For the past 4 Saturdays (5 including the launch), Nike PH invited select media to undergo a series of intense training and basketball drills designed to bring out the full Lebron 14 experience. The main goal was to give us glimpse of how real basketball training was conducted while sporting Lebron’s latest signature shoe, and hopefully bring out the Lebron James in all of us (we all tried, at least).
FEU coaches Jonathan De Guzman and Ryan Betia led the way as they put us through a series of intense drills specifically designed to mimic Lebron’s favorite moves on the court. Each session was similar but with added tweaks as we progressed from week to week. The training sessions always started with core exercises, stretching and agility movements to get our body loose and our muscles engaged.
We would then move on to resistance dribbling drills, post up moves, and backing down our partners to give us a feel for the kind of beating Lebron gets on his body on a nightly basis. We only did it for a couple of minutes and we were all gassed. Lebron takes it every night, including playoffs.
Next up were a series of shooting and 1 on 1 drills designed to master several in-game shots and covering the fundamentals. The coaches put us through several layup drills, floaters, one dribble and drive, both using our strong hand and off hand. It’s always about consistency. You can’t be great without mastering the fundamentals first. Each drill helped us develop our footwork, timing and reaction time.
The ultimate drill was dribbling only 3 times to cover the whole length of the court and finish with a layup. 3 dribbles only. It looked impossible at first, but as we progressed into each new session, we were able to get our timing and footwork right to complete the drill.
On our final session, the coaches added a bonus 2 on 1 drill wherein the offensive player would try to score on a fast break with 2 guys chasing him from behind. Once the ball is rebounded, the offensive player retreats to the other end of the court while the 2 guys try to score on him in a 2 on 1 break.
The Lebron 14 experience ended with a 4 on 4 game where we were only allowed to do 1 dribble per move and you either had to shoot it or pass to your teammate. Again it was another test of timing, footwork and basketball IQ.
Here’s a big shoutout to Nike PH for allowing us to experience the Lebron 14 training sessions. It was fun, challenging and a big learning experience overall. It showed us the steps you need to take in order to reach that level of greatness Lebron brings to the table night in and night out. In everything that we do, consistency is key. Keep doing those core exercises. Keep practicing those dribbles. Keep doing work and strive for greatness.
#ComeOutOfNowhere
