Articles & Resources

Click HERE to read this article by Coach Brian McCormick.

Click HERE to read Shon's second review of the BSMPG Summer Lecture Series, "Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants."

BSMPG and Everything Basketball is proud to add Greg Werner, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at James Madison University to our basketball advisory board.

For the best Basketball Specific Performance and Health Information visit BSMPG's Everything Basketball website and learn from coaches, therapists and other basketball specialists from across the world including those at top university's and the NBA.

More information on Greg:

GREG WERNER

James Madison University 

Greg Werner became the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at James Madison University in 1995 after working as an assistant in the program the previous three years. He received his Masters degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science from JMU (’94). He became interested in speed, strength and conditioning while earning his Bachelor’s degree in Human Performance with an emphasis in Exercise Science at Austin Peay State University (’91). In his tenure as the Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at JMU, Werner has grown the program from himself and one part-time assistant working out of two weightrooms (5,000sq.ft.) for 27 sports to its impressive size now, with himself, a full-time Football Strength & Conditioning Coach, and four full-time assistants working out of five weightrooms  and a couple multi-purpose/cardio rooms (19,800 sq.ft.) with 19 teams.  In addition to directing JMU's strength & conditioning program Coach Werner is the faculty instructor for the School of Kinesiology's Concepts of Strength & Conditioning course (KIN 425).  Before coming to JMU Werner coached for one year at the University of The Pacific in Stockton, California, and was an assistant at Austin Peay State University for two years.  Outside of the collegiate ranks Coach Werner has instructed several NFL, MLB, Pro Basketball and Olympic athletes.  In 2006 Coach Werner received the prestigious title of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association and he was nominated by his peers to be a finalist for the NSCA's College Strength & Conditioning Professional of the Year Award.  In 2005 he received the highest honor from the National Strength & Conditioning Association and earned the Coach Practitioner distinction.  In 1999 he was selected the National Strength & Conditioning Association, Colonial Athletic Association Strength & Conditioning Professional of the Year, and was nominated for the National Professional of the year award.  Also in 1999, he was selected to be the Strength & Conditioning specialist for the US National Field Hockey team.  Werner has been active in the National Strength & Conditioning Association for several years, he served as the Virginia State Director for the maximum term, and has been an active speaker at the NSCA Sport Specific Training Conference, CSCS Symposium and several other coaches clinics and camps.  In addition to his coaching and teaching Werner has published over 30 articles in various coaching journals and magazines, and is the webmaster for this website.  Coach Werner is a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, is Strength & Conditioning Coach Certified through the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association, an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Health/Fitness Instructor, International Sports Medicine Association Certified Sports Nutrition Consultant, as well as a Nike SPARQ Certified Trainer.  Coach Werner is the President of AthElite Strength & Conditioning services, a training and consulting business.  He and his wife Cyndi have two children, Hans Christian (15) and Heidi Faith (13).

BSMPG and Everything Basketball is proud to add Matt Johnson, Head Strength & Conditioning Coach at Montrose Christian School to our basketball advisory board.

For the best Basketball Specific Performance and Health Information visit BSMPG's Everything Basketball website and learn from coaches, therapists and other basketball specialists from across the world including those at top university's and the NBA.

More information on Matt:

Matthew Johnson, M.S.

Coach Johnson is the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for Men's Basketball at Montrose Christian School located in Rockville, MD (2011 ESPN Rise Champions and # 2/3 in the Nation according to USA Today and Powerade Fab 50).  Along with his position at Montrose, Matt is the owner of Strength Coach Concepts, an information based website for parents, athletes and coaches interested in the field of strength and conditioning.  Matt has a vast amount of experience training basketball players from all performance spectrums, skill sets and abilities.  His past clients include players from the high school, collegiate and professional ranks.

Matt is a multi-faceted strength and conditioning professional. He is passionate about research as well as coaching. Recently, Matt completed research which took over 2 years to complete. The study investigated the acute strength responses exhibited after training with chain variable resistance. Matt has also completed research on topics such as lactic acid production, aerobic capacity and neuromuscular efficiency.  He is currently investigating the incidence and type of injuries related to basketball players in order to design an effective injury prevention program for his athletes.

Coach Johnson received his B.S. in Exercise Science with a minor in Sports Nutrition from Marywood University (Scranton, PA). In 2009, Matt received his M.S. in Strength and Conditioning from Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater, MA). While attending Marywood, Matt was a 4 year member of the Varsity basketball team and captained the squad his senior season. In the past, Matt served as a full-time intern in the Olympic Sports Strength and Conditioning Department at Boston College. While at Boston College, Matt worked with the Men’s and Women's Basketball teams. His other work experience includes Bryant University, Velocity Sports Performance and Evolution Sports Performance.  Matt has been instructed and educated by Lee Taft (Sportsspeedetc.com), nationally recognized speed and movement expert.

www.strengthcoachconcepts.com
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/28sgsy7
Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/27fmjpw

Click HERE to see Charlie Weingroff's review of this year's BSMPG Summer Seminar.

