Turnovers Creates Losses & Too Many Losses Get Coaches Fired

Players, stop turning the ball over! Consider the ball glass rather than a leather ball.

1. Player-"Turnover"
2. Player-"My Bad"
3. Team-"We Lost"
4. Coach-"I'm Fired"
5. Player- "I'm Sorry"

Coach's Family-"Not Good Enough"

Regarding Turnovers & The Word "My Bad"

The #1 word & phrase that I would like to see banned from players using after a turnover is; "MY BAD".

I wish referees could give players or the team a technical foul every time that word is used after a turnover.

Players, stop turning the ball over! The majority of teams lose basketball games because of too man turnovers.

Players with Attitudes Usually Hurt The Team's Chances of Winning

Teams with players who have attitudes like those listed below usually ruins the entire season before it gets started.

In addition, coaches who keep disruptive players on their team without any disciplinary actions or reprimand, can cause good players on the team to want to transfer schools, leave the team and ...ultimately cost the team their season!

1. Complainer's
2. Doubter's
3. Disrespectful Comments & Facial Expressions
4. Locker room instigator's
5. Player's who refuse to play hard when asked

Basketball & Real Life Questions & Observations

 Basketball:
 Q: Why is it that some basketball players do very well when they play summer ball but can't seem to find that same level of play with their middle and high school programs?

Real Life
 Q: What happens when a top level employee (top producer) leaves one company and joins a new employer but isn't able to produce quite the same
 as they did before?


Top producers must produce regardless of the circumstances surrounding them!

Happiness For The Holidays

When I was child the thought of happiness involved me Receiving; but now that I'm older and wiser, the thought of happiness for the holidays involves me Giving!

Doing something for others, be it big or small is the best way to experience holiday happiness!

Try it, you might like it.

The Truth about Sports and Quitting

Most successful players at one point or another (when things weren't going their way) thought about quitting. It's more common than you think. Just remember, its only a thought, you don't have to make it a reality.

"Keep working, and the results will come."

Adam & Eve Didn't Bring Sin Into the World; Lucifer Did!

"How art thou fallen from heaven
O day-star, son of the morning! (Helel ben Shahar)
How art thou cast down to the ground,
That didst cast lots over the nations!
And thou saidst in thy heart:
'I will ascend into heaven,
Above the stars of God (El)
Will I exalt my throne;
And I will sit upon the mount of meeting,
In the uttermost parts of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the Most High (Elyon).'
Yet thou shalt be brought dow to the nether-world,
To the uttermost parts of the pit."

- Isaiah 14:12-15 

God's Calling Me Into (Christ-Centered) Motivational Speaking

 Dear friends,

Please pray for me as God has gifted me in the area of motivational speaking; and he is currently preparing me for Christ-centered public speaking. Throughout the years, I've sensed the need and developed a heart to help athletes navigate their way through life using life experiences, wisdom and biblical based principles.

Currently, I feel led to speak to athletes in middle schools, high schools and colleges, especially FCA events. I'm open to other opportunities but I will do my best to stay in the area I feel called.

If you know of additional FCA opportunities throughout the area that would allow me to speak, please email the information to me at: hoophunter@hoophunter.com

P.S. My plans are to continue to oversee HHB/BBI Youth Training Organizations.  If you feel led to give a financial donation for the expenses related to this speaking ministry, feel free to donate to Building Believers Inc., P.O. Box 2045, Roanoke, Texas 76262 (BBI is a 501C3 non-profit organization, 100% of your donations are tax deductible).

 

Deon

Former HHB Participants Special Request Regarding Networking

To all of our former HHB participants, please send me an email and let me know who's all coaching ( and where), training in the fitness area, teaching and education, principals and athletic coordinator & directors. I'm going to compile a list to share with our HHB FB Family.

We have a great network, I want to share it with you. Thanks!

Never Give Up On Your Dreams

Never give up on your dreams. Through adversity we thrive. Keep looking forward to a brighter and more meaningful future. You'll get through it all if you place your trust and dependency in the lord.

Take it from me, life is beautiful and full of surprises but with God all thing are possible. Never give up on yourself nor the dreams that you have inside of your heart. Believe in yourself when no one else does. And you'll make it!

And God Bless Us All!

Maya Angelou

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

HATER BY MAYA ANGELOU

A hater is someone who is jealous and envious and spends
all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall.

They are very negative people to say the least. Nothing is ever good enough!

When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters...

That's why you have to be careful with whom you share
your blessings and your dreams, because some folk can't
handle seeing you blessed...

It's dangerous to be like somebody else... If God
wanted you to be like somebody else, He would have given you what He gave them! Right?

You never know what people have gone through to get what they have...
The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story...
If the grass looks greener on the other side of the
fence, you can rest assured that the water bill is higher there too!

We've all got some haters among us!

Some people envy you because you can:
a) Have a relationship with God
b) Light up a room when you walk in
c) Start your own business
d) Tell a man / woman to hit the curb (if he / she isn't about the right thing)
e) Raise your children without both parent being in the home

Haters can't stand to see you happy.
Haters will never want to see you succeed.

