Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: Welcome to the Canadian Basketball show, your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball. I'm your host Lee Ben Osman. Huge shout out to Canadian prospect Miles Saddler. He just committed to West Virginia, the highest recruit in program history and one of the best point guards coming out of Canada in recent memory. I've gotten to know him quite a bit. We had him on a podcast back in May. Go listen to that if you haven't already. But. But shout out to him, his family, real good people. I expect him to be in McDonald's All American this year. Headline the Nike Hoop Summit for Canada and I think that would make him the first male since Caleb Houston to be a McDonald's All American from Canada. That's since 2021. That's big time. Last year on the women's side we had got Makir and Denia Prowl representing Canada. And yeah, congratulations to Miles. Hoping to get him soon on the podcast to talk through his decision on choosing West Virgin.
Shout out to NCAA assistant coach and Canadian Yusuf Ali on landing him. I know he's been on him for a while. And yeah, shout out to Miles Seller, top Canadian coming out of Canada. On this week's episode, I'm joined by someone that has made a name for himself in Canadian basketball. Strength and conditioning coach just recently with the Los Angeles Lakers and the year prior with Oklahoma City Ajax is Kevin Wilson. Welcome to the show.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Appreciate that, appreciate that.
[00:01:30] Speaker B: I wanted to have you on Kevin, just because when I started this podcast I said I wanted to cover Canadian basketball news. Players, break down players necessarily, but also tell people stories that are in the Canadian basketball space that are involved with the game in unique ways and I feel like you're one of those people and like showing that you don't have to like be an sga, a Jamal Murray to have an impact, make it to the NBA. You can be a coach, you can be a scout, an agent. We had a few of them on recently. An executive.
The careers go on. A journalist like myself and yourself as a strength and conditioning coach. Just wrapped up, like I said, a season with the LA Lakers. It's crazy when I'm saying that, like, does that sound crazy to you when like when I say that just wrapped up a season with the Lakers, what was that like?
[00:02:18] Speaker A: It is crazy because it hit me when we were on our way to Madison Square Garden in season and I looked behind me, Bron was behind me, I looked in front of me, AR was there, I looked over and like there was like some other Players, Jackson, Hayes, whatever. And then in that moment I was like, like, what am I? How did I get here? Like, so it, it was a surreal kind of moment experience. Yeah.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Tell me just about you were at OKC prior. How did LA become like the opportunity? Tell me how you end up in la.
[00:02:47] Speaker A: Yeah, so with okc, it was primarily with the G League team. So I was splitting time between OKC Blue and OKC Thunder.
Did extremely well there. We won a champion G League championship, got strength coach of the year.
So OKC was, it was a phenomenal experience. Great staff, like, they're all about growth and development.
So they wanted me to basically pursue that next level, which was like a full time NBA position.
So they helped me with interviews with Philadelphia, with Los Angeles Lakers, with a few others, but ultimately landed with. With the Lakers.
[00:03:20] Speaker B: What was the interview process like? Was it unique? I don't know. What's it like for a strength conditioning coach? Just like the process. And are they quizzing you? Like, what's that process?
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Like various team to team, team to team specific. But my, my situation was unique in that just the timing of how everything played out was kind of rushed. So Good. Like to my benefit or not? I'm not sure it worked out, so I guess to my benefit, but it was rushed. But usually it's like four to five different things that need to be done, whether it's interviews, a project, in person interview. So it is extensive.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: You talk about Braun walking behind you, Austin Reeves in front of you.
Was there any like, what was maybe like the coolest moment throughout that entire season? Getting to work with world class athletes? Some of the greatest. I feel like LeBron's probably top two in my eyes behind Jordan, but two of the greatest.
But you get to work with those type of people. What was that like? And any like memories that you look back on?
[00:04:19] Speaker A: Yeah. So to me, Brown's number one. Yeah, just even, even pre Lakers. Okay.
But yeah, I think first and foremost, I think the staff, when I think about, when I think, when you think about the league, you see LeBron, Steph, Kobe, Jordan, like, you see these guys and you're like, these are the greatest people to touch a basketball. When I look at staff in okc, like Donnie Strack, Andrew Paul, these people like, to me they're like the Steph, the Curries, the whatever. So to be able to see them and then learn from them, everything, rehab, physical therapy, strength and conditioning at that level and at that clip like that, that to me was the most beneficial experience, I think, aside from that memories.
There's Christmas Day game. That, that one was by far the coolest experience. Just being like front row and center for that. Austin Reeves, game winner. Like driving past Andrew, Andrew Wiggins, I believe it was finishing the layup, buzzer beater win on Christmas Day. Like that was, that was a great feeling.
And there's, there's other cool moments I remember in San Antonio, I was standing here and the basket's probably over there, so I know, I know like no player is gonna like hit me, right? But LeBron was going like full speed, literally coming at me and I'm scared. I'm like 10ft away from him, but I'm like scared for my life that he's gonna run me over. But there's, there's different moments like that that are pretty cool.
[00:05:49] Speaker B: When you say that reminds me of, you know, the Shaq video when he runs towards the bench. Everyone's like running away. Especially Bron. Bron is, he's a specimen. It's insane. What's the day to day, like, what do you think about, for people that don't know, for like a strength and conditioning coach, maybe like a game day or an off day? Walk me through, like, what is a day to day like for you? For you guys?
[00:06:08] Speaker A: Yeah, I think that's the un. That's the area that's not talked about. Everyone wants to get there, but the area, the area people don't talk about is like that day today, honestly, what it does to your family, like trying to make that sacrifice, juggle that. So for me, I'm married, I got a two year old daughter and a three month old daughter.
So it's tough, right? Because the day today, on a game day, well, you know, there'll be like weight room sessions with players in the morning and then they got practice on a game day and then there's a little gap, maybe two hours, not much. But then I got to get to the arena for, for 3:30, 7 o' clock game and then I don't leave the arena until everyone else does. 12:00am so from arriving to the practice facility at 8:00am, 7:00am and then not leaving till 12:00am that night, like that's what it is for majority of the the year.
[00:07:02] Speaker B: What was that? Like you said, obviously you have kids and how was that juggling that? And I'm guessing they're also just like, this is an amazing opportunity, right? The Lakers storied organization getting to work for them. What was it like juggling that?
