For The Basketball Player, Part I: My Story

These series of posts are dedicated to the IMG family.

It’s March 2008. We are the underdog, and down, 21-4 in the State Semi-Finals on the road at the end of the first quarter. A bench player hits six threes in the second half and we climb all the way back and win the game in overtime, shocking a 6’10 future Division 1 Player and hundreds of opposing fans, cementing the game in my treasure chest of basketball memories.

It is easy to get hooked on the game. We get rewarded for hard work; we get better. Like a great videogame, basketball provides constant feedback—every game is a physical and mental open-ended test. When asked simply why we put in all those hard hours, we reply simply, and sufficiently: because we love the game.

Growing up, basketball was my long term girlfriend, occupying every season and most of my time. I've played at a couple dozen basketball camps, done a rather large amount of independent research, and had all that work culminate in becoming captain of my varsity basketball team and leading us to the state semi-finals.

Looking back at my unique (and somewhat narrow-minded) childhood, I am very pleased that I spent this much time on the game. The passion and leadership abilities involved in being a good player translate into the real world. What I wish I would have known about, and what now has become one of the main principles I espouse, is the philosophy Brian McCormick mentioned to me when I told him I was going to be a manager: Use the game. Don’t let it use you.

Deciding to explore coaching after I thought I couldn’t play anymore, I worked this past summer at IMG Basketball Academy, an elite training center for professional players as well as a boarding school for aspiring ones, running workouts and classroom sessions for players of all ages. I then spent this past semester managing for--but really studying--the Michigan Basketball program. I’ve reflected from my experiences about basketball and personal development from multiple perspectives—the players, the parents, the coaches—and have tried here to offer a perspective that is not usually given by traditional basketball coach, namely, how to utilize a love of basketball as a tool rather than road block.

I recommend you share and discuss thoughts that scream at you with whomever you include in your basketball journey. I encourage your feedback and ask you to engage me with specific questions and thoughts: Erik.Torenberg@gmail.com