The Truth About Why Most Athletes Never Make It

Season 2, Episode 7 of the Discipleship Hoops Podcast is a solo episode focused on one of the biggest issues in today’s youth sports culture:

“The Truth About Why Most Athletes Never Make It.”

In this episode, we take an honest look at the current state of youth basketball, AAU culture, player development, discipline, mindset, and the habits that separate athletes who succeed from those who fall short.

This conversation is not about tearing athletes down — it’s about bringing awareness to what truly matters if players want to reach the next level.

We discuss:

Why exposure without development does not work
 The lack of consistency hurting today’s athletes
 Why mindset and discipline matter more than talent
 The difference between playing games and actual skill development
 What parents are getting wrong in youth sports
 What truly separates athletes who make it

This episode is for athletes, parents, coaches, and anyone serious about long-term development and leadership through sports.

Subscribe, share, and help us continue building leaders through the game.

For sponsorship opportunities and partnerships, visit our website.

Discipleship Hoops Podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What's going on, y'all, man? Like really just wanted to bring something new, refreshing, something a little different um this week because there's just something that's man's been eating at me and me and it's been been been in my heart. So I'm going solo. I'm just popping in in the midweek, in between weeks, uh of the episodes. Uh with just a little short something, uh something that's been on my heart after going to seeing countless, well, not countless, but as the spring season and spring summer season of basketball kicks off, uh just some of the things I've witnessed, you know, working with kids, talking to kids, um, just I mean, watching kids across AAU games and all these types of things. Uh just really something that's been on my heart that I just, you know, I have to put out there, gotta be obedient. And when he says move, when I when he says move, I move just like that. All right, so the title of this episode, right? So this is season two, episode seven, is The Truth About Why Most Athletes Don't Make It. The Truth About Why Most Athletes Do Not Make It. And I know I'm understanding that this episode is not gonna sit well with a lot of people because there are a lot of people that that do this game, that play this game, uh, that coach this game, uh, that do all the things for this game with the wrong mindset, with the wrong body posture, with the wrong heart posture. All right, we just with the wrong, and oftentimes I've seen it be forgotten that it's a game. It's a kid's game. That's the bottom line. It's a kid's game. Yes, can this game take you many places? I mean, this game has taken me to more countries than I have been the states. And I'm talking about countries that I can can't count on two hands, right? Of how where this game has taken me. And so I don't want to come off as sounding contradicting or hypocritical, but what I wanted, but what I want the message to be is how hard it is to actually make it. That it's not as watered down as it is, uh, that it has become. Because most athletes they don't fail because they're not talented enough. And that's not why most athletes fail. Most athletes simply fail because they never develop the habits that's required to make it. And again, I I can I can I've walked the walk and I can talk the talk because I I went to college to play soccer. And I didn't start playing basketball until I was an adult, a young adult, 19, 20 years old. And then just from the work ethic and just for the discipline it took, was able to play overseas for uh 10 years. And so like I so I've walked the walk, and now um I'm talking at all because you know, I have a son that that went to um multiple high schools in in a short number of years, and who has finally found his way and is playing college, has a JUCO scholarship to play ball. Or I have a uh a rising ninth grader who's projected to you know be on the same path, and that is playing AAU right now. So I want to be clear and don't and say you know not be like, oh, he don't know what he's talking about, because he on he's not in it. I'm in it, I'm deep in it. And I you can check my bank account from this past weekend to show you how deep I am in it from it. Uh but but see, that's that's where the problem lies. Everyone wants exposure, right? But everybody wants to be seen, right? Everybody wants to uh play on the best teams, but no one wants to put on the work to get there, right? They just want to be like, hey, I can afford to play on that team, so I'm gonna play on that team. Again, well not again, but this is one of those back in my day stories. Hey, back in my day stories, AAU was like you were the best of the best. Like if you weren't the best player on your team, then you didn't get on an AAU roster. Right now, AAU has become, if you can pay for it, you can play for it. AAU has become, hey, let's just get all the kids together in the neighborhood and let's go, which is fine. Like, that's if we want to call it a summer developmental league, I'm all for that. Right? Let's call it developmental. All right, let's not call it AAU. Because that's not what it is anymore. Um, I watched a team get beat 98 to 14 this past weekend. Another one got beat 67 to 20. Come on, what what is that teaching a kid? What is that teaching a kid on a team that got beat 98 to 14? What is that showing a parent that spent three, four, five hundred dollars, just to travel there, just hotels, just to eat, right? Then another $200 to get in the game for the weekend. Like, what is that doing to a parent to watch their child get beat 98 to 14? Seriously. What are we teaching? What are we doing here? All right, so that's it, right? Everybody wants exposure, everybody wants to be seen, everybody wants to play on the best teams, but no one wants to put in the work and the effort. No one wants to sacrifice or the discipline, right? Very few are focused on becoming the best version of themselves. And there lies the problem. Uh, I heard someone say that if show me your uh no, it wasn't. They said that uh if you're the smartest one in the room, then you need to find a new room. And so basketball the same way. If you're if you're measuring your gifts, your talents, your skills based on the people in your circle, and you you're saying, man, well, I'm the best player on my team. And because when you go, when you take your best player from that team, and you go to play against the another team's best player from a different state, from a different area, from a different level program, the result is 98 to 14. So, like we got kids. I mean, uh again, like I'm I'm in it, right? Kids playing four to five games uh over the weekend, and but then sit out all week the rest of this week. Don't do no ball handling, no skill work, no, may have, may have a practice or two, right? But don't put in any effort, any work for from Monday, got home Sunday, didn't do anything Monday, didn't do anything Tuesday, not doing anything today. May go shoot around with a bunch of guys tomorrow somewhere. Then Friday, they right back on the road going to play again. All right, so it's like you play all these games, but you put in no work. Right? You may do some meaningless 30 minutes after a practice of just dunking and jacking up threes from half court, thinking like, oh yeah, you know what, I'm ready for that next level. And you're not. All right, parents spending thousands and thousands of dollars on travel, but not investing time in development. Let that pause for a second. Parents spending thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars every weekend to travel up and down the highway, watch their kid get beat 67 to 20, and then don't not paying one red cent for development, thinking that that night that 67 to 21 skull drugging is gonna help them become get to the next level, which I'm gonna talk about some statistics of what the next level looks like here in a second. All right, so if you don't develop, if you don't do skill development, then you're not gonna level up your game. You're gonna always be measured to the people that to your right and to your left, and that you walk up and down the hall school hallways with. All right, so parents, that's not helping