50 All-Stars

October 1st, 2017

The Official Newsletter of 50 All-Stars Basketball

Issue #5

CONTINUING THE FIGHT

The answer's 'HARD WORK' and our players now believe, but that doesn't make the question and the process any harder to solve or go through. But still our players show... day in and day out. Although the road is long, we still walk it step by step. We still run it stride for stride. We still crawl it when our legs give in. And for what? For a dream we're not 100% sure will ever come true. For a chance at greatness? But now we've found that greatness is in all we're currently doing, before the verdict is even read. We've got this!

DEREK KOTARBA: PART IV (The Finale)

DEREK KOTARBA'S 1-YEAR QUEST: PART IV (The Finale)

TO REITERATE: On November 1st of 2016, 8th grader Derek Kotarba started his quest to transform himself into a High School Varsity player by November 1st of 2017. Our plan was simple: Try to miss as few days of our workouts as possible between now and then. Only when our program takes a rare break would he be allowed to take a break. To assist him in his journey, I bought him two 12-piece puzzle sets - one of a lion, and one of a tiger. I told him to construct the puzzles, and place them somewhere in his room where he could see them daily. We agreed that he'd bring me one of the puzzle pieces whenever he missed a day for any reason at all.

TO UPDATE: Derek's now a high schooler, only one year removed from being a B-team 8th grade basketball player. He's one month away from high school tryouts, and he still has an entire puzzle intact. What's more is he's improved a great deal. He was our lone point guard the entire summer travel circuit as we played against some of the best talent in the country at the 17U level. Needless to say, Derek struggled mightily... but he survived! And he improved absolutely every single step along the way.

TO AGGREGATE: Without a doubt, he's worked harder over the course of a year than any player we've ever had. There's no telling where he'll end up this season in terms of Varsity, JV, or Frosh; but there are 3 things for certain: 1) There's no chance he'll face anyone at tryouts or in any game this season as great as the competition he faced this summer, 2) he's worked harder than absolutely 100% of the athletes at his current high school, and 3) no one can ever take away what he did over these last 12 months. GIVE 'EM HELL, DEREK!

A Bunch of New Players

Our August tryouts went extremely well in terms of finding about a dozen kids to join in on all we're trying to accomplish. It's no easy task to ask so much of kids so young and parents so naturally hesitant, but we've done just that and their audacity has been rewarded majorly.

The most exciting additions are a few 1st & 2nd graders who have taken to actual gameplay years earlier than their counterparts outside of our program will dare to. Not only are they playing and practicing with the 1st-4th graders, they're actually contributing on the court during games in very noticeable ways. I truly can't wait to see what comes of this!

We're slowly changing the culture of our area in terms of how people view putting a ton of effort into the sport they love, and it's our players who will benefit the most even once everyone else catches on.

Go Stars!

HALL OF FAME WORKOUT APP

AUGUST TRYOUTS

To both honor our Hall of Fame members and to provide our current members with even more workouts to do on their own, we've created a page that utilizes an app to outline a new workout for whomever and whenever. Visit http://fiftyallstars.com/workouts.html to see how to upload the app, the dozens of different workouts that also include key NBA players, and a few extras like the actual team workouts we use on a weekly basis.

The motivation behind this was Emma Godfrey - one of our best ever - heading off to college. She so desperately wanted to continue her routine that we created a special workout just for her. Feeling that others would benefit as well, we made it public and then added players at various positions so those viewing the page could choose the player most like them or one they'd most like to become.

In the immortal words of the founder of Montessori Schools, "THE GREATEST SIGN OF SUCCESS FOR A TEACHER IS TO BE ABLE TO SAY, 'THE CHILDREN ARE NOW WORKING AS IF I DID NOT EXIST.'"

ELITE TEAM RESULTS

We've just completed our month-long evaluation period for our 2018 Elite Team, and those results will be sent out to all members a month from now. Throughout October, those who've made the team will be contacted to finalize the process with payment, jersey number selection, and a few other tidbits.