Most of our haters are people who are supposed to be on our side.

How do you handle your undercover haters?

You can handle these haters by:

1. Knowing who you are & who your true friends are (VERY IMPORTANT!!)
2. Having a purpose to your life:
Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled.
A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be.
Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you.
3. By remembering what you have is by divine prerogative and not human manipulation.

Fulfill your dreams! You only have one life to live...when its your time to leave this earth, you 'want' to be able to say, 'I've lived my life and fulfilled 'my' dreams,... Now I'm ready to go HOME!

When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters,
'Don't look at me...Look at Who is in charge of me...'

  

A Friend Shared This With Me Because She Said It Reminded Her of Me

 

Want to Know God's Promises? Read the Bible!
by Rick Warren

"I commit you to God and to the Word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32 NIV)

 

You have an inheritance coming to you. If you read God's Word, the Bible promises one for you.

 

The Bible says in Acts 20:32, "I commit you to God and to the Word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

An inheritance is what you get for being part of a family that's rightfully yours.

 

Pretend your father was Warren Buffet, and he dies. If you never took the time to read the will, you'd be foolish. You wouldn't get what was rightfully due to you. You wouldn't benefit from what belongs to you as a child of Warren Buffet.

 

When you become a follower of Jesus, you're not just a believer - you're a belonger. You become a part of God's family. Family privileges come along with that decision. You have a spiritual inheritance.

 

But if you walked through your entire life and you didn't know what benefits were available to you as a child of God, that would be sad - and foolish. God wants you to grow and know what's available to you from him. You need to read the Bible to do that.

 

The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, ^"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

 

The purpose of the Bible is to help you live out the purpose God has for your life; it's God's inheritance that's due to you. God wants you to be thoroughly equipped for what you've been made to do. To do that, he does four things through Scripture:

 

- He teaches you. God shows you the path on which you should walk.

- He rebukes you. God shows you when you're off the path.

- He corrects you. God shows us how you can get back on the path.

- He trains you. God shows you how you can stay on the path.

 

That's how God's Word helps you grow and get that great inheritance God has prepared for you.

 

Talk About It

 

- How would your life change if it reflected the truth that you have an inheritance from the King of Kings?

- What benefits from your inheritance have you not yet accepted?

- Is the Bible a useful tool for you each day? Are you taking full advantage of its instruction?

God Takes Odinary People & Uses Then In An Extraordinary Way

Good Read!

Hoop Hunter Trainers Train with Excellence

Middle & high school coaches, youth coaches, parents and players. Hoop Hunter Basketball offers year round player developmental training to players who want to improve their basketball skills.

We take pride in providing players with top echelon trainers who are passionate, sincere, knowledgeable, patient, experienced, committed, honest, enthusiastic and loyal to our Hoop Hunter Brand.

Our brand consist of 4 pillars; we teach, motivate, inspire & praise the kids, regardless of their skill set, athletic ability or talent level. We believe in developing the complete player.

The majority of our trainers throughout our 22 years of service have been middle & high school coaches. We take pride in hiring former HHB student-athletes who have been properly trained and who are loyal to our brand and the families who entrust us with their kids.

See our current family of trainers at: www.hoophunter.com

Players Must Learn to "Shake Off Mistakes"

Don't Look At the Coach: (unless your name is called)Players who spend most of their time looking at the coach after making a mistake tend to hurt their chances of staying in the game. Self confidence and self approval is key.

Shake Mistakes Off Quickly:The sooner a player learns to shake off their mistakes during the game, they are less likely to be substituted for. Also, players are better off when they learn not to look over at the coach after making a mistake. Not looking over at the coach after a mistake shows them that you believe in yourself and that you've quickly overcome it and moved on.

Don't Overthink:"Players who make mistakes and then spend the rest of the game overthinking, usually does more harm to themselves than good."

 Shake it off and play!

If you want to get ahead in today's world

Be willing to go in a different direction from the majority of others. Be willing to create your own paths even if you have to go alone (Become A "Trailblazer"- a person who makes, does, or discovers something new and makes it acceptable or popular or a person who marks or prepares a trail through a forest or field for other people to follow).

Learn to think for yourself. Those of you who have been following the crowd, ask yourself if you're any better off. If the answer is no, turn around and move in a different direction. But don't let the blind or majority lead you astray.

And more importantly, seek God's wisdom for your new direction. I promise, you will be happy that you changed course. I'm speaking from experience.

 

And God Bless Us All!

Congrats: Hayden Hunter - Comitts to Weber State University

This week my son Hayden will be signing a letter of intent to attend Weber State University next year on a student-athletic basketball scholarship. He's a senior, 6'0 lefty point guard at Richland High School.

Note:
Weber State is in the Big Sky Conference. They are a top tier program and are currently ranked and expected to finish first in their conference. Great coaching staff, culture, high character players and great track record for student-athlete success!

Thanks:
I want to personally thank all of my son's (Hoop Hunter) youth coaches especially (Michael Eddy-current high school coach at Guyer, Wendell Williams-current high school coach at Denton, Len Medcafe-current HHB trainer and Chad Nothe-current Westlake H.S. Head Coach) who trained and mentored him early on. It was at Hoop Hunter that he got off to a terrific start by developing his skills, athletic ability, knowledge of the game and his b-ball I.Q.

