Author: Drew Lasker

5 Basketball Dribbling Drills to Improve Your Handle

Posted on by Drew Lasker

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James Harden drops Jamal Murray

One miss step on the basketball court will have you going viral in the matter of seconds. The National Basketball Association MVP James Harden is a human highlight when it comes to breaking ankles. His handles on the basketball is as tight as the banana boat crew.

Is it possible for you to get elite handles like Harden, Curry or Kyrie? Of course, if you put in the Work Work Work! You can not excel in the game if you don’t dedicate yourself to the process. You can’t skip the struggle! I’ve been a European pro for 14 years  and tried every drill in the book to boost my handles. I found that the tennis ball is the most  effective tool to improve your handles.

Basketball Dribbling Drills

Here are 5 Basketball Dribbling Drills that will get you elite handles.

#1 – Tennis Ball Toss/Right – Basketball Dribbling Drills

Right Hand – Dribble the basketball with your Right Hand while the tennis ball is in your left hand. Every 3 dribbles, toss the tennis ball slightly above your head and snatch it out the air with you left hand.

#2 – Tennis Ball Toss/Left – Basketball Dribbling Drills

Left Hand – Dribble the basketball with your Left Hand while the tennis ball is in your Right hand. Every 3 dribbles, toss the tennis ball slightly above your head and snatch it out the air with you right hand.

#3 – Tennis Ball Crossover – Basketball Dribbling Drills

Begin with the basketball in your right hand while the tennis ball is in your left hand. Start the drill by dribbling the basketball. Toss the tennis ball every 3 dribbles by crossing the ball to your opposite hand and catching the tennis ball with the opposite hand that you tossed it with.

Be sure to toss the tennis ball before you crossover. Toss-Cross-Catch while staying low and keeping your eyes up so that you are focusing on the tennis ball only.

#4 -Tennis Ball Between the Leg -Basketball Dribbling Drills

Begin with the basketball in your right hand while the tennis ball is in your left hand. Start the drill by dribbling the basketball. Toss the tennis ball every 3 dribbles and dribble between your legs with the ball to your opposite hand and catching the tennis ball with the opposite hand that you tossed it with.

Be sure to toss the tennis ball before dribble BTL. Toss-BTL-Catch

#5 – Tennis Ball Behind the Back – Basketball Dribbling Drills

Begin with the basketball in your right hand and tennis ball in your left hand. Start the drill by dribbling the basketball. Toss the tennis ball every 3 dribbles and dribble behind the back with the ball to your opposite hand and catching the tennis ball with the opposite hand that you tossed it with.

Be sure to toss the tennis ball before you crossover. Toss-BTB-Catch

Digital Basketball Workouts

I can guarantee that your handles will improve if you master these 5 basketball ball-handling drills. Check out my weekly digital basketball workouts if you want to take your game to the next level!

Good Luck,

Drew#21[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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Get Health Tips – Supplements & Nutritional Advice

Posted on by Drew Lasker

New Year New You

A New Year means a New start! As we enter 2019, prepare yourselves to see your social media timelines with New Year’s Resolutions. Around this time everyone is so optimistic about life, in particular their health. Gyms will be busier than usual and the joggers will be crowding the streets. I always ask myself, how long will it last?

 

Every time I share my age with someone, the most common response is, What?! I thought you were in your late 20’s. I would be lying if I said that didn’t make me feel good. I must admit, that I have little to do with youthful or “baby face”. I come from very good genes where my mom and my dad usually hear similar responses.

 

 

“Join me on my 30 Day Challenge”

I will however take credit for being able to play professional basketball at 36 year’s old. I have learned to take great care of my body. In 2019, I want to take things to a new level!  Join me on my 30 Day Challenge. Let’s Train Harder  and become the best version of yourself.

 

“Health is Wealth”

You don’t have to be an athlete like myself to prioritize your health. As they say, health is wealth and your body is your temple.  I always say, if I won the lottery my first purchase would be…. a car? House? Fancy boat? Nope! It would be a nutritionist and private chef! Let’s see if that holds true once I finally win the lottery in 2019. When it comes to investing in yourself, I believe that you can’t place a price on that.

Supplements & Nutritional Advice – Video Version

In the meantime, I invest in myself through the use of supplements. There are hundreds of options when it comes to supplements but I currently use a brand called Zentigue. I  currently serve as a product ambassador. Before deciding to link up with Zentigue, I experimented with their products for about 6 months. I wanted to make sure that I believed in their products, and they were effective.  Once I noticed how effective all of their products were, I knew this was the right partnership.  Zentigue has a list of products which help with diabetes, sleeping, cardiac and many more.

