Sunday grind day

We were 12 strong today at Makiki Park, 13 if you count Micah (injured ankle). We got to business right away. Defense. Rebounding. Defense. Rebounding. 

Thank God we had some of our older guys there for their mandatory practice. Jared. Kali‘a. Gabriel made it. Keanu.

It's a lot more effective to see our older players show how to play defense and rebound, to battle and never stop battling. Intensity. And that's how we spent our first hour. We did some 3-man weave fullcourt, but everything in the first hour+ was about team defense and the grind.

I was impressed by everyone's effort. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a start. Middle school and high school season is finally pau, so we have a real chance to work together during the week and build on our strengths, eliminate bad habits. We'll get there with the right heart and the right commitment.

Injuries: Jared got a bloody nose during our 4-on-4 man defense drill after taking an elbow to the face. He took it well, like a boxer. His grandpa would've been proud. No broken nose, just blood dripping off his face for a few minutes. He got back in after I had him sit for awhile.

Felcris got tripped from behind while dribbling on a fastbreak, lost control and hit his knee on the ground, and he jammed his left wrist pretty good. Couldn't make a fist. Hopefully, it's better in the morning. We iced it down later, but if it's still the same later, he'll have to go to the doctor. Ryan just came back a few weeks ago with a similar injury (probably worse, actually). It's bad timing, Felcris getting hurt in his first practice back since school season ended.

It was a long one today. Mahalo to the parents to let their Thunder players work out as long as we did (2-plus hours).

Lineup: Sierra, Kali'a Mielke, Gabriel Porras, Jared Elwin, Colin Micah Ramos, Jayden, Ryan, Josh R, Josh M DE Jesus, Felcris Ahadain, Sponger Jhevin Mercado, Keanu Ksb Pratt.

Next:
Monday, 5:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park. Pau: 6:30 pm.
WE LOVE THIS GAAAAME!!

Monday funday

Good workout today, got in a solid 60 minutes of shooting drills, basic offensive sets (UCLA cut, Princeton cut/handoff)ballhandling/on-ball defense in Alpha mode. 

Lineup: Josh Roberts, Walter Berthold, Micah Visoria, Jared Elwin, Sierra Murobayashi. Jared's friend Adam also practiced. Good job, Thunder! 

Jared and Littlle Josh pulled double duty. Jared had a conditioning workout at Roosevelt in the afternoon before coming to practice. They ran the bleachers in the heat. Josh had cross country practice before making it to Makiki Park. 

Next: Wednesday, 5:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park.
WEEE LUBB THIS GAAAME!!

Monday funday

Solid work on fundamentals on Monday afternoon by Sierra, Walter and Ryan. A lot of ballhanding work, on-ball defense, cleaning up a few things here and there. Worked on fundamentals against double-team pressure. Worked on some basic sets, the new plays and finished with shooting drills.

I'll always prefer for us to have enough players to go 5-on-5, but it's never bad to just work on basics when there are less guys there. Fine-tuning our fundamentals makes the difference big time in a close game.

Nice work, Thunder!

Next: Tuesday - No practice.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday — PAA and CAL League games. See the game schedule in the newer post above.

WE LUB THIS GAAAAAME!!!

Monday funday

Every rep counts. Solid workout for Ryan and Little Josh this afternoon. Non-stop 35 minutes (with water breaks) of transition drills, ballhandling drills, on-ball defense, fullcourt layups. Then 15 minutes of free throws and 3-point drills (Monday/Tuesday/2K).

REPETITION BUILDS CONFIDENCE. Good work, guys!

Next: Tuesday - No practice.
Wednesday, 5:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park.
Thursday, 5:30 pm - H1 Thunder vs. Sharks-Green (PAA 13U), Kilauea gym. Stretching/warmups 4:30 pm.
Friday - No practice.
Saturday, 9:15 am - H1 Thunder vs. Crush (PAA 15U), Koko Head gym. Stretching/warmups 8:15 am.
Saturday, 1:00 pm - H1 Thunder vs. Swish (CAL 13U), Kilauea gym. Stretching/warmups 12:00 pm.
Saturday, 1:50 pm - H1 Thunder vs. Owls (CAL 15U), Kilauea gym.
WE LUB THIS GAAAME!!