your kid get to the next level by dragging them to all these tournaments and tournaments and not getting them any individual skill development. All right, but anyway, we're about to walk through that real quick. I'm gonna give you some more troops, some more real truth, true information that a lot of coaches are not telling you. Uh, a lot of programs are not giving you the honest, the good, the God-given truth about this game. Not the highlight version, like the down, dirty, raw, and dirty. Uh, the real reason why athletes do not make it. Let's get into it. Welcome to Discipleship Hoops Podcast, where basketball meets purpose. This isn't just about mastering skills on the court, it's about developing the complete athlete. We're here to help young players grow stronger, smarter, and more skilled while deepening their character and strengthening their faith. At Discipleship Hoops, we believe basketball is more than a game. It's a platform for transformation, teaching discipline, teamwork, and resilience. Together, let's empower the next generation of leaders to excel both on and off the court. This is Discipleship Hoops through basketball. All right. What's good everyone? Welcome to the latest and greatest edition of the Discipleship Hoots Podcast. Interrupted in-between weeks, interrupted the uh the the traditional on with a guest to go solo today. I was a lot on my heart, man. There's a lot of things I wanted to get out, and I didn't want to have to wait. So I was like, you know what? Cut the mic on, cut the camera on. Let's give it to them raw and uncut. So this is season two, episode seven of the discipleship hoop podcast. It's your boy Jimmy, and yes, I am solo today. It's only my voice that you are lucky and graceful to hear, grateful to hear today. Bringing it to you raw and uncut about the truth, why most athletes do not make it. I mean, I'm tongue-tied today. All right, let's try this again. Season two, episode seven, the Discipleship Hoops podcast. The truth about why most athletes do not make it. But before we get into it, I just want to say thank you to everybody that has been listening, watching, sharing, and supporting season two so far. Uh, the response has been incredible, and I truly believe these conversations are making an impact beyond basketball. Uh, quick thank you to our sponsors, Dogwood Pediatric Dentistry and uh Power and the Power Power Financial Group. Uh, thank you to season two sponsors. If you want to be a sponsor of season three, now is the time because we getting we own only three more episodes left until we end season two and we kick off season three. So if you want to become a sponsor, hit me up, uh, jump on board, all right, and let's get this thing going. All right, this season has been real honest. It's also been challenging. Uh, and and because just because uh it's easy, I can hop on a Zoom or uh hop on you know some Google Meets or something like that. Um, but I I think it's important. I truly believe God put on my heart and has given me the space and the time to do it in person, right? Whether that's me traveling up north to Greenwood, uh to the Greenville area, uh going to Meridian and all those things. Vicksbird, I'm coming to you uh real soon. Um so I think it's important that these be done in person. And um, yeah, it's just just how I feel about it. So I'm gonna just keep rocking with it like that, as long as God continue to bless me with gas and a reliable vehicle to keep pushing. But anyway, just to take you back real quick, we kicked off season two. Again, I kicked it off solo, talking about the truths behind youth sports culture, the pressure, the AU mindset, uh, exposure, chasing, and the reality that discipline is becoming a lost art in today's game. That's how we started season two. Then we sat down with Coach Trey Collins from Meridian High School. He's the varsity girls coach, and we talked about building culture, leading young women, and the responsibility coaches carry beyond wins and losses. All right, after that, episode three, uh uh Coach Goodman from Hartfield Academy, my boy. Uh, we um, you know, we had a powerful conversation about leadership, about standards, about what it means to follow a legendary coach, and while still building his own identity and his own culture within uh within the Hartfield Hawks. All right, then we talked to uh Victor's coach, Coach Cornelius. All right, he laid the foundation, probably one of the realest conversations yet, about a working man, about a father, and a coach. You know, he how he talked about the sacrifice and the discipline and doing the work after work. Uh that, you know, in that episode, I mean, it hit, I thought that it hit home for a lot of people, of just understanding that, hey, just because you work a full day, nine to five, eight hours, ten-hour days, and you still got to show up in the gym, cut the lights on, roll the basketballs out, and still give the same energy and the same effort because kids deserve that. So then we followed that up with Coach Andrew Mitchell, uh, where he we discussed coaching with the purpose, accountability, and building more than just basketball players. Uh, then I call him my little brother, my little bro, uh, my little brother, Coach Ladarian Evans from Greenville, St. Joe. He joined us. Uh, he talked about coming full circle, right? How he how he was a player there uh at Greenville, St. Joe. Uh, and then now he's you know leading as the head coach of that school. Uh that conversation was about growth, ownership, and then leadership from within. But not to be outdone, because after me, next week, episode eight, I'm doing something a little different with this episode. All right, it's uh it's a little different because it's not just a guess. All right, it's not just an interview, all right, but it's real talk. Uh so in episode eight, next Thursday, all right. Uh I don't know what date that is right now in front of me. Uh I get it. Let me see. Next Thursday is what is next Thursday? Because I want to make sure that you are ready and anticipating this episode. So today's the 6th, this will come out. This episode right here will be out is out on the 7th. So next Thursday, the 14th, all right, May 14th. Uh, we really get into it uh with with uh with my spiritual faith brother uh Neil. He played at USM. Uh he and then he and we will sit down with him and just not just sit down with him, it's a family affair. All right, when he comes on, it's a family affair. Because we sit down with him and his two twin boys that are rising uh eighth graders, and it's we have a real good time and a real good conversation. So lock your calendars in for that. Alright, so here we go. Season two, episode seven. All right, the truth about why most athletes do not make it. So let me start out by giving you this statistic. Let me pull it up. Alright. So here's this here's the statistic. Roughly one percent. I want you to hear me now. All right, roughly now, so it could be 0.5%. Roughly one percent of high school senior boys playing basketball secure an NCAA Division I scholarship. I want to slow down and read that again. Roughly one percent of high school senior boys playing basketball secure an NCAA Division I scholarship, making it only about 3.6% of high school players make an NCAA roster, D1, D2, or D3. The D1 odds at approximately 110 to 1. Total NCAA opportunities are limited to around 18,000 to 19,000 spots for over 500,000 high school seniors. And that's just in the U.S. So there are 500,000 high school senior boys playing basketball that are eligible for a Division I scholarship. And of that 500,000, only 18 to 19,000 receive one. Wait, no. That there are spots for. Not that receive one, but there are opportunities for. So 500, so 18,000 out of 500,000 is what there are spots for. That's across division one, division two, and division three. So 3.6% of those 500,000 actually get a scholarship. That's it says it goes on to say roughly three to four percent of high schoolers play at any level, division one, two, or three, and NAIA. Think about that, right? So five hundred thousand high school seniors. Five hundred thousand high school senior boys, roughly three to four percent of high school of them play at any level, D1, D2, D3, or NAIA. Just let that sit, just let that sit there for a second.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Let that soak into your spirit.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