Click HERE to read what Shon thought of this year's seminar.

Stay tuned to BSMPG for video's and pictures from the 2011 event.

by Andy Weigel

It was December 18th, 2010 in Oklahoma City and we had just walked off the court at the Ford Center.  We had lost our 6th game of the young season, this one to Oklahoma State, dropping our record to 5-6.  This loss unlike the others had a different feel.  Although it was a loss, it was a step in the right direction.  After the game, we came together as a team and for the first time all year there was a sense of optimism.

We went on to win 16 of our next 21 games, win the SEC West, finish second overall in the SEC and get knocked out in the semi-finals of the SEC tournament to Kentucky.  That brought us to selection Sunday.  We gathered as a team and watched as all 68 teams were selected, several who we had beaten and others who we had lost to.  However, for this tournament we wouldn’t be selected.  That moment was a tough one as most coaches know.  The dreams of playing in the NCAA tournament for four seniors was now over for good.

Later that night we were selected to the NIT tournament as the overall top seed.  The rollercoaster year we had endured was continuing on the same path.  This would prove to be another big test of character for our team.  The emotional letdown of not making the NCAA tournament is huge!    However, we still had a chance to once again come together as a team, continue to advance the direction of the program and compete for a championship in Madison Square Garden.  

Our first challenge was hitting the practice court to prepare for our contest against Coastal Carolina.  The limited time to prepare for the Chanticleer’s was probably a good thing.  We found out late Sunday night that we would be playing at 6 pm on Tuesday.  During this time motivation and focus were obstacles.  Our team’s vision of being selected into the field of 68 was so strong that not getting in was certainly going to affect us.  It was just a matter of how much and for how long.  Could we refocus and readjust our vision to a different prize? During the next 48 hours, Coach Grant did a tremendous job of communicating to our players the opportunity we had and what his expectations were.  This was coaching at its finest and if you want your athletes to display great character they need to be led by great character.

A different concern we had before our first round game was the atmosphere we would be walking into at home.  We had become accustomed to loud sell-out crowds of 15,000 plus for our SEC season.  Now, not only was it the NIT, it was also Spring Break! We all predicted dismal attendance numbers but to our delight, over 5,000 of the rowdiest die hard Alabama fans packed Coleman Coliseum.  The great thing about the NIT is that seating is general admission, so all of the fans packed the lower portion of the coliseum creating quite an advantage.  This spirit gave all of us a great unexpected boost.  We went on to beat a very competitive Coastal Carolina team 68-44.

With the NIT, there is some uncertainty of when you’ll play based around ESPN’s broadcast schedule.  There are a handful of possibilities, but you really do not know.  The waiting game had begun and with that we had a couple days off before preparation for our second round opponent New Mexico.   Eventually, our schedule was set for a tip-off at 8 PM on Monday night and the winner would advance to play again on Wednesday with a trip to New York City on the line.  After two days away, we came back and had a team lift that went pretty well considering it was Friday at Noon during Spring Break.  A few years ago I heard Vern Gambetta speak and he made a comment that has resonated with me ever since.  Vern said, “You need to win the workout!”  That was a very powerful concept.  For the circumstances that we were in, I knew that we needed to “win the workout,” it would have a tremendous impact on the rest of the day.  With that in mind, I threw a “game winner” in the workout; bench press.  I also added a few cheese and broccoli (great exercise in disguise); clear the hips to curl and press.  They get the curl and I get some front butt hip extension with a 1-arm vertical press, we all win.  I also threw in a challenge of switch grip pull-ups. One of our player’s strong qualities is that they are ultra-competitive.  When they hear “challenge” it gets them excited and that is exactly what switch grip pull-ups will bring out; a competitive challenge.  I felt we won the workout which helped us transition into a good practice as well.  

After Saturday and Sunday practices we came back Monday ready for a physical and explosive New Mexico team.  Our passionate fan base was out in full force again as we prevailed 74-67.  Next up were the Miami Hurricanes.  The stakes were much higher with a potential trip to New York City and the chance to compete for the NIT Championship in Madison Square Garden.  Our new prize was becoming clearer and we were starting to distance ourselves from the heartache of missing out on the NCAA tournament.  Not only were the NIT semi-finals at stake but we also had a perfect record at home on the line.  Once again Wednesday night, Coleman Coliseum was rocking and we brought home the victory, 79-64 and capped off an undefeated season at home, finishing 19-0!  The next step was New York City.