Monday funday

Got some solid shooting and triple threat work in today despite a constant breeze. We were 5 strong along with Kapaa's friend, Christian Salas. We also got some halfcourt offensive work in, working out the kinks, before the guys went 3-on-3 for the final 15-20 minutes. We'll be back at it tomorrow. 

Lineup: Radyn Kaleikini, Kapaa Nishimura, Chase Santos, Ryan Higashionna, Walter Berthold, Christian Salas. 

Next: Tuesday, 5:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park.
WE LUB THIS GAME!

Monday funday

Gray clouds and light showers kept most of the guys away today. But it never poured. In fact, the clouds stayed put over Manoa Valley and never arrived at Makiki Park. It was muggy, mostly dry and Javan and Ryan went to work. We did shooting, ballhandling, on-ball defensive drills, UCLA cuts, fullcourt layups and more for 60 minutes straight. 

Good work by two of our most distant Thunder! I was supposed to pick up Felcris Jay Corpuz Ahadain, but I crashed out in the afternoon and was too late to get him to practice. Sorry, Felcris.
Lineup: Ryan Higashionna (Ewa), Javan Montiho (Pearl City). 

Next: Tuesday, 10:00 am - Optional hill run.
Tuesday, 5:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park.
WE LUB THIS GAME!!

Tuesday funday

Solid workout today at Makiki Park. Got some shooting done early. Then a lot of pick & roll work. We really needed that. Mahalo to Rod and Kalei for helping out. The off-and-on drizzles kept us from going 3-on-3 or 4-on-4 but we got a lot done in 90 minutes.

Lineup: Radyn Kaleikini, Felcris Jay Corpuz Ahadain, Josh M DE Jesus, Ryan Higashionna, Chase Santos, Kanehe Nishimura.

Next: Wednesday, 10:00 am - Optional hill run, Carlos Long Rd. (Palolo Valley. Call/text me before 9:00 am for a ride.
WE LUB THIS GAAAAME!!

Tuesday funday

Good, solid 90-minute workout for Jared Elwin and Ryan Higashionna today at Makiki Park. Started with about 20 minutes of ballhandling drills, then short-range shooting for about 20 more minutes, and then 10 sets of 3-point drills. Ryan shot about 30% from the 3-point line and Jared was 42% (42 for 100), and we got a lot of free-throw shooting in.

Finished with on-ball drilling. Great work by two old friends. WE LUB THIS GAME!

Next: Wednesday, 7:45 pm - H1 Thunder vs. OTB, Kilauea gym (PAA 15U).

Monday funday

We continue to work on some important, crucial things. Ballhandling. Strong use of the pivot against tough defensive pressure and traps. Passing properly, with precision and patience rather than panic. We can make a ton of 3s, but lose games because we are impatient and sloppy with the ball. Because we too often dribble first instead of passing first, which is like a car hitting the gas pedal instead of noticing there is a red light.

Plus, a good passing team is impossible to stop. A good team has trust, and that is built with time and reps. At practice.

A team that plays smoothly and handles defensive pressure gets a lot of shots up with a minimum of turnovers. That team scores 60, 70, 80 points. A team that gets sloppy and has more turnovers than baskets struggles to score more than 30 points. We've been all over that scoring map this winter. Let's get better.

Good work today by Javan Montiho, Thomas Baptiste, Kyle Moraga, Kali'a Mielke and Gabriel Porras.

Next: Tuesday - No practice. Wednesday, 5:00 pm - Practice at Makiki Park.

WE LUB THIS GAME!