[00:07:13] Speaker A: It's tough, it's tough. I've seen relationships get broken from like staff members. From staff members to players to like. I've seen relationships get broken because people ultimately choose the. What they love, which is like the profession, whether it's an athlete and they can't give up the game. Right. Or a staff member who's worked so hard to get to that point and now they've gotten there and they're given an ultimatum, basically.
So, yeah, finding the right person, the right support system is key. Right. Like, my wife made it super easy for me to just go out and do what I got to do. And I was confident knowing my girls were taken care of with my daughter. So.
[00:07:55] Speaker B: Yeah. What was traveling like? I feel like people don't understand that too. Traveling, it might be one of the hardest parts to city to city. Talk about going to Mass Square Garden, seeing. I'm guessing that. Did you walk through that tunnel, that big tunnel that everyone talks about?
[00:08:08] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: Well, what was just like traveling like. And that's like. It's like a 24 7. Like they're barely. People don't realize, like they're not. It's 82 games from September all the way till September when training camp starts. All the way till. If you're in the playoffs, then basically that's like. If you make it all the way to the championship, that's June. But most teams April. Right. September till April. Basically the entire. I don't know how many months that is. But that's insane. Like, what was the travel like? Talk me through that.
[00:08:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, yeah, we'll get to a city at crack of dawn. Yeah. Well, so sorry. We'll get. Well, usually on a good day, we'll get there the day before at a good time. We'll get to sleep, we'll wake up, have practice, prepare for the game. That's a. That's a great day.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:08:55] Speaker A: Days when it's back to back days when you're leaving one city, going to the next, arriving at the city at 3, 4am and then you got to unload that. The. That's. That's one thing I didn't expect, like as a staff member, as a strength staff member, helping out the equipment staff to like unload the plane. Right. That's like an extra hour that you got to do it. Some cities are freezing cold, especially at that time. So you got to deal with that.
So there's some cons at the end of the day. Like you're staying in like the best hotels. You're flying in these great planes. So I can't Complain. I'll never forget the day there was a hotel.
I went into the elevator, there was a carpet that said, good morning.
I left. I was like, all right, cool. That's great. Came back later that day, looked at the ground, said, good afternoon. I left another carpet. I'm like, all right, man, this is. This is next level. This last hotel is next level.
[00:09:50] Speaker B: God damn.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: Touched the. There was like a heated door at a heated toilet seat one time. I was like, this is. This is next level.
[00:09:57] Speaker B: God damn, man.
[00:09:58] Speaker A: But yeah, so there are a lot of pros, but there are some cons.
[00:10:02] Speaker B: Room service available 24 7.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: It is if you want to pay.
[00:10:07] Speaker B: They live different.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:09] Speaker B: What was like, we kind of talked about it too, just about working in the NBA. What do you think? Most people don't know that or maybe when you got there, that you're like, wow, this is like, no, you can't know this about working in a B until you actually are doing it.
[00:10:25] Speaker A: It's a great question, I think. Depends how you.
Which angle you go, like from an athlete standpoint versus a staff member standpoint. But I think the.
The one thing that people don't talk enough about is it's very transactional. Obviously, as we saw with Luka Dantes trade mid season, like, no one's safe. Right. Like, that same philosophy applies to the staff side as well. Like contract to contract fighting for different contracts.
You know, people being there for like 10 years and thinking they're great, and then all of a sudden, like GM or budget cuts or whatever the case is, they. They get. They get let go. So I guess just that. That aspect, like, people don't talk about enough. Once you're there, you see it just for like, you know, the fact that people are easily, unfortunately disposable. Like they can just fire someone, get someone else. Right?
[00:11:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:19] Speaker A: So that. That one's not talked about enough.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You mentioned Luka.
[00:11:24] Speaker A: I'm.
[00:11:24] Speaker B: Now I'm just remembering you're part. You're part of that staff. When that trade happened mid season, do you remember, like, where you were when you found out, oh, damn. Lucas coming to the Lakers. Obviously we're talking about now that Nico Harris has been fired by the. By the Mavericks. But do you remember where you were and you realized, damn, Lucas coming to.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: The Lakers, Madison Square Garden? Oh, yeah, we just. We just literally played the Knicks. Probably had the best game of the year in terms of like, how we played. Big win on the road.
It was just a great game, great energy, great environment.
And then it hits yeah. The news hits and I remember being on the bus.
Max Christie is like at the front of the bus. Austin Reeves is behind him.
And it was just crazy how the whole thing went down. But after the game, this was at like 11, 12 o'. Clock. We're in the hotel until, like in the lobby until, like 2:30, 3 o'.
[00:12:16] Speaker B: Clock.
[00:12:17] Speaker A: Just as a group, just like processing what just happened. Yeah. And trying to figure out, like, is this actually real or not? Yeah. So we're trying to reach out to different people and all this stuff, but, yeah, it was. It was crazy.
[00:12:28] Speaker B: What was your reaction when you're like.
[00:12:30] Speaker A: I didn't think it was real at all.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: Like, all of us.
[00:12:32] Speaker A: Yeah, I didn't think it was real at all. It wasn't until I saw the reaction from players. Then I was like, okay, okay, this is real, for real.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: You mentioned, obviously you were with Oklahoma, with the G League staff, wanted championship there with them in 2024. Name the G League strength and conditioning coach of the year. Was it like getting that honor?
[00:12:50] Speaker A: That was dope.
I think it was.
I can't remember which player said it, but, like, to get recognized by your peers as a player to, you know, achieve an award, like an MVP or something.
Same thing with the staff award, because that. That is voted by peers.
So, yeah, just knowing that people voted for me and saw my value and all that stuff, especially being Canadian, probably. I was one of two Canadians, I think, that year in the G League across 30 teams.
And I don't know how many Canadians have touched like, a.
A G League team as a strength and conditioning coach. Probably not many. Yeah. So to get that recognition was pretty cool. Yeah.
[00:13:31] Speaker B: Talking about, obviously coming from Canada, from Ajax, I want to go through your journey kind of. How did you become or how did, like, strength and conditioning coach, like, become an option for you? And there's not many Canadians. I know of a few, maybe. I feel like it's starting to become more of a.
A career that people explore and look into.
But when did that become an option for you? Almost like, I wanna. I wanna become a strength condition coach.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: So when I was like 12, 13, broke my knee, so I was playing basketball. To this day, I don't even know really remember what happened. All I remember is, like, the pain, the trauma, whatever.
