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““It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.””
I worked a local high school youth basketball camp and saw a great interaction between a coach and underclassman. This player was a forward who was probably as slow as any high school player could be. He was a rising sophomore. The coach asked the player, “Do you ever jump rope?” His reply “Jumping rope is for girls.” You could see the look in the coach’s eyes.
“For girl athletes?” The coach was in utter disbelief.
“You think jumping rope is for girls. Are you kidding me?…
Jumping is for world-class boxers, Muhammad Ali, basketball players, wrestlers, and anyone elsewho considers themselves an athlete.”
As a freshman, this player had no idea what it would take to be a great high school basketball player. The player was called up in front of the camp, He was given a jump rope and was timed for a minute. He scored an impressive 43. (A good high school athlete can complete 175 – 190 repetitions in a minute with hard work.)
The coach challenged the young player to commit to jumping rope, telling him he would be a much better player.
The player committed himself to improving his quickness by jumping rope regularly. With hard work, he started his first varsity game as a sophomore. He replaced a player who did not start because of receiving a technical foul.* He played a tremendous game and ended up starting every game for the remainder of his HIGH SCHOOL career.
This player understood the importance of improving each day. I attended the same camp when the player was entering his senior year. The coach would never let the player forget the comment, “Jumping rope is for girls.”
The head coach jumped roped regularly as a high school and college athlete. He challenged the player to try to beat him. (The coach always held on to the Champion’s Rule that if the player ever defeated the coach, the coach had the right to a rematch.)
Throughout his entire career, he continued to improve. He improved so much that he MIGHT be able to beat the head coach. He got so good he was in striking distance. He improved his score to 175 repetitions.
Get a jump rope and time yourself. See how many reps you can get and you will understand how hard it is to reach 175.
Improving from 43 reps to 175 took a great deal of hard work and dedication!
This player worked his tail off to became a complete basketball player. He was 6’4 and could complete 19-20 Mikans regularly in 30 seconds. He also was able to dribble 2 balls going full speed. Lastly, he was a 3-point threat. He scored several 3-pointers during his career because he completed the 1 and 2 hand form shooting almost daily.
This player had a great high school career. His teams did well because he was a triple Impact player. You will be hearing more about this over the next few blogs. His example of individual improvement is illustrates the first part of being a “Triple Threat Competitor” “Making Myself Better.” (Taken from Elevating Your Game by Jim Thompson of the Positive Coaching Alliance.)
That is every athlete’s goal this off-season – to make yourself better.
Be quicker – Take 10 minutes to jump rope several times a week. Do 3 – 5 sets of 1 minute. Record your score. Jump rope until you can improve on your score from the previous day. Being quicker will help you in any sport you play.
Jumping Rope is for girls……. and great athletes regardless of gender!
PS The former high school basketball player became a captain, 3 year-starter, 2 year league all-star, and local All-Scholastic.