Monday funday

We had fun, but this day was about WORK. 20 minutes of straight conditioning to start practice. Kyle, Jared and Ryan arrived later and got some in. Drills (including ballhandling/on-ball defense) and 4-on-3 pass-only scrimmage followed. Coach Rob and Ryan's dad, Nate, helped out when we went 5-on-5. Kapaa had to leave a little bit early. 

Finished up with 3-point shooting (12 minutes). 

Overall, good work ethic by the crew. We have occasional problems with focusing, but we make up for it with effort and hustle. 

Today's lineup: Javan Montiho, Manoa Kualii Moe, Josh Roberts,Kali'a Mielke, Jared Elwin, Ryan Higashionna, Kyle Moraga andKapaa Nishimura.

Next: Tuesday - no practice. Wednesday, 3:30 pm, practice at Makiki Park. Thursday, 5:00 pm, practice at Makiki Park. Friday - no practice.

Saturday
8:20 am - Warmups, Aiea gym outside court.
9:20 am - vs 808 Knights (Aiea Intermediate League)

Sunday
12:00 pm - Warmups at Palolo gym outside court.
1:00 pm - vs. Asing Park @ Palolo gym (PAA 13U)
3:30 pm - vs. Kailua Sun @ Kilauea gym (CAL Intermediate League)
WE LUB THIS GAAAAAME!!

Monday funday

Good workout today with Jared Elwin and Ryan Higashionna. Got a lot of basics done: ballhandling, on-ball defense, shooting drills, pick-and-roll execution (including another new play). When there's just two or three guys, it's easy to get LOTS of shooting in. Good day at Makiki Park.

Some guys are hurt right now Kali'a Mielke/back, Kapaa Nishimura/ankle) and several guys have school team practices. Jared came down to Makiki after Stevenson finished their workout.

We'll have one more practice tomorrow, then take Wed/Thur/Fri off since I have to cover high school games/tournaments for work. Saturday's the car wash and Sunday we'll have practice at McCully gym. Get your running and conditioning done in these next few days, plus your shooting reps. We're getting closer to the new season!

Next: Practice, Tuesday, 5:00 pm at Makiki Park. WE LUB THIS GAAAAME!!

Tuesday funday

Good workout today with a little more conditioning, plenty of ballhandling drills and 4-on-4 scrimmage. The team of Ryan Higashionna, Jared Elwin, Coach Rob and Coach Paul beat the team of Kyle Moraga, Kali‘a Mielke, Joshua de Jesus and Manoa Kualii-Moe in a thriller, 39-35. (Can't remember the final score.)

Day by day, reps, competition, teamwork. We bust our lip, bleed, sweat, and keep working. League season is going to be here real quick. Let's keep going strong! WE LUB THIS GAME!

Next: Wednesday, 5:00 pm, practice at Makiki Park. Anybody need a ride? Call/text me 551-1054.

Monday funday

Solid group of 5 Thunder today at Makiki Park. Hardly any wind, great for shooting drills. Worked on ballhandling, on-ball defense, 3-point shooting. Scrimmaged 3-on-3 for 15 minutes. The team of Ryan Higashionna, Kapaa Nishimura and Coach Paul pulled away from the team of Kali'a Mielke, Jared Elwin and Manoa Kualii Moe 25-15.

Next: Tuesday, 5:00 pm, practice at Makiki Park. WE LUB THIS GAAAME!

Wednesday funday

Good workout today at Makiki Park. We did our drills thoroughly, and some guys are clearly getting better and faster, especially on the fullcourt layup times. Then we scrimmaged 4-on-4 fullcourt. The team of Kyle Moraga, Ryan Higashionna, Joshua de Jesus and Coach Rob beat the team of Kali'a Mielke, Jared Elwin, Hsien Pascua and Coach Paul 45-32.

Thought about having practice on Thursday, but I'm working (D-II girls volleyball state semifinals). That means no practice until Sunday. Keep working every day, Thunder! 200+ shots daily.

Next: Sunday, 11:00 am, practice, McCully gym. WE LUB THIS GAAAAME!!