And again, that doesn't even include the influx of players coming from overseas. That doesn't include them how nowadays, because of NIA or roster spots for high school, high schoolers are even more limited. I've heard coaches say that they don't even recruit high school kids anymore. Thank you to season two sponsor, Dogwood Pediatric Dentistry. At Dogwood Pediatric Dentistry, they go far and beyond providing top-tier dental care in Fullwood. They create a warm, fun, and compassionate environment where your child feels safe and valued. Their mission is to partner with parents in nurturing healthy smile throughout your child's formative years. They are committed to offering state-of-the-art care while ensuring every visit is enjoyable and stress-free. Dogwood Pediatric Dentistry. You can reach them at 601-992-0007 or send them an email, Dogwood Pediatric Dentistry at gmail.com. Thank you. Dogwood Pediatric Dentistry. What am I saying? I'm not saying don't, if you have a young man or young woman out there that's inspiring to be, you know, play at the next level. I'm not saying like don't go after it with all your heart. What I'm saying is be strategic in how you go after it. You gotta be you have to be calculated and you have to be have a developmental mindset as you're going after this, after this goal. Because everybody says they want it. But wanting something and being disciplined enough to earn it are very two different things. And you think just because you're getting exposure, that doesn't build players. Exposure doesn't build players. Meaningful work that players do when the bleachers are empty, that's what build players. Players are built when the bleachers are empty. They're discovered when they're full, and we have that backwards. You don't get better by being seen. You get better by being prepared. I heard a story one time of a young lady that uh she was killing the game, right, as a ninth grader. Killing the game at a local school. She went out joined an AAU team with same some of the same local girls from other teams that she was killing the game against, going against. They went out to Texas and couldn't get the ball across half court. Now I'm talking about killing the game locally. Go out to Texas, Texas, and couldn't get the ball across half court. And she was prepared. She had put in the work. But once you start settling and get into that space of, oh, I'm the I'm the best thing around. And then when you go somewhere else and there's other people that's working just as hard, or even harder, they have the same mindset. Well, I'm the best thing around, too. And you gotta you and you have to come take, you have to go take it. Nothing's gonna be given to you in this life. Like it's a thing to where I watch kids and they grab a basketball off the rack or out the ball, out the ball bag, and the first thing they do is run to the three-point line and start jagging up threes. And let and after they miss seven or eight, let them hit one. Oh man, they got the arrows out, the guns out, they're throwing the fingers to the veins, like they just ice cold. And I'm like, I just saw you literally go one for nine or oh for eight, and then you finally hit one. Even a broken clock twice twice a day. And it just like, and then they have the audacity to be like, Well, why I'm not playing? They'll make you think I'm good enough, I'm ready. And the problem is that too many athletes are chasing visibility instead of chasing development. I tell kids like uh uh Steph Curry then become the greatest shooter of my generation. At the age of 30, when he woke up and was like, hey, he tapped his wife and was like, you know what? I'm gonna go to the gym today and become the best shooter of all time. No, Steph Curry has been since five years old. He's been in the gym working on right hand, left-hand layups, working on form shooting, working on free throws, working on off the backboard, working on twin-twing cross pull-ups. Like he's been doing that since five. And so now that he's been prepared, now that he's been disciplined, now that he's been committed and consistent with his development, that's why he is the greatest shooter of my generation, or of I should say, of my lifetime, my generation, because I'm still a long way to go. So stop chasing visibility and start chasing development. All right, so while most athletes fall short, because the number one reason why most athletes fall short is the lack of consistency, and that's where we'll start. So, lack of consistency. What do I mean by that? What I mean is that athletes will have a great day, they'll have a great workout, they'll have a great practice, and then they'll live on that great day and great practice for the next three days. They only go hard when a coach is there, they only go hard when a trainer is there, or they only go hard when they know a game when a uh a game is coming up. But the days that nobody sees them, they're taking those days off. The Bible only authorizes us one rest day, but no days off. And that's an active rest day. Right? So you gotta be consistent, all right? That's what build players. Consistency is what build players, not hype, not motivation, not being able to dunk doing a non-productive work, right? Dunking alone uh when everyone else is watching, like that will not transfer or translate to in-game dunking. Right? Talk to someone that can actually dunk in a game on someone, how hard it is to get a dunk in-game. Like those dunks you're doing in practice by yourself, uh uh having the having your boy with the video camera up recording it, that doesn't translate to when you've been running up and down the court five times and somebody's been bumping you and grabbing you, and you've been getting fouled, and you've been having to chase the other team's player around the court, and now you have tired legs. All right, that those are not the same dunks. So, not saying that proving that you can dunk and practice or practitioning on your dunks and practice is not a good thing, but do it game dunks. Do it, run up and do three suicides up and down the court, and then try to go do a windmill dunk. Go shoot, put I don't know, three minutes on the clock and run the half court and back, shooting threes. Back, shoot, shoot a three or shoot a mid-range, get a layup, backpedal to half court. Shoot a three, shoot a mid-range, get a layup, backpedal to half court. Do that consistently for three minutes and then try to dunk off of Earth. Those are in-game reps that when you have tired legs, when people are running at you and up under you, right? Not when you everyone clears the court and put and bring out the phones. It's daily repeated work under game-like situations. Those types of stretches, being putting yourself under those types of stretches consistently is what makes is what development is. All right. Alright, number two. Alright, so lack of consistency is number one. Number two, no real skill development. Playing games is not development. Alright, I said that again at the beginning in the monologue. Playing games is not capital NOT development. AAU should be where you perform, not where you learn basic skills. And every time I watch an AAU game and see 15, 16, 17-year-old kids who claim they want to go to college to play basketball cannot dribble the length of the floor on the left side with their left hand into a left-hand layup. Countless times, kids, 15, 16, 17-year-old high school varsity level players who claim they want to go to the next level can't make a left-handed layup on the left side of the basket. So bad that they'll go, they'll dribble on the left side of the court with their right hand and then stop and shoot it with their right hand. And still miss. Because you know why? Because they're not in it, because they're not by themselves out there, because they haven't practiced game like reps. They haven't put themselves in stressor situations to where they're forced to use their left hand. And they have coaches that say, Oh, it don't matter, just score the bucket, just score the basket. That's not development, that's not teaching. And let me say this real quick. If you val, if you if you take account, I'm talking to parents right now, real quick. If you watch the whole season, high school, middle school, junior high, whatever the case may be, of your child, at the end of the season, you was like, hey coach, what what Johnny needs to work on this summer to get better? Johnny needs to do, learn how to do left-handed layups. Okay, bet, coach got it. And you sign him up for AAU. You spend $500 a week, uh a weekend for all summer long. You get back to tryouts the following year, and if Johnny can't still do a left-handed layup, then that's a horrible job on you as the parent, on that AAU coach, his system, and his program. It's a horrible job. There is no way you should walk off the court at the end of your high school, junior high, whatever season, play a whole summer of AAU, come back the next fall for trials, and the exact same player you was when you left when you walked off the court a year ago. You are doing that child a disservice and you're setting that child up for failure. And whoever that AAU coach is that didn't emphasize that, that didn't help with that, that didn't help grow that, and just took your money every weekend, cashed out, they're just as culpable.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Alright, number three, weak mindset.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