It was a great month, and we had many tryout for the team. As hard as the selection process will be, we're excited to issue out the news to all the players. Whether they made the team or not, it'll be interesting to see how each kid responds. There's both motivation and despondency to be had either way, but we hope we've bred players who only know the route of motivation. Those are the players we wish to create.

Certain players will be chosen to allow them to spread their wings as leaders, others will be chosen to push them beyond what they're capable of, and others will be left off so they can play on our local team throughout the year for reasons like building confidence and more.

2017's Elite Teams will now finish up the year with their practices and tournaments, as we make way for January's transition to the new. Thanks everyone who's been a part of this in any way. I'll be in touch soon!

4th GRADE FOCUS: GAVIN DODGE

Gavin entered our program about a year and a half ago along with his older brother Bennett. He not only has some of his brother's ridiculously early height, he's chalk full of early coordination and a drive to become great as well. Here's this quarter's FOUR QUESTIONS FOR OUR FOURTH GRADE FOCUS:

Q. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ASPECT OF OUR PROGRAM? A. Tournaments, because there are a lot of games that are extremely difficult.

Q. HOW GOOD ARE YOU NOW COMPARED TO BEFORE YOU JOINED OUR PROGRAM? A. I've improved a lot.

Q. HOW DO YOU WORKOUT WHEN YOU'RE BY YOURSELF? A. I work on shooting and on moves we're taught during practice.

Q. ARE YOU EXCITED ABOUT 2018'S ELITE TEAM? A. Yes, because we get a chance to learn the plays, get smarter, and play against some great teams.

FIVE TIPS FOR MEMBERS

We offer a lot. No lie. And we'd probably do better business-wise if we simplified all we do into 1 or 2 categories and sales points. That's also true. But, truer than anything, us eliminating even one part of all we've created so far wouldn't help any of our players improve. And, frankly, that's all we care about.

We are sensitive, however, to new members who are overwhelmed by all we offer... so we've constructed a very handy page explaining it all to you in 5 simple sections. Visit http://fiftyallstars.com/tips.html to see the tips that will set you straight. Beneath each section is a short paragraph explaining each header in a bit more detail, and you may click any linked word or phrase to explore even further.

I compare other programs to lemonade stands that offer a very standard variety of items. We're more like a supermarket. We defintely have lemonade as well, but we also have everything else you need for nourishment. There's no real simple way to explain what's down our every aisle, but just know you've come to the right place. Let me know if you have any questions!

SEPTEMBER'S FUNDRAISER PARTY

Our September fundraiser party was a huge success! One of my friends from college, Erick Balderrama, flew up from California to perform some magic tricks for us. He’s not exactly a professional, but he did an amazing job entertaining us all. What’s more is we had a great opportunity to experience one another through this awesome community event. The kids had fun, the parents got to know each other, and we all became closer as a family.

What's more is this event raised over $3000 for our program. As relatively inexpensive as all we do is, these fundraisers have become the primary source for what allows our program to continue.

I’d like to publicly thank everyone who attended, everyone who donated money, and absolutely everyone who is a part of our program. Without you, we are nothing!

UPCOMING SCHEDULE SHIFT

Please keep an eye out for an upcoming shift in schedule. The changes won’t come until January 2018, but I don’t want to surprise anyone. The youngest group will always practice first, elite team practices will all be on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the skill workouts will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The rest basically stays the same.

I’ve learned that trying to please everybody only result in pleasing nobody, so I’m choosing to go with the simplest route instead. For now, just go by whatever is on the website in the booking section. Come next year you’ll notice the changes then.

AGILITY & ABILITY COMBINES

Our combines have turned into a really special part of our program. They are designed to measure each player‘s ability and agility, as well as inspire them to reach long-term goals. Because we only have room for eight kids to do this per hour and we only do this once every four months, not very many of our players have had an opportunity to experience this part of our program.

During the combines, we measure each player's height, shooting ability, speed, strength, vertical jump in ability, and several other aspects that we place on a scale to measure them amongst themselves and amongst everyone else in the program that's ever done the same.

So please be sure to check out our ability and agility combine records books, view our past combine scores, book our December session before it sells out, and learn what dozens of kids in our program have already learned in utilizing this amazing tool for long term growth.