Thursday we let the guys recover physically and mentally with an off day from workouts.  On Friday we reconvened and went with a post/guard split.  The post players would start in the weight room and get in a 30-40 minute lift, while the guards would be on the court doing skill work.  Eventually we would flip flop and I would finish with the guards.  The focus was a lot better now as the reality of a championship and playing at “The Garden,” were only a few days away.  We practiced Saturday in preparation for our Tuesday contest with Colorado.  Sunday morning we flew to New York and checked in at the NIT host hotel, Marriott Marquis.  It was conveniently located in the middle of Times Square which has both its advantages and disadvantages.  After quickly dropping off our bags and grabbing a snack we headed to practice at NYU in Manhattan.  If there is one challenge I haven’t mastered yet, it’s the “post plane practice.”  Sitting on a plane for 2 ½ hours, bus for 1 ½ hours, then practicing in an unfamiliar setting with a different, older floor is the recipe for a poor practice.   This makes the warm-up really important.  Even if practice is not great, their bodies need to be turned on and ready to go.    However, this doesn’t guarantee a good practice.

Monday we practiced at Baruch College and then later on headed to an NIT dinner in Central Park.  For a tournament banquet to be a success it needs to be short in length, have good food and run smoothly.  This one was a success.  It met all of those qualities and we even had a chance to take a team picture with a great back drop.   

Tuesday was game day and we finally had the chance to shoot around in the Garden.  If you’ve never been to the Garden before you’re in for a shock.  This was my 2nd time so I knew that it was an older building and currently undergoing renovations.  I would say most of our players were shocked by the freight elevator we took from ground level to court level.  What makes it special is the history, the atmosphere and the face that it resides in the greatest city in the world.  Eventually we made our way onto the court and had a good shoot around.  Our semifinal game that night was against an explosive Colorado team, who a few weeks earlier went through the same tournament letdown we had endured.  It was a back and forth game and we were fortunate to hang on for the 62-61 victory as Colorado missed a shot at the buzzer.  Now our season would end on Thursday night in the NIT championship game.

Wednesday, Coach Grant wanted the players to experience New York while they had the opportunity.  So several of us got on our team bus and toured the city for a couple of hours.  We viewed Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the Brooklyn Bridge.  We finished off the trip with a ride to the top of the Empire State Building.  Later on we had a walk-through on Wichita State, our opponent in the championship game.       

Thursday marked the end of our season and wild ride.  We lost a tough one to a really good Wichita State team.  I give them tons of credit; they were the better team that day.  This was a team who earlier in the season took UCONN to the final minute in Maui.  The Shockers, just like us, could have been in the NCAA tournament.

When I look back at our experience, I feel there are a lot of misconceptions about the NIT.  It is a good tournament and there is a lot of value to gain.  I think it will help our players and program in the long run.  I also believe that it will be a confidence boost for our player’s that leads us into the future.  The experience can be really rewarding if you approach it the right way.  Most importantly the NIT gives you an opportunity to continue playing.  Regardless of the heartache of missing the NCAA tournament, if you truly love the game, it won’t matter what tournament you’re in as long as you’re still playing.

by Art Horne

I'm a sucker for anything involving self improvement - whether it's nutritional information, strength training, promoting yourself in the workplace and even creating new ideas or improving upon existing practices.  So it's no surprise that I've been watching Shark Tank on ABC where small business owners and inventors pitch mulit-million business moguls  their trade in hopes of making 'the next big thing". 

That all ended recently when I saw a piece of exercise equipment designed to make the push-up easier.  Yes, I said easier.

Really? Do we really need a machine to make the push-up easier?

Instead of lowering the bar on exercises, let's make the exercise realistic, attainable and without the aid of an expense piece of equipment. 

Gravity too much?

How about starting by doing push-ups with your hands on a table instead of the ground? What about starting with an isometric hold or eccentric push-ups?

Recently Ray Eady from the University of Wisconsin posted probably the best Push-Up Progression I've ever seen and a must read for anyone working with athletes that need some additional upper body strength.  So your athlete's can't do a good push-up? No big deal - Learn how to achieve push-up success by reading Ray Eady's Push-Up Progression.

See Ray talk at this year's BSMPG Basketball conference June 3/4th as he discusses the use of isometrics to improve strength and speed in the basketball athlete.   

Want to make push-ups easier? Stop giving them a way out and start giving them an appropriate exercise progression which leads to real world strength that translates to on-court success.

Click HERE to view this article by Brijesh Patel.

Read this article on Andrew Bynum and how George Mumford helped him have breakout year for the LA Lakers by clicking HERE.