So, weak mindset. Why most athletes fall short? Number one, lacking consistency. Number two, no real skill development. Alright, we spend we spend more time and more money on games than we do on development. And number three, just the weak mindset, and which is probably the biggest one because a game is 90% mental and 10% skill. Right? This is the big one. Because the moment things don't go that child way, they shut down, they get frustrated, and most importantly, it's somebody else's fault. Well, they didn't, well, he didn't, but I didn't know, but they didn't tell me. It's always somebody else's fault. The coach doesn't like me. I didn't get enough playing time. When the truth and honesty of it is, you're just not ready. And if more coaches would be honest and say, hey son, I love you. You're a good kid and all. But you're not ready. You're not ready to play AAU. And yep, I can take your $1,000 and put you on the team, and at the end of the bench, well, you know what? I'm not gonna do that. Once you take that thousand dollars, go get you a trainer, and then let's try it again next summer. That's what really that's the message that really should be being put out there from these AAU coaches. Be honest with the kid. Hey, I got a guy that know a guy. All right, he'll get you ready. But I don't think you should be playing AAU basketball because you're not ready. Be honest with these kids. Uh and parents, if you do have a coach that comes to that kid and say, Lil' Johnny, you you you don't know how to make a left-hand layup. No. Don't just be like, well, you know what? I'll take my $1,000 and go give it to this other coach who's gonna let little Johnny play. Don't do that to them. Spend that money on training and development. And then lastly, or no, uh, number four, poor habits outside the gym. All right, poor habits outside the gym. So, yeah, the top four reasons why most athletes fall short, lack of consistency, no real skill development, weak mindset, and poor habits outside the gym. What are you doing when you leave practice?