So broke my knee playing ball.
Met an amazing physio, physiotherapist. Um, so he just made it enjoyable, the whole rehab process. I was out for like a year, year and a half, but he made that fun. So that sparked the Love for like rehab, medical, like getting into that space.
So honestly, it was always physio, like, that was always the goal.
But then once I stopped playing, so I played at Fleming College and at Brock. Once I stopped playing, the Niagara River Lines came into town in St. Catharines. And at the time they were the nbl.
So I reached out to them and I was like, hey, like, I'm a third year kinesiology student. I would love to shadow intern something. Like, hands off, you know what I mean? They emailed me back saying, we actually don't have anyone, so if you want to lead like strength conditioning, you can lead strength and conditioning. So I was like, cool, let's do it, let's do it. So that was like a deep dive into, you know, now working with like, I guess like semi pro athletes and having zero experience at the time, but just figuring it out based on my own basketball background.
So that sparked the love for strength conditioning and then just kept merging the two, like physio, strength conditioning, two different worlds, but kind of similar.
And then thankfully it worked out with okc.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: Yeah. What was next after that? Because I also remember seeing that you were at the G League, I think, was it the showcase in Toronto, handing out resume to anybody that would listen, Tell me about that. And what do you remember about that, Julie? Showcase?
[00:15:34] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, I remember the one thing I remember specifically, and that's always been my mentality, just do whatever I can to differentiate myself. Right. So that was one thing I did, went to the G League showcase. I could have done emails. I just printed out a bunch of copies and handed them out. But the one thing I remember was it was the Sacramento Kings G League team, the gm. I had reached out to him, we were talking virtually for a while, and then I saw him in person and I'm like, hey, like, how's it going? My name's Kevin. Like, we've chatted before.
Here, I want to give you a copy of my resume.
And the look he gave me was just like, what are you doing? Like, he was just. It was, it was almost like. It was so, like condescending.
[00:16:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:21] Speaker A: And it was so like, like, he's up here. I'm like, down here. That's. That's how I felt.
So I remember that because all eventually I did obviously get to okc, got to la, like, achieve my goal and then, yeah, I wanted to like reach out to him again and be like, screw you. Yeah, literally. But I took the high road.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: I guess you thought I was going up to people. Were you Afraid at that time, because, like, I don't know, even me early on, like in my career, I was like, afraid to go up to people network. How did you kind of just be like, you know what? Like, this is make or break for me sometimes maybe. Or just like, I just want to, like, there's somebody I see, whether it's like I admire them or I know I can peak or just get.
Ask them questions, get their knowledge, expertise on stuff. How did you just go about approaching people?
[00:17:13] Speaker A: Yeah, so definitely a fear component. But two of my best friends passed away super early, like 20, 23, 24, around that age.
So since then it was always a thought of like, I gotta do everything I can to get to where I wanna get to as quick as I can.
So that was always in the back of my head and that's always kind of been the mentality. So when I, when I am fearful in that moment, I'm like, man, like, I'm not gonna see this guy again. I might as well. But it was, it was nerve wracking. Like, I think Anthony Parker, who used to play for the Raptors, he was the GM for Orlando Magic's G League team at the time. And he was there and like, this is someone I grew up watching.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:17:53] Speaker A: Like, seeing him, I had my resume in my hand. I wanted to go up to him. I got scared.
I waited a bit, ended up seeing him again. And I was like, let me just, Let me just go. Gave it to him. Super cool.
Yeah. Just told me if I need anything, let him know.
Yeah.
[00:18:12] Speaker B: So I'm glad you do that because I have a similar story with that Anthony park. Because I was scared to go up. I see some courtside, I'm like, you know what? Let him do his thing. Like, but that's the thing. You should be going up to people because, like, they're just like us.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Right?
[00:18:22] Speaker B: That's, that's what I realized too. Especially in the space like this. Most people are willing to help, but obviously being from Canada, I feel like that's like working in the NBA. I don't know if the visa component has to do with, like, to get sponsorship to work there, that kind of stuff, but how hard is it for a Canadian? Maybe not. Like the Raptors may be a different case.
I know Rahan Malik works for the Raptors. I know he's a, I believe, the head athletics therapist there.
But like, what's it like for a Canadian trying to get to the league? Whether it's a G League team, Is there barriers? Like, how did you find yourself navigating that. And did you feel like there was a disadvantage for you just being from Canada?
[00:18:59] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So like I said, I was. My thought process is do everything you can to get there. Right. So if I had to work in the wnba, if I had to do whatever I had to do, just get there. So there were opportunities in the States that were cut off right away because I was Canadian. When I in the, for the wnba, there were a few roles that I was like a finalist for, like for an internship. And they're like, ah, you're Canadian, we're gonna have to do a visa. We don't do that. So unfortunately you're not.
So there was opportunities that were like legit, cut short. There are some G league teams where they'll say no, like they want you to be American for the most part.
The NBA is pretty good with, with that in terms of just like helping them out. They really have to trust you though, because there's a cost associated with that.
[00:19:48] Speaker B: They got the moolah too.
[00:19:49] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Right.
So it is, I would say, the one thing, the one thing that makes it tougher. Not necessarily the visa, it's just the experience that they're looking for. So they want to see that you've worked at like a high end NCAA D1, like that, that type of experience before you get to that level. But we don't have that here. So the most I had was nbl, cebl went over to the uk, worked in the British Basketball League. So I had all this semi pro basketball experience. And then OKC was attracted to like that like, uniqueness, that unique national resume. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:20:27] Speaker B: So when were you, where were you at when OKC is like, we want you to come work for our Julie. I'm guessing that was probably like a big thing. Where. Do you remember where you're at when you got to work?
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Man, I'll never forget.
So the day before the, literally the day before I found out I got the OKC drop, I found out my wife was pregnant with my first daughter.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:20:47] Speaker A: So that 48 hour stretch was like insane.
[00:20:50] Speaker B: Greatest, greatest news ever.
[00:20:51] Speaker A: Greatest news ever on both ends.
But yeah, I was, I was sitting at home when I, when I got the news that I would get okc, it just hit me like, I was just like, man, this is, this is literally what I was handing out resumes for. This is what I was doing all this stuff for.
