About

Rize Basketball

I’ve been coaching, training, and mentoring athletes since 2012. I’ve worked with professional players all the way down to 4 year olds. I also coached high school basketball and soccer in Chicago for 5 years.

For me, basketball is about creativity, joy, and self-expression. It’s about developing mental toughness, concentration, and self-belief through consistent effort.

Playing basketball, and putting your heart into improving every single day—can be one of the most fun, fulfilling, and meaningful parts of a kid’s life. It was for me. I had some amazing coaches when I was young who believed in me and taught me how to work in a focused and dedicated way. It made a huge difference in my life, so I try to pay that forward.

My approach to training

My approach to training is pretty unique. First and foremost, it’s about helping kids discover a natural love and passion for the game. Once that passion and love is there, it’s about teaching them how to put their heart into training in an optimal, focused, and creative way every day. It’s about helping them realize through experience that working hard and feeling yourself improve as a result of that concentrated effort is intrinsically rewarding.

The way I train has a lot in common with how boxers and martial artists train.

The focus is on repetition of movements and combo moves, over and over again, until the motions become as effortless and automatic as breathing.

A big part of what I do is helping kids develop confidence, self-belief, grit, and the ability to deal with pressure and temporary failure.