer, this statement is based on a decade of experience as a basketball player development coach and strength and conditioning coach in Alaska. There currently is no research to support this claim that is not the opinion of myself or others; and with that I’m thinking this would make a great thesis for a University of Alaska Anchorage college senior.

We really need to identify if there is an actual exodus happening, and why.

As a basketball player development coach, I train athletes of all ages primarily in Anchorage and around ninety percent of the kids across all ages are boys.

I am also fortunate to be able to do basketball camps all across the state of Alaska. While the 90% trend does not apply in these cases, it does help highlight the reality that basketball is Alaska’s primary sport.

Many non-Alaskans think it’s hockey.

While we do play hockey here, it is an expensive sport to play and manage logistically. In poor rural areas across the state, the ability for a community to have a hockey team is less likely than you growing another big toe.

What is easy to play anywhere is basketball. You don’t even need shoes. I’ve been to several communities in Alaska where kids show up in socks because their family, for whatever reason, hasn’t been able to get them gym shoes, and after basketball camp, they’re at it again shooting outside on hoops at parks.

Ballet shoes and boots at basketball camp in Point Hope, Alaska.

Thus, in rural Alaska, basketball is alive and well for both genders and I don’t see that changing any time soon. But, in urban areas like Anchorage, there appears to be a significant downward trend in numbers, and here are my three main theories as to why:

Volleyball is the pretty girl, popular sport to play

In volleyball, you can sparkle not sweat, and for teenage girls this is a much more appealing reality than becoming a human swamp sprinting up and down a basketball court.

Being a great basketball players requires a level of ruthlessness and aggressiveness that isn’t ingrained in what we as society typically value for our young girls. Most of the time, when you meet a young girl who is unapologetically emboding these areas of toughness, a male role model in her life (and sometimes female) is not far away encouraging her to grow these qualities, and most often has a background in athletics.

Basketball is mentally and physically demanding

In the weight room I’ve trained collegiate volleyball players, and currently at the Sweat Lab we work with the high school level, and with all due respect to all the wonderful volleyball athletes out there, there tends to be a general lack of tolerance to intensity.

By design when comparing volleyball to other sports, it’s one of the least intense by nature. While it challenges athletes to have excellent hand eye coordination, vertical jump, hitting power, reaction time, and be excellent at volleyball skills, the need for a high aerobic threshold, muscular endurance, and ability to create and take physical contact, is not like it is in other sports.

This doesn’t mean volleyball players don’t have or need a level of toughness, my argument is that the toughness needed for volleyball is simply much different than that of basketball. And, different isn’t bad, but I am guessing that it’s a deterrent for a lot of young girls out there to continue with basketball as they get to a middle and high school age.

Her basketball experience was a bad one

The number of young ladies who have ended up at my skill development sessions because they need to, “rebuild their confidence” is very disheartening. I’m not trying to point fingers or offend anyone who takes on the responsibility of coaching a team because that’s certainly no easy task, but there are a few bad eggs out there who unfortunately have misguided priorities and are more focused on winning instead of building players love of, and character through, the game.

Having played volleyball and basketball myself in high school, I will say this, volleyball is an extremely fun and valuable sport, and this article is not intended to take anything away from that.

What it is intended for, is to bring awareness to the possibility that this is happening at an accelerated rate and my question remains:

Why is this actually happening?

What are your thoughts?

Ball Handling Warm Up & Workout

Ball handling is one of the easiest skills to work on because there are so many drills you can do and you can do them just about anywhere.

Some coaches aren’t fans of two ball ball handling because you aren’t practicing game-like moves; however, I personally think it’s a great way to warm up your body and mind! If you can handle two balls with ease, handling one is going to feel a lot easier.

Two ball drills shown in order:

• Dribble Elimination

• Juggling

• Behind the Back Juggling

• Pin & Counter

• Three Dribble Switch

Learning change of pace with one ball is essential to being an effective player, especially if the ball is in your hands often.

Change of pace drills shown in order:

• Rhythm Cross Between

• Glide Cross to Between the Legs Advance

• High Bounce to Low First Step Bounce Back

• Hesitation to Speed Stop

Time to put in the work! Happy sweat collecting.

Community Spotlight: Bethel, Alaska

The second of two daily flights decends into Bethel, Alaska. As far as the eye can see are patches of lakes, ponds, and rivers. This part of Alaska is characterized by a marshy tundra unique to northern coastal areas of the world.

The Bethel census area is the small red square on the left of the map.

Originally a Yup’ik settlement called “Mumtrekhlogamute,” meaning “smokehouse people,” this area has belonged to Native Alaskans for thousands of years. Now, home to 6,270 people and considered a large community in Alaska, it is a hub for the many surrounding small villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region.