When I was working in the British Basketball League, I was doing, I was helping out the physical therapist, but they didn't have like a massage table. So I'd had to carry my massage table from my dorm room where I was staying and like, literally walk like 20 minutes with like, this heavy, heavy ass, like, table.
So it's like thinking back of like, all those experiences and then finally getting that moment was pretty cool. Yeah.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: The struggles, the tribulations, all that kind of stuff.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:21:32] Speaker B: You get to the G League, what's your first impressions when you get there? And what do you expect? Maybe like, working in the geely.
[00:21:40] Speaker A: Yeah. So OKC is like the gold standard for like, everything, in my opinion. Yeah. So their structure for their G League team is top notch from, like, the food the players are getting, how staff are treated, the facilities. Like, for the G League team, it's. It's like, it's better than what my expectations were. My expectations. Knowing the G League and knowing how most teams operate, it's like, it's not like that, like, especially what, like five to 10 years ago, where some teams are practicing in like, a ymca.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:22:13] Speaker A: Like, no strength coach.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:22:16] Speaker A: No food. Like, figure it out. Like, that's what I was expecting going in. But again, okc, like, we actually shared the. The same arena as the Thunder.
So that was one thing. And then the. The G League team had their own practice facility with like a weight room and their own chefs and all that stuff.
[00:22:31] Speaker B: So how much do that translates to their success? Because we talk about.
You talk about just like, the way they do things. Kind of unprecedented. Luke Dort played in the G League. Alex Caruso played in the G League. Two key guys in their championship run. How much do you think of, like, what they do? What are they also feeding? Like, you talking about the food? Is it like, I don't know, I'm a chicken parm guy. You think they got like, chicken parm on the side? What do they got?
[00:22:51] Speaker A: Every team has everything you can think of.
But yeah, I think the.
The G League structure out there is just. It's next level because of those things. The resources, the food, etc.
But it honestly starts with Sam Presti and like, the top of that organization in terms of, like, how they treat players. Right. Like, some environments are very, like, transactional. The NBA is transactional 100%.
But some environments are just more transactional than others. Some at least, like, put forth the effort to show, like, hey, I care about you as a person. I care about your growth, your development, which is what they did with Ludor. Alex Russo, like, all these people, Aaron Wiggins, all these people who had to go through The G. So yeah, like I said, just top notch from top to bottom.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: Yeah. What was your day to day like? And how do you like go about designing like performance programs for like athletes, for like G league athletes? Because I think it differs too from like say an NBA guy that's coming to the G League for just to play and then guys that are there full year round. Like what. How does that, how does that balance? I'm guessing you're working from some guys that are coming from the NBA and then also working with the full time Julie guys.
[00:24:00] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. It's a tough balance because the Julie Guys, there's 10 G League spots. Right. And then you have three, two ways. And then you could have like a practice player or something like that. So give or take at any given time between 10 to 15 or more guys. And the Thunder likes to assign people regularly, especially at that time.
So to work with me being the. Well, sorry, I had an intern.
So me and another guy over like 16 people, roughly.
It gets tough. Like you can't really individualize stuff. But the, the standard is to individualize everything for each player. Like that's how it should be.
Especially the two ways that come down to the G and then especially the assignment guys that come down.
So if I'm just taking a player, whether they're G league or two way, like it's a full assessment like from top to bottom, just seeing how they move, what their goals are holistically, like what their attrition is like, what their sleep is like, and then taking all those things and then first of all creating like goals for them throughout the season and then honestly just figuring out a way to develop a program that they'll follow. Because one thing to create the program, it's another thing that to have them actually like do it and follow it. So yeah, I would say the hardest part is that compliance. Trying to build that trust to the athlete.
[00:25:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Because when I think about the G League too, it's like there's a lot of success stories that happen from the G League. And it's kind of like being used as a model is like for certain guys, especially young guys that are still trying to get to that NBA level, like learn the day to day habits of like how an NBA system or whatever it is that kind of stuff is run and habits like how to wake up at the right time or like eating right and that kind of stuff. How much does that fall on you guys, like in terms of making sure these guys are ready for when they get to the big Club, too.
[00:26:01] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, the. The motivation for them is there from the jump. Like, the fact that they're in the G League and they're literally like.
Like, again, in the Thunder, we played in the same arena, so they're literally so close to being with the Thunder or with the NBA club. So the motivation's there. I don't know how much more we can, like, offer that motivation, but there are some athletes where, like, we can. We can make somewhat of a difference in terms of, like, their development and, like, trying to keep them healthy so that they can be available so then they could play and showcase their skills and then get that call up. Right. So one thing that is tough and is that surprised me going into the G League is like, you would think all those guys are grinding, trying to get to the NBA, willing to do whatever it takes.
That's not the case.
I'll say only 50% of them have. In my opinion, 50% of them have that go get it attitude and are willing to do those things. The other 50 is just kind of happy to be in that environment, which is fine. Like, if that's their goal, that's fine.
But, yeah, my. My initial thought going in was, like, all G League players, like, are gonna be weightlifting all the time and grinding and it's optional.
[00:27:16] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah.
[00:27:17] Speaker A: But some of them, like, shout out to guys like Jaden Shackelford and the guy Miller cop. Guys that have been in the G League, and they're. They're. They're. They. They have that right mentality. They're grinding. Yeah.
[00:27:29] Speaker B: Like, lot of talk always about injuries in the NBA. I want to get your thoughts as, like, an expert in this field that's dealt with it, seen it. What do you think are, like, the most common injuries when you think about, like, we've seen in the NBA? I see a lot of killy stuff happening. Guys out for a long times. And like, what do you think leads to these type of injuries? And, like, from what you're seeing, whether it's working with athletes, whether it's habits or whatever it is, but. Yeah. What do you feel like are the most common injuries in the. In the league?
[00:27:55] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, Most common. Definitely the Achilles from what we've seen recently.
But I think it stems from, like, a lot of tendon issues, like patellar tendon and then also hamstring strains, like, different nagging things.
