Kobe Bryant and his never-ending practice... - 9 views

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  #1 Emrah Baki Basoglu on 18 Oct 14

   

  Hi all! Here is a real story of a basketball trainer working with Kobe Bryant for the Olympics in 2012. Many people might call his talent "innate" but I am sure this story is a remarkable evidence of the importance of deliberate practice.
  
  "From Robert, trainer for Team USA:
  
  I was invited to Las Vegas to help Team USA with their conditioning before they headed off to London. I've had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past, but this would be my first interaction with Kobe.
  
  The night before the first scrimmage, I had just watched "Casablanca" for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM.
  
  A few minutes later, I was in bed, slowly fading away, when I heard my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up.
  
  "Hey, uhh, Rob, I hope I'm not disturbing anything right?"
  
  "Uhh, no. What's up Kob?"
  
  "Just wondering if you could help me out with some conditioning work, that's all."
  
  I checked my clock. 4:15 AM.
  
  "Yeah sure, I'll see you in the facility in a bit."
  
  It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and get out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor, I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn't even 5:00 AM.
  
  We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then, we entered the weight room, where he would do a multitude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that, we parted ways. He went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow.
  
  I was expected to be at the floor again at about 11:00 AM.
  
  I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. (Thanks, Kobe.) I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility.
  
  This next part I remember very vividly. All of the Team USA players were there. LeBron was talking to Carmelo and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility Kobe was by himself shooting jumpers.
  
  I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, "Good work this morning."
  
  "Huh?"
  
  "Like, the conditioning. Good work."
  
  "Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it."
  
  "So when did you finish?"
  
  "Finish what?"
  
  "Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?"
  
  "Oh, just now. I wanted 800 makes. So yeah, just now."

   

  <div class="cArrow"> </div><div class="cContentInner">Hi all! Here is a real story of a basketball trainer working with Kobe Bryant for the Olympics in 2012. Many people might call his talent "innate" but I am sure this story is a remarkable evidence of the importance of deliberate practice. <br /> <br /> "From Robert, trainer for Team USA: <br /> <br /> I was invited to Las Vegas to help Team USA with their conditioning before they headed off to London. I've had the opportunity to work with Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade in the past, but this would be my first interaction with Kobe. <br /> <br /> The night before the first scrimmage, I had just watched "Casablanca" for the first time and it was about 3:30 AM. <br /> <br /> A few minutes later, I was in bed, slowly fading away, when I heard my cell ring. It was Kobe. I nervously picked up. <br /> <br /> "Hey, uhh, Rob, I hope I'm not disturbing anything right?" <br /> <br /> "Uhh, no. What's up Kob?" <br /> <br /> "Just wondering if you could help me out with some conditioning work, that's all." <br /> <br /> I checked my clock. 4:15 AM. <br /> <br /> "Yeah sure, I'll see you in the facility in a bit." <br /> <br /> It took me about twenty minutes to get my gear and get out of the hotel. When I arrived and opened the room to the main practice floor, I saw Kobe. Alone. He was drenched in sweat as if he had just taken a swim. It wasn't even 5:00 AM. <br /> <br /> We did some conditioning work for the next hour and fifteen minutes. Then, we entered the weight room, where he would do a multitude of strength training exercises for the next 45 minutes. After that, we parted ways. He went back to the practice floor to shoot. I went back to the hotel and crashed. Wow. <br /> <br /> I was expected to be at the floor again at about 11:00 AM. <br /> <br /> I woke up feeling sleepy, drowsy, and pretty much every side effect of sleep deprivation. (Thanks, Kobe.) I had a bagel and headed to the practice facility. <br /> <br /> This next part I remember very vividly. All of the Team USA players were there. LeBron was talking to Carmelo and Coach Krzyzewski was trying to explain something to Kevin Durant. On the right side of the practice facility Kobe was by himself shooting jumpers. <br /> <br /> I went over to him, patted him on the back and said, "Good work this morning." <br /> <br /> "Huh?" <br /> <br /> "Like, the conditioning. Good work." <br /> <br /> "Oh. Yeah, thanks Rob. I really appreciate it." <br /> <br /> "So when did you finish?" <br /> <br /> "Finish what?" <br /> <br /> "Getting your shots up. What time did you leave the facility?" <br /> <br /> "Oh, just now. I wanted 800 makes. So yeah, just now."</div>

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