Monday, September 16, 2013

Diary Of A Baller: Myles Dread (Burtonsville, MD) Entry #2

Myles With Brother And Sister 

Dear Basketball World, 

I really enjoy science. We're studying the transfer of energy. In science class we did a lab on conduction. We were trying to find out if cold water cools hot water or if hot water heats cool water. After completing this experiment, we learned that cold water cooled the hot water down. I find the transfer of energy interesting because the teacher showed us how a heater uses the transfer of energy to heat a house. After school, I went to Mr. Alonzo, my speed and agility trainer, and worked out with Phil Booth. Phil is one of the top players in the country in the class of 2014. We play the same position. My goal is to play college basketball. I can compare myself to Phil to see the things I need to work on to reach my goal. Phil pushes me to do my best in our speed and agility workouts. He has also taught me new things to improve my game on the court. 

This week during workouts I was focused on my ball handling. I worked out with Coach Kelvin and my dad. I want to be able to handle the ball under pressure. We spent a lot of time doing full court ball handling drills. Dribbling through the cones helps me keep my body low and change directions quickly. I think of the cones as defenders as I move through them. I put the cones really close together to simulate dribbling the ball under pressure. My mom and I both like going to see scary movies. As a reward for my hard work, after workouts on Thursday, my mom and I went to the movies to see Insidious 2. The movie was great! We both screamed and jumped. The movie was so scary that when I jumped at a scary part I got a cramp in my hamstring. That was the worst! My mom and I were still scared walking back to the car in the parking lot. 

On Saturday morning I went to the Hoop Group Top 100 Jr. Elite camp in Virginia. The drill work was fun. I learned new ways to get my shot off with a defender in front of me. Also I learned new ways to defend on the perimeter. The thing I liked most about the camp was that I got to play against the best players in the area. I got the chance to hear a lecture from Steve Keller who runs a scouting service for high school kids. It was interesting to me to hear that he has helped some of the best players ever get in to college. He talked about playing with intensity and focus. He said, "If you leave here today and you have enough energy to go play more basketball, you didn't play hard enough." This is a part of my game that I am working on before I get to high school. Those guys play harder and faster than we do in middle school. 

I went to watch my brother's Malcolm's fall league game on Sunday morning. He played well. Malcolm has really been working on his foul shooting. He went two for three from the line. Malcolm ended up with eleven points as his team won big. When his game was over, we went to workout with Coach Kelvin. I spent an hour and a half working on my jump shot. After my Sunday morning workout, I took my brother and sister to the neighborhood carnival. We had fun riding all the rides. It was fun watching my little sister, Mason, in the bumper cars laughing as hard as she could. We all saw our friends from school at the carnival and even some of our teachers. Even though my brother and sister get on my nerves sometimes, they are fun to hang out with. 

Next week I start visiting high schools I'm looking to attend next year. Hopefully I will have some exciting stories to share with you next week. 

Until next time, 
Myles Dread