Next Season Starts NOW!

It's hard to believe that it's been almost two months since the season ended. As the spring sports hit full spring and the weather FINALLY starts to actually FEEL like spring, it's vital for the development of the high school basketball player to also be thinking about their plan to get better.

There are more opportunities to play year-round than ever before, but quite simply, NOTHING....let me repeat, NOTHING makes up for the consistent attention needed to develop individual skills. Playing games is important to develop a "game sense" and instinctive reactions to constantly changing conditions, however, it simply takes TIME and PERSISTENCE to develop the necessary skills to actually experience success.

One of my favorite books in recent memory is Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. Gladwell uses several examples to illustrate his rule of 10,000 hours. Basically, in order to master or perfect anything, it takes 10,000 hours. Broken down, is one person spending a lot of time spent focusing on something while others are likely choosing to do something else. (Ha...classic example illustrating the economic definition of an opportunity cost) Basketball SKILLS fall into this category.

For example, I've never heard of a great shooter whose story is that he just picked up a ball and was a "great shooter"...(well maybe in his own mind)...But, when you profile guys that are universally recognized as "great shooters", their stories of time spent working on their stroke are strikingly similar AND they reflect Gladwell's theories.

Put in terms of a high school basketball player's development, we might not be talking about 10,000 hours....but the mentality is the same. It takes an investment of part of one's self to remain consistently committed to a goal and endure KNOWING the results will reveal themselves over time.

Without question, being a well-rounded athlete is important. There are valuable skills and experiences taken from playing a variety of sports. Simply look at our list of all-time leading scorers at Mounds View...only one of the top 10 was a "basketball only" athlete. With that being said, putting consistent practice in during the off-season, even if it's 15-30 minutes a day will pay HUGE dividends come next winter.

Without rambling further, I'm sharing some resources that I've collected over time to help guys with this task.

• Understanding Shooting Practice
• 2008 USA Basketball Shooting Workout (this is the actual workout that the USA athletes used in preparation for the 2008 Bejing Olympics. Kobe Bryant would complete this workout...and continue to do more individual work)
• Minnesota Off-Season Shooting/Ball Handling workout - this was given to me by Travis Busch who played for Tubby Smith at the University of Minnesota. He had to track his workouts daily.

Spring & Summer Event Sign-up Reminder

Today is the deadline for the May events and Monday 5/2 is the deadline to sign-up for June events that were highlighted in the spring meeting and the packets every player should have received.

You can view the documents online through the following links:
Event Summary and Sign-up Instructions

• May Events - Sign up or contact one of the coaches with your intent ASAP
• June Events - Sign up or contact one of the coaches with your intent by MONDAY 5/2
• July Events - Sign up or contact one of the coaches with your intent by THURSDAY 6/2

Please contact of of the coaches (Zig Kauls, Dave Leiser, or Mike Kauls) if you have any questions.

Highlight DVDs Available

Copies of the highlight DVD shown at the JV/Varsity banquet are available. Please contact me (michael.kauls@moundsviewschools.org) or have your son stop by my room (231) for a copy.

You can also view it online here. Just enter the password: mvhoops to watch.

Spring/Summer Player Meetings

This message is intended for all players that participated in the Mounds View Basketball Program this past season from grades 9-11. If you haven't already, download, (or see Mike Kauls in room231) a personal evaluation/planning sheet to fill out and return it (or email it) to one of the coaches.

The coaches would like to meet with every athlete that desires to continue in the program to discuss:

1. current areas of individual strengths/weaknesses
2. identify individual development relative to other players in the program
3. individual & team goals for future
4. a PLAN to achieve these goals

These meetings are optional, but encouraged.

Players are free to contact and meet with any of the varsity coaches (Mike Kauls, Dave Leiser, Zig Kauls) to identify a time to meet 1-on-1.

Email Contact Information
Ziggy Kauls
zkauls@comcast.net

Dave Leiser
david.leiser@moundsviewschools.org

Mike Kauls
651.621.7203
michael.kauls@moundsviewschools.org

Turning the page.....

It's always a bittersweet Sunday afternoon when we have our season ending banquet. It's always tough to say goodbye to our seniors after watching them develop over the course of several years. It's especially difficult this year because they were such a genuine bunch of good guys. We didn't have the kind of success in terms of wins that we all hoped for, but it was definitely apparent on Sunday that this group experienced something as a team that few can claim. I can't remember a banquet in recent years that had so much laughter and a general feeling of friendship among the players. It also explains why they stuck together so well, even when we were struggling midway through the season.

However, banquet Sunday also signifies the beginning of a new journey. I am really excited about the returning group of guys and am confident that they will continue to build on their experiences, both good and bad, that will help them be successful next season. While Brett Burckhardt, Chris Severson, and Kevin Sharpe were elected captains by their peers for the 2011-2012 season, there's an incredible opportunity for our returning seniors to lead our team and program as a class.

Again, I want to thank you all players and families for allowing us to coach this group. These guys will always have a special place in my heart and represent another successful chapter in Mustang history.

If you didn't get a chance to see the highlight video at the banquet, you can watch it here. Just enter the password: mvhoops to watch.

Spring & Summer Information Meeting

On Monday night, April 11th at 7pm, there will be an information meeting at Mounds View for all basketball players (9th-11th) interested in spring and summer opportunities and camp information.

All players should plan to attend but is open to all.

If you cannot attend, but plan on participating in spring & summer events contact Mike Kauls in room 231 to get additional information.

See you all Monday night!