Thursday, January 14, 2016

Former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson recently made headlines for his comments on NBA star Steph Curry. Jackson said during a recent interview that Curry was “hurting the game” because young players are trying to emulate him and are spending their time at the 3-point line instead of working on other aspects of the game.

While it is true that young players are trying to emulate Curry, it isn’t fair to say Curry is hurting the game.

“As a coach I see it every day where student-athletes are trying to emulate the stars of the game. I see kids wearing $200 sneakers and wearing their favorite NBA player’s apparel, but I don’t think many of today’s student-athletes even take the time to read about their favorite athlete’s struggles to stardom, their work ethic or how they are so dominate in the game,” Coach Corey said.

Perhaps this was the deeper meaning behind Jackson’s comments. It isn’t the star who is causing the problem; it’s the students who are overlooking the path the star took to get to where they are today.

“Steph didn’t wake up one morning and perfect the three point shot,” Coach Corey said. “He actually put the time and effort into his shooting and that’s the reason for his spectacular results that so many younger players strive to achieve.”

Having someone to look up to is never a bad thing, so coaches at CAL Sports Academy work to make sure the student-athletes admire the entire package, not just what they see on TV.

“The student-athletes that spend a significant amount of time in our gym reap a lot of our teaching,” Coach Corey said. “They learn the proper techniques that builds their self-confidence in games but it takes time and patience.”

“I don’t think players will ever stop trying to duplicate their favorite players’ skills, so our jobs as coaches never ends at CAL Sports. We are constantly trying to figure out ways to get players to buy into proper techniques,” said Coach Corey.

Read more from our Path to Success Blog.