A lot of, like, immobility at the hip, so not necessarily an injury, but just, like, they just can't move well from a mobility standpoint. And then with that stiffness, that leads to higher injury risk at the knee, at the ankle. So there's the common ones, ankle sprains and things like that. But I think some of those, like, mobility issues and like, inability to move a certain way, those are leading to, like, some of these injuries. And it's tough. I think that's the. That's the common question right now. Like, how can we prevent all these Achilles, Is there a solution? You think if there was one, it would be publicized and the person who invents it would be rich? I think there's so many. So I think of it like there's different puzzle pieces, right? So if I'm gonna help a guy, like, load management is a puzzle piece, like tracking all their data. That's a puzzle piece. Like seeing how the athlete feels before a game. That's a puzzle piece, right? Like making sure they're doing all the things. Nutrition, sleep, etc. All these things are puzzle pieces to ultimately help the athlete to perform optimally and to be healthy. I think when it comes to trying to figure out which of those puzzle pieces are lacking and which one is leading to a higher injury risk, like, that's the question we got to figure out for each athlete. And then I think, too, I think to the playoffs are at an intensity that is tough to sustain, right? Like after 82 games, like a grueling 82 games where they're already at a high intensity. And then you ask them to elevate it even more. If a guy's getting 35 minutes in season now they're getting closer to 40 in the playoffs, and that's like a higher intensity. 40. Right. So there's so many different variables, but yeah, it's just trying to figure out which.
Which one. Yeah.
[00:30:07] Speaker B: I was gonna ask you, like, what are the biggest factors? Like, do you feel like travel?
Obviously.
Talk about playing X amount of minutes. I remember shout out to Nick Nurse. He was playing guys, like, 40 minutes a night. And, like, guys went out like, he's not with the Raptors no more. But, like. Like there's a lot of guys that some Thibodeau play guys X amount of minutes. And then people are shocked when the New York Knicks are falling apart and it's in.
[00:30:32] Speaker A: In.
[00:30:32] Speaker B: In the playoffs. But, like, what do you think are. Like, how. How much do you think It's a mix of all those things. Like, like, how much do you think travel also plays a factor. Like, you talked about getting in late at times. So the hotel at 3am on a back to Back. How much do you think that impacts the body, too?
[00:30:47] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely a lot. I think, again, like, teams, for the most part, do a great job of, like, if we get in at 4, that player won't have anything on their schedule until, like, 12. Okay. Just so they can get the sleep. Like, teams typically do a great job of that.
But I think in terms of, like, again, the travel and now their whole, like, time system is off. Right? Like, so now, okay, they do go to sleep at 4, they wake up at 11, then they have treatment at 12. Like, that alone kind of messes up their whole flow if they're used to waking up at, like, eight, for example.
So, yeah, man, it's just there's. Yeah, there's a lot of variables at play, for sure.
And again, at the NBA level with a lot of resources, like, you can track different stress levels in different ways.
So you can see, like, okay, should this guy actually, like, not play? Right. Like, I don't. I don't know what the Raptors were doing specifically with Kawhi and, like, how they determined what games he would play and what. What games he would not play. But a lot of smart reasoning behind those decisions.
[00:31:55] Speaker B: I was going to ask you, Load management was supposed to prevent injuries. In your opinion, has it worked? Why or why not?
Because Kawhi was. You think that one season in Toronto, Alex McKickney and. And company, what they did, you think per. And then you go and you watch the Clippers try to do the same thing. And I don't know what happened over there, but didn't work out. Hasn't worked out. Haven't won a championship, haven't.
Haven't done well. But what are your thoughts on those management?
[00:32:21] Speaker A: Is it working for the Raptors? It worked great. And I think there's kudos to their staff. Ray Hand, like you said, Amanda, Nikki, all those people that contributed to that championship, Alex McKechnie, John Lee, all those guys. I think when done well, it looks good.
Right? And I think, again, there's just so many other factors, like the new NBA rule of, like, minimum 65 games to get an award. Like, things like that don't help because players who should technically take a day now don't. Aren't motivated to take that day. Yeah. So there's different things like that. I think, again, if done well, I think at the end of the day, it goes down to, like, trust between the training staff and the player.
So if the player doesn't believe in what you're saying, if. If you're saying hey, you should take off X amount of days or this day, this day, whatever.
And the player's like, nah, like, I feel good. What are you. What are you talking about? Like, the player's going to do what they want to do anyway. At the end of the day, do.
[00:33:23] Speaker B: You feel like most times the player knows their body better than most? Like, like, obviously, sometimes I'll be like, I feel good. But like, is there times where it's like, no, you need to just listen to this. Like, what we, what we say about this, we know kind of like, what's that balance in terms of, like, communicating with an athlete? And I mean, you've seen at the NBA level and like, are guys more like prone to be like, nah, I'm playing tonight. I need to go get my 30 tonight?
[00:33:46] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think the, the stakeholders at play, whether it's the trainer, the agent, the player, the gm, like, there's so many stakeholders that make that are involved in that decision, that it's not just the training staff. Like, the training staff can say, I've seen so many times a training staff, a training staff say, you know, this is how it should be done based on data, research, this doctor saying this, whatever, and based on the other stakeholders, based on whatever conversations they had, the decisions made for the athlete to play sooner than you know. So it's tough. It's tough. And I can't speak to those. All those injuries that we've seen, whether, like with the Achilles. Yeah.
But again, so many variables, so many stakeholders.
You can't blame a guy for, like, Tyrese. For wanting to play.
[00:34:43] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:34:43] Speaker A: Game seven. Right. Like, that's, that's, that's the biggest. Everyone would.
[00:34:46] Speaker B: I would have played. I have one leg. I'm going to try to play that.
[00:34:49] Speaker A: Right, Right. Everyone's going to want to play. So. But again, I'm sure I can't. Again, I can't speak for another team or another staff, but there's probably that hesitation, right. To have him out there.
[00:35:00] Speaker B: So, yeah, today's player too, when you think about it, I feel like a lot of guys are overtrained early on. Like, there's AU starting at a young age. Like, people are playing, playing AU at 12 years old for no reason at times. You know, I'm not even gonna get looks at age. Sorry, but you're not gonna get looks.
[00:35:16] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:35:17] Speaker B: And then from there it's like you go, you play early AU, going straight to college, then training 24, 7. Cause people always talk about getting 10,000 hours, whatever your career is right. Especially in the NBA. What is 10,000 shots or whatever it is, that kind of stuff just to be good. How do you juggle that balance of like as a kid, when you, when you're maybe looking at a kid that has so much potential, but then they're also dealing with these injuries, these like little minus stuff that's coming up. How do you balance in terms of like telling them, hey, I know you want to work out and I know you need to work out and be in the gym a lot of time of the day, but the risk for energy, like, how do you balance the two and just like having time off to, to. For yourself.