SPEAKER_00 31:09

Are you getting rest? Are you disciplined with your time?

SPEAKER_01 31:17

Or are you on the phone? Are you standing up late playing video games? Are you eating pizza and hamburgers? Are you not stretching properly? Are you not hydrating properly? Uh, like, are you not taking care of your body and your mind? Are you not studying the game? And again, there's not a coach out there. I don't know a coach out there in my coaching circle. All the coaches that I interview and that I work with, I do not know one coach out there that if you came to them and said, Coach, can you help me get rated for next season? That coach is gonna be like, nah, go away. In fact, most coaches, if you know, if you catch them right at the right time and where they're not resting or with their families or whatever, they might even open the gym up for you. And let you go shoot extra when the bleachers are empty. Again, I don't know a coach in my coaching network that wouldn't do everything they can to see a child get better. Any advice that they can give. All right, the biggest problem is that as parents and as players, we just don't like to hear things that we don't want to hear that affect our ego. So, what are your what I mean, your poor habits outside the gym also hinders you? All right, that's that's last. All right, so again, while most athletes fall short, number one, lack of consistency. Number two, no real skill developments, all right, a weak mindset and poor habits outside the gym. All right, so quickly, right right now, I want to run through um what separates athletes. These are the things that separate athletes. Daily discipline separates athletes. All right, how disciplined are you on a daily basis? Or what are you doing before practice? What are you doing after practice? Uh and as a coach, like we had a kid that we had two kids uh this past year, and they were in the gym all the time. When I walk into the gym early in the morning, they were in there shooting. When I leave the gym from training late at night, they were in there shooting. They were always constantly on weekends, they were constantly working on their games with a trainer. Sometimes, yes, their pops was in there rebounding for them. And I and I um applaud those fathers that was in there, you know, getting rebounds, chasing misses, bad misses, and all that. But also those same fathers and families were also paying for trainers to get development. And they were in there with trainers all times of the day and night. And so when it came down to certain game situations, as a coach, I can say, hey, we want to give that kid a ball because I've seen the work that kid put in. So I can trust that kid is mentally ready and developed for this moment. So daily discipline, accountability. Accountability. What does that mean? I mean that the player they listen, they adjust, and they grow. It's that simple. You have to listen to what is being said to you, you have to adjust to what you've been told, and you have to grow through it. And you can't take everything so personal. My God, stop taking everything so personal. That coach is only wants to see you get to a certain level. That coach only wants you to become the best version of you that you can become. So take that seriously. Don't take that for granted. Again, there is no coach that I know in my coaching circle that won't tell you that how they believe that you should get better. Now, whether you accept it or not, that's something that's a different story. All right, but it's up that the coach will give you the the they should give you the real. And during the boring work, I every Sunday when I have a training and I tell them like to do a certain drill over again that we just did last Sunday, the Sunday before, and they like, oh come on, coach, we just did that. I said, All right, we'll do it without messing up then. I say, if everyone, since if everyone in here can do this drill that we just did, that we just did last week, this is what you guys' words are. We just did it last Sunday. So everyone in here that's training right now can do it without messing up one time, then we'll move on to something different. Oh, coach, that ain't fair. That ain't fair. Oh, you said it. You said that you tired of doing it. So prove to me that you can do it right without messing up. And lo and behold, they always somebody always mess up. Someone always kicks the ball off their foot, or someone always turns the ball over. It's the boring work, they count. Repetition, fundamentals, and details. All right, those in that order. Repetition, fundamentals, and details. And that's where most athletes fall off. Is by they because they don't, they're not disciplined enough to do that. But in those repetitions, in those fundamentals, right hand, left hand, right hand layup on the right side, left hand layup on the left side, all right, and those two, and those fundamental things, right? Shooting the ball with using the beef principle, balance odds, elbow and follow through, hand in the cookie jar, like those things right there is what gets you to the other side. What gets you a part of that three, uh, what was it again, 3.6%? Yeah, 3.6%. I mean, it's there's nothing flashy about greatness. I heard a story of Kobe Bryant and Kobe Bryant, and they said that Kobe, on the, not just at home, but on the road, they would be playing Toronto or New York, right? They'll be playing in New York, and he'll go whatever, 10 for 20. He'll go 10 for 20 from the field. And they say that players will get on the plane, you know, hurry up, take a shower, go to dinner, hop on a plane, and get back to LA. And Kobe wouldn't. Kobe would take a Laker trainer, and he would have he would have the trainer or the coach, assistant coach, track every single missed shot. Where he missed it from, did he miss it short, left, who was guarding him, what was the time on the clock, the score on the clock, what was the situation behind him taking that type of shot, the turnaround, just what every every analytic it was about the shots that he missed, and he wouldn't leave that arena in this, you know, Madison Square Garden in that case, until he made a thousand shots from each one of those spots that he missed. That's discipline. That's why he was Kobe. That's repetition, that's taking care of the small details and being fundamentally sound. That's what it takes. Just imagine that everybody, everyone going home back to LA, and you still in New York, you still have eight, two o'clock in the morning. Because I mean, you know, the games are late. So it would be one, two o'clock in the morning. After he fulfilled all his media obligation and all those things, and he's still on the court shooting shot after making shot after shot after shot for every miss, for every shot, every spot that he missed. That's what it takes. That's and I mean leads me to number four, separation. That's who makes it. That's how you separate yourself. I just told a group of kids at our available showcase that I it's easy. I can go to the North Park Mall. I could go anywhere, I could go to uh the outlets, right? I could go anywhere, look around, and find a 6-3-6-4-6-5 shooting guard.