Here is a list of My favorite products:

 Drew’s Favorite Supplements

 

MAAP  Max Amino Acid Plus                                                                                                                                            

Amino Acid Plus is the cleanest pre-workout available!  It helps preserves muscle mass, increases muscle strength, and helps with muscle soreness.  Even if you don’t work out, you can still preserve your muscle from wasting away with this patent pending formula.  I usually take mine before I workout on an empty stomach because it helps with muscle recovery after exercise.

 

VFP-Protein Vegan Food Plus Complete                  

Vegan Food Plus Complete is a nutrient-rich shake ideal for vegans, individuals sensitive or allergic to soy or diary. This sugar free formula provides B12, B vitamins and amino acids. Although I’m not vegan, most protein shakes make me feel nauseous or gassy. This product goes down smooth and has such a clean taste.

 

MES Max Energy Support   

Max Energy Support transforms water into great tasting, revitalizing evergy drink. Each stick provides a combination of B vitamins, electrolytes, trace minerals, amino acids, herbs, and antioxidants to fuel your body’s energy production Purenergy’s caffeine may be absorbed more slowly and stay in your system longer tan regular caffeine which may help your energy last longer. With just 5 g of carbohydrate per serving and zero sugars, MES Max Engergy Support simply gives your body what it needs to produced energy. This is a great alternative to caffeine, as I never hit that crash throughout the day.

 

MJS Max Joint Support 

MJS Max Joint Support is designed to bolster what years of joint use can threaten in active individuals. This breakthrough formula contains critical joint building blocks and other nutrients that work cooperatively to nourish joint tissues and maintain a healthy joint environment. I take this product like vitamins as it helps maintain healthy joints.

 

Check out Zentigue’s supplements Here: If you have any questions regarding any of their products, you can reach me at dbsdtraining@gmail.com

Drew#21

College Hall of Fame

Posted on by Drew Lasker

Achieving Goals

A lot of exciting things have happened since the last time I wrote. The main one being that I was elected into my College Hall of Fame. It’s an honour and when I think about how that is something that will be engrained in history forever, it is so surreal and unbelievably cool! The ceremony will be in San Diego, California on November 17th & 18th.  The weekend we play the reigning champs, Leicester Riders in the first round of the  BBL Cup. Yea REALLY bad timing…. I have created limited edition hall of fame t-shirts for those that support my Train Harder brand.

Newcastle Eagles Fast Start

Currently, we are 3-0 in the BBL season and off to a great start.  Pre-season we spent a week in Belgium and it is paying dividends. We spend a lot of time together resulting in great team bonding opportunities. It has been very evident so far as we have nice group that enjoys being together. In sports, chemistry is overlooked as the talent throughout the team is the always the focus. I have been playing a long time and the teams that I’ve had the most success on had the best chemistry.

 

British Basketball’s New Franchise

Our most recent game we beat London’s new franchise by 50 points.  To be honest, the margin is irrelevant; it was more about how we played on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes. A number of Newcastle Eagle supporters that I have encountered since that performance have expressed their appreciation for the teams effort in that game. Sports Central’s atmosphere was the best I’ve seen it in years. If our fans keep that up, opposing teams will find it tough playing us at home.

 

In our team launch our coach Fab Flournoy stated, “this team will play with pride.”We have gotten back to our roots and have a major focus on defence. Fab’s teams have always been about defence but the past few years, the club has done such a great job with recruiting that we have had some great offensive talent. When you have great offensive players, no matter how much you preach defensive, it’s human nature as an athlete to rely on your offense.

Train Harder

Personally, I’m off to a solid start but I feel like I have much more to give.  I feel quicker, more explosive and stronger than the past few years. I feel like the investment into my body this off-season is paying off.

All in all we must stay hungry and humble as a team. We have had fast starts the past few years and had nothing to show for it. My college coach use to say, “when things are good, they really aren’t that good; When things are bad, they really aren’t that bad” meaning, never get too high or too low. Back to work!

 

#Drew21

Newcastle Eagles – Chapter 14

Posted on by Drew Lasker

Chapter 14

I’m proud to announce that I have re-signed with Newcastle Eagles for my 14th professional season. Back in 2005, during my rookie season, I was just trying to survive day to day. A season in which I pulled my hamstring for the first time, a season that my grandmother past in October so I returned back to Texas for a week, a 1-11 start to the season, terrible weather coming from San Diego, California and a world without technology.

Young aspiring players always reach out to see how I have the longevity.  Well, honestly it’s all a blessing from God. There are many ingredients that are contributed to a long career. The biggest thing is avoiding major injury, timing, being coachable, controlling your ego and most importantly taking care of your body! I actually now know how to really take care of my body thanks to the ultimate pro-Fabulous Flournoy (my current coach). I have a routine of products (legal) that I take. I’ll tell you guys my secret one day.