[00:35:55] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it's a great question. And it's, it's, it's still something being figured out. It's tougher now with AAU. Like you said, like, athletes literally play 12, 12 months of the year. And it's kind of seen as well at the pro level in Canada where guys are playing pro and then come back for the cebl, then they go play pro again at that level. Obviously their bodies are what they are. Right? Like, but at the youth level, like, early specialization is a big thing in the strength conditioning realm. Right. Like, we try and we try and encourage kids not to do that. Right, because they'll start at 12, there'll be a phenom by 15, and then by 18, their body breaks down, they have burnout. Like, it's, it's a real thing and it's, it's seen time and time again. So for example, like my daughter, like, I'm going to put her in everything else until like 12, 13, and then you could touch a basketball.
[00:36:51] Speaker B: Why is that?
[00:36:52] Speaker A: Because if you're coordinated with gymnastics, with soccer, your, your body is able to move in. So in such a variety of ways, it's like a toolbox, right? Like you, you have all these tools that you can pull from to eventually fix a car, right?
If you're only playing basketball and you only have a screwdriver your whole life and now it's time for to pull something else, you don't have that. And now your body's going to try to do something it can't do and then it gets injured or like I said it, there's burnout, fatigue, all that stuff. So, yeah, like working with Blessed to work with Canada basketball on a volunteer basis as a strength and conditioning coach with the younger age groups. And that's the same thing we're telling them, like, yes, you're at a high level right now in basketball, but go Go play soccer. Go play pickleball. Like, I don't know, like, go do, go do. Go do something outside of basketball. Yeah. And then the last thing too, like the 10,000 hours thing and mamba mentality and all that stuff. Like, guys hear that and they see videos of Kobe and they see what he had to do to get there. So kids try to replicate it. People try to replicate.
Works for some people or like, not others. Right. Like when I was in okc, Shay. Shay is a workaholic. Like on the court, he's staying late after practice, taking, getting up shots, all that.
A guy like Austin Reeves, like, he, he gets up a lot of shots. But you know, like, it's. It's just different. Like depending on what the player needs, how their body reacts to certain things. Like, just have to find what works for you.
[00:38:31] Speaker B: Yeah, obviously we talked about a lot of stakeholders involved too. Right. Whether players should play that kind of stuff. How much is like media pressure also a thing too, where it's like, people are questioning like, why certain players are not playing. Why are you out for this extended amount of times? Like, do you find yourself like, being around players that some of them will push themselves harder just because, like, hey, I need to get back. Just because, like the perception about me is like, I'm injury prone or whatever it is. Like, what's that? Like, do you feel like whether it's in a locker room or just like being in the NBA scene, like, players perception of like, people also say, I'm making X amount of money, I should be playing this amount. I should be playing 65 games, I should hit the criteria. How do you see that?
Kind of just like whether. How players react to it.
[00:39:13] Speaker A: Yeah, I think if you have a great circle, from what I've seen. Circle of influence. Right. So family members, agents, if you just have a good circle as a player to educate you on, like, don't worry about what the media is saying. Like, just focus on you get healthy. When you're healthy, go back on the court.
If they have that mindset, it's great. But I have seen cases where the media does play a part, play a factor.
And because the media has such a strong influence or can have such a strong influence, now, teams are pressured to like, get this player back or like, trade deadline is coming up or different variables that are forcing this athlete to come back too soon. I've seen, I've seen cases like that, which is unfortunate. But to your point, like, if like in their mind they're making this much money, trade deadline Might be coming up. They got to prove their worth. They gotta secure that next contract.
So going back to that last question, I mean, that's another reason why, like some of these injuries occur. Right. Like, because of different variables that people have. No idea is going on in the.
[00:40:21] Speaker B: Background, all the stress.
[00:40:22] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:40:22] Speaker B: It's like in their life just knowing that, hey, if I don't play now or it's, you know, this could be my last little.
I can, I can. The difference between making 10 million to 20 million to 20 million to 30.
[00:40:32] Speaker A: Like, you know, it's like a bet minimum. Yeah. Like literally, like space jump, like Cap is now. Yeah.
[00:40:37] Speaker B: What do you think the culture is like, around, like from injury, like the NBA improving wise in terms of like, do you feel like players are still trying to come back too early or do you feel like that's kind of changed in, in the NBA?
[00:40:50] Speaker A: I feel like it's changed now. More guys are having like their own private trainers. Yeah. So I think, is that a good thing, you think? I think so. If done well. So in okc, I've seen it work extremely well with Shay, his private trainer, Nem, and then with the team staff. Like, that relationship is phenomenal. That's how it should be.
[00:41:10] Speaker B: Luke also has his own people.
[00:41:11] Speaker A: Yeah. Luke has his own people. Braun has his own people. Ad has his own people.
And everyone else, they might just have someone who they're just consulting with virtually. Right. And that's just another voice in their ear saying, like, hey man, like, you shouldn't return. You shouldn't return yet. Like, give it a few more weeks. So if the team is saying that plus their private guy, then the athlete tends to listen more, which, which I think is a good thing.
[00:41:35] Speaker B: LeBron James, I don't know how old he is right now. He's old.
He's still a legend. He's like you said, he's your goat.
Pays millions reportedly on his body to take care of it.
When you're with the Lakers, was that evident? Like, seeing like I would. Sometimes I get to the arena, sometimes when, when the Raptors play the Lakers, I know I have to pull up around 3:34pm just to get a glimpse of him working out with nobody in the building. Like the, the, the Raptors like dance pack are still like doing their scheduled routine, like hours beforehand. Just when LeBron's working out. Did you like, notice, like the way LeBron took care of his bodies, like on another level than maybe anybody, like, in sports history?
[00:42:18] Speaker A: The hype is real for sure. The hype Is real.
I get to the arena at 3:30 for a 7 o' clock game and he's. I don't know what time he gets there, but he's in a full sweat working out like cheerleaders like you said are there, but he's on the court prior to that he already got his lift in. So the hype is real. Like to see that done consistently across 82 games, consistently for 41 games on at home makes it a bit easier on the road. He's still putting in the work that he needs to just in a different way. But to see that done consistently every single day, I'm just like, man, like, that's, that's why he's my go. I didn't see, I didn't see Michael do his thing, but we could get you some old tapes, but no, LeBron's behind the behind the scenes work ethic is, is real. Not just the, not just in front of the camera.