SPEAKER_00 39:14

They're everywhere.

SPEAKER_01 39:15

6-4-6-5 shooting guard, they all over the place. So what separates you? What makes a coach be like, man, there's okay, there are four, six, four shooting guards right there. They all can shoot it pretty well. Um, but I like that one because he plays defense. Oh, I like that one because he's a great communicator and locker room guy. Oh man, I like that one because yeah, he can shoot it well, but he also gets down in and he's also not just averaging 17 points, but he's also getting seven, eight rebounds. What separates you? What separates you from the from the rest? Just like I said about um our our player, right? What separated him is because I knew that he was gonna stay after practice for at least another couple hours putting in more work. He would ask questions. All right, he would help design plays. He would do the extra rips. And no one had to tell him to do it. It was like, coach, can you lead it? Can you lead the the ball rack out so I can come up later on and get some shots up? Absolutely. Coach, you're gonna be around. You think you can open the gym up? So uh I'm training with this guy, and we he wanna come up at 8 o'clock. Yep, I'll be there. I'll open it up for you. They take ownership of their own game. And they don't wait for someone to come bail them out. All right, so what separates athletes? Daily discipline, accountability, doing the boring work, and finally separation. Or how do you separate yourself? All right, parents, your turn. What do parents get wrong? What do parents get wrong? And I'll say it again, I prerequisite this by saying again that I am a parent that has gotten it wrong. I am a parent who have who has a 27-year-old that played high-level college basketball and overseas. I have a 20-year-old uh that is on scholarship right now playing ball at a JUCO level. Uh he's on but he's playing ball. And he didn't figure it out until the summer of his his junior year. That's when he finally figured it out. He stopped playing AAU the summer of his sophomore year, and I was like, Dad, I just want to get, can you just hire me a trainer? Absolutely. Whenever you want one. Let's get it. And that was on him. He came to me with that. I didn't go to him with that. All right. So, because kids have to take ownership of their own game. So, number one, parents chasing teams over development. And I alluded to that a little uh earlier, and switching teams every season is not development because you're just chasing exposure and opportunities. But what you're ignoring is skill growth, discipline, and foundation. Right? Kids need foundation, kids need a coach that they can grow with so the coach can see their game day in and day out, year in and year out, and they can better help them develop to where they where they want to go. Going to a team, a different team every summer. Now it takes the whole summer for a coach to evaluate, evaluate the kid, and then it's too late. You can't help them after that because the summer's over. And then let me say this.