Parents who surround their kids with a solid network,(men and women with character and integrity) adds value to their overall career:

I would like to also thank Hayden's middle school Coach Mike Stitt (Hillwood M.S.), Vonzell Thomas (AAU Coach) and Richard Bacon (H.S. Coach. Great Job, Great Network!

Attitude of a servants heart

1. They feel they're no better than others and they have a heart to give.
2. They have a sincere heart to help others.
3. They love those who are least favorite, poor, broken and who've been treated with injustice.
4. They don't care how the world perceives them; they are led by Christ and the will of God.
5.They honor God by doing what they've been sent to do, in spite of criticism.

Bonus:
They have a heart to sow knowing that God will produce the harvest!

Stop The Stinking Thinking

"So a man thinks, so is he." If we think we can't do any better, then we probably won't. If we think we can't change our ways, then we probably won't.

But when we stop placing limits on ourselves and start believing and thinking like a King's Kid; only then will we discover that we are fully equip with what we need to get what we want. But first, we must stop our stinking thinking!

Being a Competitive Basketball Player Isn't Easy

What does it take to become a competitive basketball player?
It takes a relentless drive, year round training, dedicated heart, love for the game, a will to go the extra mile, skin that's thicker than an elephant, willingness to accept all types of criticism, internal & external drive, determination, feeling of disappointment after losses, competitive nature (on & off the court), diligent work habits (which begins in practice & carries over into the game), good teammates, perseverance, consistent pre-game & during the game focus, personal responsibility & accountability, a little luck and lots of prayer.

What will players will go through?
All competitive players will go through "The Fire" before they reach the top of their game." That's why coaches do their very best to prepare you so that once the battle begins, you will be well equip to withstand and overcome all the things that tries to hinder your efforts to get to the top.

"You can do it, but the reality is; it's hard work, it's not easy, but it's worth it!"

As a former Southland Conference MVP (UNT 1988-89'), Dallas Mavs rookie free agent (2 training camps), CBA, professional player-Argentina & UNT assistance basketball coach,  I speak to you  from experience.

dh-Hoop Hunter

What Most B-Ball Players Lack But Have In Common?

Most lack the natural instincts needed to read and react when playing competitive basketball.
"Basketball is a game of structured skilled play and instinctive skilled play."

About Instinctive Play:
Instinctive play is developed at an early age by players who play lots of 1 on 1 basketball. This is where depth perception is developed, natural instincts, individual man to man offense and defense, go to moves, creative thinking, craftiness and savvy play is developed.

What is basketball About?
"Basketball is about a 2 man game (pick & roll or pick & pop) or 1 on 1 game."

What Happens When Offensive Plays Breakdown?
When a structured offensive play breaks down (which happens almost all the time), the player with the ball must read and react to the situation. However, only players who have good 1 on 1 instincts are usually the one's who often make plays based on plays breaking down. Others often look to the coach for answers instead of reading and reacting to the situation!

What's Needed?
Balance! Players need to learn how to play 1 on 1 and how to execute a structured offensive play.

Quit Thinking So Much & Just Play

Players who think too much, tend to complicate their game. When this happens, it not only hurt the player's individual game but it hurts the entire team as well. The way to lesson over thinking while playing the game is to simply read each situation and react to what you see at that moment.

Also, when you make mistakes, learn to shake them off, remain focused and confident. And the way to do that is to continue to work hard on both ends of the court by hustling.

Do this, it works!

Be Yourself But Don't Be Ugly

 If you love doing something, don't worry about what others think. Do it and do it well. Remember, we were uniquely created and all of our gifts and abilities come from the lord. Who cares what other think.

Keep Basketball Simple & You Will Succeed

1. When dribbling, always look past the defender (advance your sight); this will help you see the entire court with a wide angle view and read the defenders better. It will also help you become a better passer.
2. Learn how to catch and shoot from a ready to catch position and shoot the ball in areas that you can consistently make shots.
3. Learn how to attack the rim (basket) from the perimeter using 1 or 2 dribbles. Finish the lay-up or make the right pass.
4. When driving, make sure that you get paid (get the lay-up, draw the foul, get the lay-up and draw the foul).
5. Learn how to set your man up by moving without the ball and shooting off of screens (catch & shoot).
6. Learn how to shorten the court on defense (backcourt) so that you don't allow the dribbler (speedboat) to use the entire court (ocean) to move about freely. Make the ocean a lake, then a river and then a pond.
7. When rebounding, anticipate (body must be low) when the shooter will take the shot then beat your man to the spot; then go get the rebound. It's that simple.
8. With better conditioning, comes increased activity.
9. Being aware of open pockets (open areas) in the defense will allow you to move (without the ball) freely but with a purpose; demand the ball and take a good shot.
10. The simpler you make the game, the more you'll realize that you can play.

*Bonus
Is there anything that I described in the notes above that you can't do? I didn't think so. Therefore, stop making the game of basketball a hard game, the simpler the game, the better you'll play.