My main goal this year is to overtake that top spot back in the BBL. It has been Leicester’s league over the past few years and I’m motivated to get it back before I walk away. Also, help provides some momentum for the club as we move into our new arena. From a personal view, my main priority is to remain healthy. Other than that, I want to have a bounce-back season. Last year was my worst year playing basketball since my junior year of high school when I sat the bench on Varsity that season. I put in a lot of work on my body and game but that guarantees you nothing. So I’m excited to see if it all translates. You can check out here a few drills that I’ve worked on over the summer to improve my shooting.

Once an Eagle always an Eagle!

5 Basketball Shooting Drills to Master your Technique

Posted on by Drew Lasker

5 Basketball Shooting Drills to Master your Shooting Technique

Basketball has evolved since the glory days of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Basketball savants are inspired by NBA Superstars. In the 90’s, the best players were incredibly athletic and had automatic mid range game.  You could hear trash talk at every park in the U.S.A. echoing, ‘’you can’t hold me, I can get to the rim whenever I want’’. Fast forward 20 years and now the general public is inspired by someone that looks like he get asked for I.D while purchasing a bottle of wine. Everyone wants to be like Steph Curry, or better yet, everyone wants to shoot like him.  Today, trash talk at locals gym are not settled by games of 1 on 1 but instead a shooting contest of who can shoot the furthest. Todays article will cover the my top 5 Basketball Shooting Drills to improve your shooting stroke. Check out the full video below to see it in action, and read the blog for more descriptions.

There is an old cliché of shooting is simply developed by repetition. True, but that doesn’t tell the full story. Although the cliché is factual, there is one thing missing. Shooting is developed by perfect repetition. The perfection begins by mastering your technique. Although, we all are guilty of wanting to migrate to the 3 point line, It is always best to work close to the basket first and slowly work your way out behind the line.  I’ve been a skills development trainer for over 10 years and I’ve helped develop some very talented shooters. Here are my favourite Basketball shooting drills to work and master your shooting technique. 

#1 – Kneel Shooting – Basketball Shooting Drills

This drill is great for focusing exclusively on your form.  This drill eliminates the focus of your footwork and legs and helps you focus exclusively on your follow through and ensure you are shooting the basketball using one motion rhythm. Also, this drill is great for extending range.

 

Goals: Make 10 swishes (without touching the rim) before moving the box back approximately a foot. You can also use a chair as a substitute.

 

#2 – Chair Shooting – Basketball Shooting Drills

This drill is great for focusing on the use of your legs on your shot. Sitting down forces you can stay low and also helps with those that have a hitch on their shot.

 

Goals: Make 10 swishes (without touching the rim) before moving the box back approximately a foot.

 

#3 – Floor touches – Basketball Shooting Drills

This drill is great for building rhythm for your shot. Making contact with the ball and the floor will help you practice on shooting with one motion.

 

Goals: Make 10 swishes (without touching the rim) on all 5 spots right in front of the rim.

 

#4 – Pound/wraps – Basketball Shooting Drills

This drill is great for working on shooting off the dribble or pull-up jump shots.

 

Goals: Make 10 swishes (without touching the rim) on all 5 spots right in front of the rim.

 

#5 – Hinge Form Shoot – Basketball Shooting Drills

This drill is great for working on touch as it forces you to get the ball up which is great for shooters with a flat arch.

 

Goals: Make 10 swishes (without touching the rim) on all 5 spots right in front of the rim.

For the Love of the Game

Posted on by Drew Lasker

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Do you want more out of your life? I do!

 

My name is Drew Lasker and I’m a professional basketball player for the Newcastle Eagles in the British Basketball League. I’ve been playing and living in the U.K for over 13 years now. Although American, I have dual citizenship as my wife is British. I come from a town right outside of Houston, Texas called Katy. I spent 4 years in California from 2000-2004 playing college ball at Christian Heritage College and finishing up at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California.

 

Back in 2007 during the prime of my basketball career I began a basketball training business called DBSD Training. DBSD is an acronym for Drew’s Basketball Skill Development but most know us by our slogan name ‘Train Harder’. We currently have over 130 clients enrolled in our program and it continues to grow rapidly.

 

The reason I wanted to start a blog is to inspire and motivate others to chase their dreams and maximize the time you have here on this Earth. In these blogs, I plan to be 100% transparent and help you become the best version of yourself.  Although I’m an athlete, these blogs will cover much more than just sports. However, sport is a carbon copy of my life as I’ve learned many lessons on the court which I’ve used to become the man, husband and father you see today. So, sit back and enjoy the ride as we endure this journey together to get more out of our lives!

 

 

 

DREW#21

 

 

 

 

 

 

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