SPEAKER_00 42:40

When the season starts, parents.

SPEAKER_01 42:44

When the season starts, it is no longer a coach's job to help your child develop better skills. When the season starts, parents, it's out of the coach's hands if Lil' Johnny can make a left-handed layup or not. Because we do not have time. We have 18 to 20 other kids that we have to get ready. So what we will do is a kid that comes to us already ready and able to make a left-handed layup, then that's a kid that we will give the ball to on the left side of the basket. While your kid is on the bench. When the season starts, parents, it is no longer a coach's job to get your child skilled, developed, ready to play the game. We have to, we have a game plan, we have plays, we have sets, we have situations, and we put those five players that are already ready in those positions to be successful. But if your child is not ready, they won't get on the court. Or let me rephrase that they shouldn't get on the court until they prove that they're ready. Sorry, I Digress, but not sorry. Chasing teams over development, right? Number one. Number two, protecting kids from adversity. Because the moment things get uncomfortable, John Wooden said basketball doesn't build character, it reveals it. And parents, you do a disservice to your child when you protect them from adversity. Because the moment things get uncomfortable, you blame the coach, you put them on a new team, you blame the situation, put him in a new situation. Are you teaching your child to run and not grow? The adversity is part of development. Kobe Bryant is Kobe Bryant because he missed all those shots. So that was the adversity. And how did he grow through the adversity? He went back, stayed late, did extra, and overcame that adversity. That's where toughness is built. Basketball is a contact sport and it's not for everyone. You will face adversity. You're not going to make every shot. Referees are not going to make every call. Coaches are not going to make call all the best plays all the time. It's a game of adversity. It's life with the ball in your hand. So how do you overcome that? All right. So chasing teams over development, protecting kids from adversity, and overhauling exposure. And I want to be clear when I say this because I want you to hear me very clearly. Exposure does not create opportunity. Preparation creates opportunity. College coaches aren't impressed by how many games you play. College coaches do not care how many AAU games in the summer you have played. They don't care. Cause truth be told, if you like that, if you part of that 1% of D1 scholarships, coaches really only need to see one game. A real development coach that know, they understand and see talent and what's best fit for their team, they only got to come watch one game. And they can get film on that. They can call your high school coach and be like, hey, send me Johnny's best game as a senior. Alright, boom. Yep, we want them. I'll be there to sign them. Like that's really how it works. They don't need to see 50 games over the summer. Coaches are looking for skill, they're looking for IQ, they're looking for, yep, you guessed it, consistency, and number one, discipline. That's it. Skill, IQ, consistency, and discipline. That's what coaches are truly looking for. And don't be fooled, right? Don't be fooled by saying, hey, we're going to this this one AAU tournament and there's going to be coaches there. Right? Do your research because if there are 20 courts, right? We was at a facility in West Monroe, and it's probably 20 courts. I don't know. A lot. It was a lot of courts. Felt like 30, 40 courts, but it was a lot of court courts. It's like coaches are going to be there. Coaches are going to be there. And coaches were there, but there was only one court, court one. There were no coaches on court 20. There were no coaches on court 15. So do your research. All right. If they're trying to sell you, if your AAU program is telling you on paying $1,000, and because all the tournaments they're going to be at, coaches are going to be there. Make sure you do your research and find out what court they're going to be on versus what court you guys are playing on. Because there are levels to AAU. Coaches are not coming to all the courts. They're coming to the cream de la cream. They're coming to the players that guess what? They've already seen play in high school. They're not coming to see players that haven't they just for the first time seen. Without getting some type of IG film, without getting some type of, I don't know, uh Snapchat film. Like they've already seen in some some facet that kid play. And they come into the court that kid is on. And if you just happen to be in that circuit and on that same court, then boom. Opportunity and access. All right. You get an opportunity. But they're not coming to court 20, all right, to watch you play because you're a 6'4 shooting guard. They're not doing it. All right. It's like ready to close out. First, before I do that, let me give you the statistic statistic real quick, right? Another, just like I talked about with D1. So let's talk about the next level, right? I want the NBA started in 1979. So if I was born in 75, I mean the NBA is about 46 years old. In 46 years, as you know, there's only been about 5,000 players that play in the NBA. Think about that, right? 46 years, only about 5,000 players. That's it. That play that has played in the NBA.

SPEAKER_00 49:27

And only 12 of those players have played for more than 20 years.

SPEAKER_01 49:33

What we're taught in school is we're taught to get a 9-5, stay down that 9-5 for 20, 25 years, and your life will be a success. Get you a uh two-car garage, white picket fence, a dog, a cat, and hey, you sit 20 plus years. But at the highest level of the NBA, out of 5,000 players, only 12 have survived for more than 20 years. So if you're a player, stop chasing the tension, start chasing development. Get in the gym, be consistent, fix your weaknesses. By yourself when the gym, when the with a trainer, with a coach, when the bleachers are empty. If you're a parent, stop trying to shortcut the process. Let your child struggle. Let them be coached. Let them grow. And use the eye test, parents.

