East Ridge Basketball Community,

Coaches Peltier and Wurm have informed us that all East Ridge basketball camps currently scheduled for this summer have been cancelled. District 833 Community Education will begin the cancellation process this week. We have been informed that Community Education's policy during COVID-19 is to credit accounts. If you would prefer a refund instead of an account credit please contact Todd Feustel (tfeustel@sowashco.org) or Darbie Johnson (djohnson17@sowashco.org). 

Safety is and always will be the top priority for East Ridge Basketball. The previously planned camps were designed prior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the camps as construed would not have met the State of Minnesota and CDC guidelines for safety. East Ridge High School Coaches have been working on designing future offerings that will comply with the guidelines established by the State of Minnesota and have submitted their planned procedures to Community Education for review. The plans detail the steps that will be taken to try to keep all involved safe when we are able to return to the gym. When the buildings reopen and camps are allowed by District 833, ERHS coaches plan to offer camps at East Ridge that meet the guidelines established by the State of Minnesota and the CDC. When that time comes, new registrations will be set up for those camps and all of that information will be communicated to you.

Coach Peltier is currently working on alternative basketball resources to provide East Ridge players while we are unable to be in the gym. He is hoping to have an exciting announcement early next week on a new option that will be offered in June. 

Lastly, it is great to hear so many stories of how everyone in our community is using this time to safely work on their games! The East Ridge High School coaches have asked us to pass along their pride in all that is being done in these difficult times!

@landof10000makes on Instagram

We are excited to launch another year of the ERAA off-season shooting program, which will run from June 1 through October 31, 2020. All current and incoming ERAA basketball players are invited to participate!

Great shooters are not born, they are made. They first learn good form and then repeatedly practice their shot until it becomes automatic. Anyone can become a great shooter if they are willing to put in the work. 

Proper shooting mechanics are critical. Begin your shot club journey by evaluating your shooting mechanics, as bad shooting habits are very difficult to unlearn. The video and text links below provide great guidance on developing shooting mechanics: 

Proper Shooting Form

Beginner’s guide

Technique

About “perfect” shooting form

After reviewing this content, we recommend having a parent or family member record video of your shooting form so that you can view and analyze it. You might be surprised by what you see on the video, compared to what you thought you were doing. One recommended app for recording basketball shots is HomeCourt. 

Our Shot Club is not just about getting up shots. It’s about making shots — specifically, making game shots from game spots at game speed. A shooting warmup and seven different shooting workouts are detailed in the spreadsheet below. These workouts provide a great framework for developing your shooting skills. The spreadsheet also contains a daily tracker to monitor your progress. 

We have three levels of shot club membership:

K-2nd grade: 1,000 shots made

3rd-5th grade: 5,000 shots made

6th-8th grade: 10,000 shots made

Athletes will become members of the 2020 club by making at least these numbers of shots and tracking their results in the spreadsheet. Email completed shot club trackers to Derek Simmons at simmons.derek@gmail.com by Nov. 1 (don’t forget your shirt size!).

2020 Shot Club members will receive a long sleeve shooting shirt, and, new this year, will be introduced at halftime of an East Ridge varsity high school game. We’ll also post a group photo on the ERAA website as inspiration for next year’s participants.

There are 150+ days between June 1 and October 31. If you make 100 shots for 100 days during the summer, you will make it into the highest level of the shooting club. You should plan to get the bulk of the work done in June, July and August, before school begins in September. Aim to get a little better every day. That mindset has a powerful cumulative effect.

We’d love for you to follow us on social media and shoot us updates throughout the summer using the hashtag #landof10,000makes. We are also on Instagram @landof10000makes. We will track standings this summer — please email Derek Simmons at simmons.derek@gmail.com with your progress to participate. We’ll send out standings to the association and post them on social media.

Additional Shooting Workout Details

For grades K-5th, use the provided warm-up and workouts as a guide. Modify as needed based on age, ability and shooting range. Shooting out of your range can lead to poor mechanics. Start in close and work your way out. See the resources below for more information:

How to increase your range

Six easy shooting drills

Five shooting mistakes and how to fix them

For grades 6th-8th, use the warm-up and workouts as directed. Going through the first few sessions will take some time. Once you develop a rhythm, you will progress more quickly through the workouts. For shot tracking, do not count shots made at camp or from summer team practices. Use the workouts — they will help you get better as a shooter, improve your conditioning, and help you excel at shooting while fatigued. Just like a game. If you find yourself getting bored with the workouts, remember repetition is key. Find ways to challenge yourself, like timing your workouts to see if you can complete them in less time. Compete with a friend, sibling, parent, or teammate.

About the warm-up:

A variation of Jay Wright’s “Get 50,” this warmup emphasizes form shooting from close range, focusing on mechanics and proper technique. Do this warm-up as much as you like, but only count 50 makes per session toward your 10,000.

About the workouts:

Game shots at game spots at game speed. That’s what these workouts are all about. There are seven workouts that include a Mikan series, catch and shoot, finishing at the rim, dribble drive jump shots, a 3-pointer series, a jab series, and a flash and face up series. All workouts include free throws, and it’s best to shoot those when you are tired to simulate a game. These workouts will get you moving. They will help with conditioning and footwork. And they all include videos to help you get started. Make sure you watch those at least a few times before starting.

Looking for more? Here are two great resources for extra drills: 

East Ridge High School workouts

More shooting drills

Parents, rebounding for your shooter is a great bonding exercise. It speeds up the workout for the player, and it’s a great way to spend time together. You can and should take part in their journey to become a better basketball player.

Players, shooting is an important part of the game. Everyone loves to score. But don’t ignore all the other important areas of improvement this summer. You should also be working on ball handling, conditioning, defense, footwork, rebounding, passing and so on. Great shooters who can’t get open, take poor shots, or can’t play defense don’t make it very far.

If you have questions or would like feedback during the summer, reach out to ERAA player development coordinator Derek Simmons at simmons.derek@gmail.com.

Hopefully the snow makes you think about Basketball, as it is time for the annual ERAA Basketball Board elections! There are five board positions that are up for election this month:

Girls Traveling Coordinator

Coaching Development
Player Development

Girls Tournament Coordinator (new position in 2020) 

Strategic Initiatives Coordinator (new position in 2020)

Each of these positions is a 2-year term, and there are descriptions of each role here:

https://www.eraamn.com/page/show/61529-eraa-basketball-board-members    

If you have questions about any of these positions, please contact the current position holder or Adam Meuler, the ERAA Director of Basketball (ajmeuler@gmail.com). If you would like to nominate yourself or anyone else to run for one of these positions, please contact Adam Meuler, the ERAA Director of Basketball (ajmeuler@gmail.com), by April 26. 

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, there will be a virtual voting process this year. We plan on conducting the voting via email from April 27-28, and more detailed instructions will be provided once we have finalized a slate of candidates. 

Thank you and GO RAPTORS!!  

East Ridge Basketball,

 

It was great to see so many of you on the live ball handling zoom meeting last week! We had a total of 94 families join from our community! If you weren’t able to make the live event, we have recorded the workouts and created an ‘On Demand’ page on our website where you will be able to access the recordings at any time.

 

We hope to see you all tonight!

 

GO RAPTORS!

As we're all quarantined we thought parents might appreciate some guidance on basketball relevant workouts.  The ERHS varsity program has compiled some really helpful resources on the webpage below.  It includes a Google Doc that the varsity coaches compiled, body weight workouts the strength and conditioning coach put together and also some helpful websites with approved trainers where they can find a cheap paid service ($5.85/mo) and another offering 2 weekly free live training opportunities.

Supporting ERAA through educational programs for athletes, coaches and parents