[00:43:14] Speaker B: Is that why you think he's lasted so long and this guy's still putting up numbers that it's like he's about to return soon?
But it's like just seeing the longevity.
That's why some people would have him as the goal, right? Just like being able to do like.
Are you shocked when you, when you're like, okay, not. It makes sense just seeing everything he does just to put the work in.
[00:43:35] Speaker A: Yeah, it makes sense for sure. A lot of it is genetics. And shout out to Mike Mencias, his trainer for the past 20 years and they've been working together, but a lot of it is genetics. But some of a very small part, I would give credit to Mike, like the way the things that they do and just seeing how they operate. And again, that consistency, not only from Bron, but from Mike in terms of like 20 years is a long time, right? And there's so much. There's always new research, always new exercises, always new evidence, whatever. So for him to just like sharpen his knowledge and add more tools to his toolbox to benefit Braun, like kudos to him for that. But yeah, when you see the workouts they're doing and the volume at which they're doing it at like you can see why, why he's been there for, for that long.
[00:44:22] Speaker B: You talk about genetics, is that like a huge thing for players too? Like in terms of like them being able to do what they do. And like I see Shannon Sharp dunk jump out of the roof. Like how much does that play a factor to like also just like them not getting Injured. How much does that play? Because I'll see LeBron, like, jump and then, like, roll his ankle, get up like it's nothing. I'm like, this guy does not look human, you know, at times. How much is it? Like, does genetics play a huge part too?
[00:44:46] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. I don't know what percentage I would give it based on genetics versus, like, training and doing what you need to do. But genetics, genetics plays a huge part. And I think even in terms of what we were talking about with, like, body mechanics and how an athlete moves and their natural, like, movement tendencies, like, all those things, some of those things we can't really teach. Some of those things we can teach.
But the other thing, too, I think some strength coaches try to take credit for, like a LeBron James, and you can't. You can't do that. So I try and add as much value as I can to the player. At the end of the day, I know the player is gonna excel or not for the most part, whether I'm there or not, Right? I think there's just. For a small group of players, I think you could help to accelerate their career with the right training, with the right programming habits, with the right habits, establishing all that stuff. But for the most part, I think players are.
Players are players. And I think there's a baseline, a baseline level of, like, care that needs to be done across everybody. So if everyone just does that and, like, can maintain that baseline, like, they'll excel or not without you or not.
[00:46:10] Speaker B: The change of style with the NBA, I feel like such a fast pace, more space and more threes.
How much do you think that contributes to? We talk about injuries, like, the stress, like people. People are forgetting about the pace, people running down the court, like, it's. It's insane. Like the 90s wasn't playing like this, to be honest. Even though Michael Jordan's my goal. But like, they weren't running down. He wasn't running down the court like this. It's insane how, like the possessions there on the NBA. How much do you think that also contributes?
[00:46:35] Speaker A: Yeah, so I think that. I think that's a good, great point because the space is getting wider, right? Guys are playing in the three point line. That's opening up the key for guys to, like, drive to the basket and finish at.
Try to finish like a. Like a drama, right? Like, just jumping out of the gym could potentially jump out the gym every possession if you wanted to, because that lane is clear, right? So that's a great point. I think, guys, I don't know if it's proven, but I think as the game expands and as that key becomes more available and as guys are, like, going, like, full steam into the key, trying to finish, and guys arguably are, you know, maybe a bit more athletic, so they are getting a bit higher.
So all these variables could potentially be contributing to the injuries.
[00:47:24] Speaker B: And I also think about, like, ja, like, sometimes the way they land, they don't. Some players don't know how to land correctly, but they jump out the gym. I think Derek Rose off, obviously, like a big guy that dealt with a lot of injuries. How much is that, too? Just, like, whether it's like. I don't know whether it's your job to teach them. Like, okay, this is how you land when you jump up.
Getting pretty high up for a dunk. Or, like, how does. How do you see that kind of, like, contribute to, like, where guys just don't know they'll get up, but, like, certainly where your body needs to, like, land.
[00:47:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:47:53] Speaker B: In a safe space. How much do you think that. That.
[00:47:55] Speaker A: Yeah, that's a big one.
Shout out to Hunter Eisenhower. So he's things at asu where. Wherever Yousef was before.
[00:48:04] Speaker B: Arizona State University.
[00:48:05] Speaker A: Arizona.
[00:48:06] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:06] Speaker A: Yeah. So the strength coach there, he's all about, like, deceleration, landing, teaching all that your body can experience in a basketball game. A deceleration.
Deceleration force. Your body can experience up to, like, six to eight times your body weight in terms of, like, how much force it's producing with the deceleration. So if you can train that at a high level in the weight room, like, you can get an athlete at least aware of what that feels like or what that could feel like. For example, having them, like, jump off, like, a high box. Right. Like, now they have to jump off land. Like, that's a. That's a. For, like, a very high force generating land. Right.
And that's producing a lot of deceleration. So definitely a big one. I think a lot of ACLs, a lot of.
A lot of things are from, like, that land, that awkward land.
And it's just the body's inability to sustain that land. Yeah.
[00:49:08] Speaker B: How much studying do. Like, I look through your resume, like, look through the jobs that you've had, like, going through a doctorate degree, bachelor's degree. I'm like, this is the echo. It's a long list. Like, how much studying of, like, the body of this stuff that it go into, like, becoming, like, a strength and conditioning coach in the NBA. How much was it? Like, okay, I wanna, like, how much does that process play into it. And then also just like building relationships, networking. What was that like studying? Because you got to be knowledgeable too, but you also got to be able to build relationships.
[00:49:40] Speaker A: The funny thing is I hate school.
[00:49:43] Speaker B: Hey, I'm with you.
My parents still trying to get me to go back. I'm telling hell, man.
[00:49:47] Speaker A: Yeah, that's, that's the funny thing. I actually hate it.
I think in the earlier years of my academic journey, like, you're just doing courses that cover the basis. Right. So fitness and health promotion at Fleming College. Like I'm doing courses like biology and chemistry, things that I don't want to do.
[00:50:05] Speaker B: Damn, you took chemistry. Shouts things I could never.