Wednesday funday

Superb practice this afternoon at Makiki Park. Sunny, no wind, perfect. Got a lot of ballhandling, passing, on-ball work done. Got a lot of conditioning done. Kyle set a new personal low with a 5.15 fullcourt layup time. We did a lot of offensive positioning work (Princeton/UCLA). Finished with a ton of 3-point shooting. By the time they got warmed up, they hit 10 treys in 60 seconds during one of the sets and also made 5 in a row on another set. Good work, Thunder! Joshua de Jesus (Josh), Sierra Murobayashi, Ryan HIgashionna, Kyle Moraga.

Next: Practice, Thursday, 5:00 pm, Makiki Park. WE LUB THIS GAME!

Monday Funday

Good workout today at Kalakaua. Lineup: Jared Elwin, Javan Montiho (Julie Montiho), Kyle Moraga, Felcris Jay Corpuz and Ace. Good, solid work on ballhandling, shooting, footwork (wing/low post drills), on-ball defense. Ace is a new guy, real good ballhandler. If he sticks around, he'll definitely help us and have fun. I like his level of concentration and maturity.

Saturday shootout

Good morning workout with Tanielu, Sierra and Chris at Kalakaua outside court today. Got a lot of basic work done. Our core players are almost ready for the CAL League that starts next week Sunday. Getting our new players on the same page - learning the plays on both offense and defense - is crucial.

After lunch, Tanielu and Chris went back and they're shooting in Kalakaua Gym until it closes around 4:30.

Next workout: Sunday, 11:00 am, McCully gym and 4:00 pm, Makiki Park. Make sure to call Coach Roy for a ride. Or call me (551-1054).

Then Monday, 6:00 pm, Kalakaua Gym.

WE LUB THIS GAME.

Note: Congrats to our Roosevelt boys, who beat Saint Louis (Haka is one of their top guards) on a last-second 3-point shot today at the Merv Lopes Classic. 

Good Wednesday

Nice workout on Wednesday with Jimark, Dennis, Chris, Josh and Tanielu. Dennis' first practice, but he learned quickly. We went over on-ball pressure (41), handling backcourt traps, a few halfcourt offensive sets, shooting drills, pressbreakers.

In reality, we could run Princeton and UCLA combined over an over and over without verbally yelling a play, but that would take a lot of reps together as a group. Once that happens, it would be a self-running machine. All about reading and positioning, screening and cutting, precise passing and smart decision-making.

But for yesterday, it's another good starting point for our new guys. It's also a test for our returnees, a test of their patience and ability to teach.

Practice again today (Thursday), 4:30 p.m. at Kalakaua. Coach Roy and Kyle will be there, so bring your game! Help each other. Teach each other all the details and nuances of offense, defense, rebounding, positioning. Everything.

Saturday skill drills

Some tough competition in tonight's drills at Kalakaua outside courts. Kerl and Karl — two original Thunder players (2009) — were there to give our guys a good battle on low post, high post, wing offense and on-ball defense drills. Ballhandling/on-ball defense was also tough - Karl and Kerl could always cover a lot of ground. The guys are playing pickup ball now - Micah, Tanielu, Chris, Kyle, Jaymark, Joshua. I'm just kicking back in the car listening to the UH-UNLV game now.

Shooting practice 12 noon at McCully gym tomorrow (Sunday), pickup games after that at 1:00. I lub this game!

Btw, I did go to Stan Sheriff Center and watched Oregon play Oklahoma. Saw Coach Paul Westhead live in person for the first time. The Guru of Go! Unfortunately, he had about five or six players (injured) in street clothes and the Ducks simply couldn't run and press like Westhead really likes. But it was cool to see him. It would be even better to meet him and pick his brain, maybe even give him a Thunder T-shirt. 

Work hard, play hard

Good workout this afternoon by Chase, John, Cody and Kekai. Drills for everything from on-ball man defense, wing and post 1-on-1, ballhandling and 3-point shooting.

Back at it Tuesday, 4:30 pm. Keep working, Thunder. No substitute for repetitions.