SPEAKER_00 50:49

Don't watch with your feelings. Watch with facts. Don't watch with feelings. Watch with facts.

SPEAKER_01 51:03

Say, you know what? My son's 17 years old. A senior, about to be a senior, going into his senior year, and still can't make a left-handed lead. And then have the honest conversation with yourself. And then with your son and say, hey, maybe we should try tennis. And if you're a coach, raise your standards. Just don't lower them to make players comfortable. I know we we say we gotta uh uh be easy on kids, we gotta go light on kids, we can't talk to kids like that. And I'm I I never advocated to cuss at a kid. That's not at all what I'm saying. Because I don't do that, we don't do that in our program, in our program, in our basketball program. We don't do that. We don't allow that. Alright, we're not cussing at kids. We are telling kids the truth. And sometimes that's harder to hear. So, coaches, raise your standard. Whatever kid is for you will be for you. So don't be, don't coddle these kids and players just trying to make it make them comfortable and hoping that they stay and don't leave your program. Sometimes less is more. Alright. Comfort does not build competitors. Comfort does not build competitors. Thank you for this season's sponsor, Power Financial Group. The mission of Power Financial Group is to glorify God by helping their clients be good managers of the resources entrusted to them. Whether it is investing for the future, planning for retirement, getting out of debt, or becoming a generous giver, their desire is to be your trusted partner on your financial journey. The team at Power Financial Group strives to serve their clients with integrity and excellence. Getting to know them, building an external relationship with them, and helping them pursue their goals is the top priority. They take seriously their God-given responsibility to faithfully serve those families God entrusted to their care. As Power Financial Group, they can be reached at 601-790-1180 or send them an email at info at powerfinancialclaims.com. Thank you again, Power Financial Group. Alright, y'all. Well that wraps up Season 2, Episode 7 of the Disciple Shoop Hoops podcast. Hope you enjoyed the podcast. Hope you got you received something from and you got something out of it. Again, this is never, this is only done for informational purposes, to bring the truth, uh, to bring the purity back to the game that I that I love, um, that I've been a part of since I was for 30 years now. All right, 31 years uh now I've been a part of this game, either playing, coaching, training, just being a part, being around it. Uh, and so it's dear to me, and it hurts me to see the purity of the game leaving the sport. And how now it's either pay to play or get paid to play. It's not no longer is it done just for the pure love and joy of how beautiful the sport is. And I always say, like, uh, if you honor the game, then it will honor you. If you take care of the take care of the rock, all right, then the rock will take care of you on the other side of it. And then, like I said earlier, like John Wooden says, uh, basketball doesn't build character, it reveals it. And we tell our players that we will always care more about their character and who they're becoming as a man than we will ever care about their scoring average. Because if you're a great person of character, if you're developing and building and lifting others and encouraging others up, then you will be rewarded with a higher scoring average. That's just how the game works. That's just the balance of how things work. So stay humble, stay hungry, stay ready, always continue to develop, never settle, never short. In training, we say, uh, we say don't cheat the drill. Right? Keep doing it right, keep doing it. And then when you get it right, then perfect it and keep and do it again. Right? So most athletes don't fail because they lack talent. Uh, the reason why most athletes fail is because they never build the habits required to succeed, and that's really the simple gist of it. They never build the habits that it takes to succeed. Talent might get you noticed, but discipline, hear me out. Talent might get you noticed, but discipline, consistency, and preparation is what keeps you there. The work you put in when the bleachers are empty is far more important than being seen when the bleachers are full. All right. All right, appreciate everyone listening. Continue to subscribe, like, share, comment. All right, something I something I said you didn't like, please comment. Something I said you love. Also comment. All right, share it with someone. If this wasn't for you, there is someone in your circle. There's a parent, there's a child, there's a coach, there's a developer, there's someone in your circle that may need to hear this episode. So by all means, uh again, if you want to be a sponsor of season three, reach out to me. Hey, if you want to be a guest, if you're a coach or a parent that's been in it for a long time, you just want to come on an event and be a guest. If you're a player uh and you just want to share some insight, if you're a college coach and want to share some insight of just what the college landscape is beginning to look like now, uh, come on on, hit me up, and come join the conversation of the discipleship hoops podcast. And don't forget to stay tuned next week where it's a family affair. Got my man Neil with his two twin boys coming on next week. Episodes you do not want to miss. All right, see you later. Peace.

SPEAKER_00 57:23

And that wraps up another episode of the Discipleship Hoops podcast.

SPEAKER_01 57:27

If today's conversation added value to you, do me a favor. Like it, subscribe to the channel, and share this episode with a coach, a parent, or athlete who needs to hear it. We're building something bigger than basketball here. We're building leaders. If you or your visitors would like to sponsor an upcoming episode and partner with us to end tacting the next generation, visit our website at www.jimmylloofits.com or send us a direct message. We love to connect. Until next time, keep raising the standard, keep leading with purpose, and remember the game is the platform, leadership is the mission. Believe, build, fall.