Like many rural Alaskan communities, the people of Bethel practice traditional ways to this day. In fact, while we were there, many people were out on their annual fall moose hunt, which is a small window of time that opens for about a week so residents can go out and hunt in order to fill their freezers for the winter.

Given that the grocery store in town has astronomical prices for food, this time of year is important not only as a cultural practice, but critical for feeding families without going bankrupt.

For the most part, the ground in Bethel is made up of this sandy mud.

A modern cultural component to Bethel, and the vast majority of communities in Alaska, is the love for basketball. This simple game is a lifeline for youth in these communities. It is a healthy outlet not only mentally and physically, but from a developmental standpoint as well. Kids have the opportunity to learn how to fight through adversity, work together, communicate better, grow as leaders, and so much more. Furthermore, basketball and other sports, provides a major source of pride, excitement, and happiness for the entire community.

“Even on the darkest days, no matter what, you have basketball. Basketball’s there always, no matter if it’s outside your house, at your friend’s house, or in the gym. It’s always right there, and I believe that has just really guided me and helped me through life.”

— Gus E., Junior at Bethel High School

As someone who also grew up in a town of similar size and remoteness in Alaska, I understand to a very personal level the immense impact basketball can have on a persons life. I have the privilege to have had my journey with basketball bring me to be in a place educationally and experientially where I am able go to communities in Alaska and put on basketball camps with other amazing coaches. It’s a unique gift I’m grateful for daily.

It’s hard to understand what life is like in these communities unless you’ve been - shared laughs, suffering, meals, conversations - with the people. It is an honor to be able to share a snapshot of that with you in this Bethel Community Spotlight

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The middle schoolers.

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The high schoolers.

3 Move: Solo Shooting Workout

Working out isn’t as fun as with other people, but sometimes it’s a necessary evil. When you can’t drag anyone else with you to the gym, here’s a great workout for you to get in solo.

The three moves broken down in this short video increase in difficulty, and there is a point system so that you can make your workout more challenging and play a mini-game with yourself.

Ways to Level Up your workout even more

• Set a time goal to score the 11pts in.

• Mix up the 3 moves at random.

Didn’t make your goal? Hold yourself accountable by working on your weaknesses:

• Down and backs

• Push ups

• Wall sits

• Core

• Defensive slides

• Squats

• Lunges

Find this workout helpful? Leave a comment!

3 Common Mistakes Players Make With Their Shooting Mechanics

As the third hardest skill to learn in sports, learning to shoot the basketball takes hours of time, refinement, repetition, and disciplined habits in order to get good at it. That said, it's very easy to develop bad habits!

Mistake #1: Awkward Stance

Players most often have a stance that is too wide (vs too narrow). This can cause a valgus stress on your knees which can eventually lead to knee pain. It is also inefficient because when your stance is wider than your hips on any vertical movement (jumping on a rebound, shot, etc.), your body leaks power horizontally and you aren’t able to get as much power from your legs into your shot. This can in turn lead to weird compensations with your upper body!

Thus, start refining your shot by first tackling the broken parts of your stance instead of starting from the top down.

Focus on

• Hip width stance

• Toes slightly angled away from your shooting hand

• Legs bent in an athletic position

• Ball straight out from your belly button

Drill: Line (or) Cone Hop Overs

Drill: 180 Degree Shots

Mistake #2: Pausing on Your Shot

Some coaches or players refer to this is having a “hitch”. It’s kind of like when you’re listening to your favorite song and your friend in the backseat starts singing along off key and the entire song is now ruined. Simply put, pauses in your shot destroy the rhythm.

As a strength and conditioning specialist as well as a player development coach, I often relate this in my mind to a hang clean or hang snatch.

In a hang snatch, for someone to lift a significant amount of weight over their head safely and efficiently, the entire body must work together synergistically. Weight lifters refer to this as “triple extension”, but this same term can be applied to a basketball players shot. If a part of the chain (ankles, knees, hips) or also in our case, arms, moves independently of the other moving parts, it’s just not as efficient.

Focus on

• Your legs and the ball moving up at the exact same time

• Pretend the ball and your hips are connected by a string

Drill: Tap & Shoot

Mistake #3: Too Low of a Follow Through

Having too low of a follow through results in a flat shot. If you’re shooting in the gym alone, you’ll know your shot is flat if it’s constantly hitting the front of the rim. Before fixing this, make sure you have worked on the other two mistakes first! A high, perfect follow through is a result of the rest of the process being on point.

Focus on

• Bringing the ball directly above your forehead

• Extending your elbow under then through the ball

• Keep the ball off your palm

• Freeze your guide hand at your release point (right above your forehead)

Drill: Extension Shots