[00:50:10] Speaker A: Things I do not want to do. And as a result my marks were suffering because of it. But once you get to a point where you're actually doing things you want to do by like third year undergrad, you figure kinesiology. Yeah. Now you're doing like exercise prescription and cardiovascular testing and different stuff.
Then, then it becomes interesting, it becomes appealing. So once it, once I got to the master's level, same thing. There's like a one, two course where it's like, why am I doing this? But for the most part, it's things that you're actually interested in. So shoot, from 2011 to 2023, when I ended, when I finished that doctorate program, that's of post grad schooling.
That's a long time. Yeah.
[00:50:59] Speaker B: What's your advice for like people that are trying to get into this, like, they see you, they're like, hey, I'm trying to work for the Lakers one day. What's your advice for them? Like, just about getting to that stage and looking as that as an option and what's needed to just even get to that point.
[00:51:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
And going back to your previous question about networking while doing the schooling, I think that's the biggest component. That's where people kind of drop the ball because they'll go through all that schooling, finish, and then be like, okay, now's. Now's the time to start networking, reaching out. It's too late, way too late. So. Or maybe it's not too late, but now it's going to take you another 10 years just to get there. So the networking while in school, that's a big one.
It's a, it's a main reason why I started the Canadian Basketball Performance Network.
[00:51:46] Speaker B: Tell me about that.
[00:51:47] Speaker A: Yeah. So that to me, like when I was making that transition to try to, you know, reach these goals of making it to the NBA as a strength, conditioning coach, physio, whatever.
Again, I reached out to that Sacramento Kings G League gm.
[00:52:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:52:05] Speaker A: And he looked at me crazy, like.
[00:52:08] Speaker B: Get out of here.
[00:52:08] Speaker A: Get out of here. Literally, with his eyes, he said, get out of here.
So I had too many of those experiences to the point where I. Now that I've gotten to, like, I've reached that. That point, it's like, how can I help others to not have. They're going to have those same experiences, but how can I help them to, like, overcome those experiences?
Thank shout out to Ray Han with the Raptors because he gave me my first, like, shadowing opportunity with the Raptors 905, when he was with the 905. So got to learn a lot from him in the short time that I was there shadowing.
And he was the first one of the first people to say, like, yes, like, I'll help you up. Right? So shout out to him. But I want to provide that same mentality of, like, yes, I'm willing to help you out to, like, anybody out of Canada who's trying to get to the NBA, wnba, Canada, basketball.
And in my eyes, there's hundreds of people like me that wanted to. Thousands of people that wanted. That want to do the same thing I did. I was gonna.
[00:53:12] Speaker B: Is there a lot more Canadians you see that are reaching out? I'm guessing DMing you message you saying, I want to do this. Like, I want to be part of the.
The network that you're providing and what's that been like, people reaching out. And do you feel like there's a lot of people in Canada?
[00:53:25] Speaker A: A lot of people. A lot of people and a lot of people reaching out, which was another motivation to start it.
The difference between a Canadian reaching out to me and an American reaching out to me is the Canadians in my experience, and I'm just stereotyping, they just have no idea for real, like, what to expect. Yeah.
[00:53:44] Speaker B: Like, it's not exposed to this. You know what I'm saying?
[00:53:46] Speaker A: Right, right. Not only not to. Not they don't know what to expect, but they don't know, like, the first step of, like, how to. To pursue that dream aspiration. They just have. They just have the dream.
[00:53:56] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:53:56] Speaker A: Right. So again, through the. Through the network that I started up, I want to have, like, mentorship cohorts. Right. So that's in the works and starting up in 2026, but a group of 20 to 30 students, new grads, and it's just exposing them to everything, like a day in the life different Speakers from the NBA coming to speak to them.
Different things from a knowledge standpoint that they need to know and just giving them, giving them everything. Right. And the goal is not to make it easy. The goal is just to provide support and to help them to figure it out along the way. Because it's going to be hard regardless. There's a job application goes out today.
Literally thousands of people are going after it. Right. So how to differentiate yourself? Because everyone has the same qualifications.
[00:54:49] Speaker B: How did you differentiate yourself?
[00:54:52] Speaker A: Just being unique. I think the being from Canada forced me to be unique. And it was again, NBL experience, CEBL experience, British Basketball League experience, working with Scotland, Scotland's national basketball team. Yeah, like that's.
[00:55:08] Speaker B: I've never heard of that.
[00:55:09] Speaker A: Yeah, exactly. So when you think of Scotland, you don't even think about basketball.
[00:55:13] Speaker B: I think of a bunch of people maybe drinking beers before they start swimming up in the game.
[00:55:17] Speaker A: Right. But when I was in Scotland, I was like, how can I maximize this opportunity in a country that most people wouldn't even think about?
So again, when I got to Scotland, there was the British Basketball League, the Glasgow Rocks are a team out there. So started working with them and then Scotland national team started working with them, came back to Canada, started working again in the cebl.
So how to differentiate yourself honestly is like just grind it out. Just seek whatever experience you can seek and then also reach out to whoever you can reach out to. Because networking is. Most job postings don't even get posted for real.
[00:55:59] Speaker B: So they got a preferred candidate most times.
[00:56:01] Speaker A: Right. So I mean, I connected with the people in OKC via LinkedIn during COVID.
[00:56:07] Speaker B: Is that a good strategy? LinkedIn?
[00:56:08] Speaker A: It is a, it is a good strategy, but too many people are doing it now, which is the problem.
So, yeah, this network and differentiate.
[00:56:20] Speaker B: Yeah, obviously back in Canada. Now, what are your like next goals for yourself? Just whether it's like performance coaching or want to get back to the NBA. What's that? What's that like?
[00:56:30] Speaker A: Yeah, I think so. Athletes, athletes who stop playing go through this process of figuring it out. Like, what does life look like now? And it's a, it's a big thing. Like the NBA provides support for athletes because like things like depression and all this, it's a real thing. Post, post playing, going from being an NBA, being on that level as a staff member, it's kind of similar. I'm not going to compare it to playing, but it's kind of similar. Like you get to that level, you're not in that level anymore, and it's like, what now? Like you're used to one lifestyle.
I'm used to heated toilet seats. Right.
[00:57:11] Speaker B: Like you gotta go back to now.
[00:57:12] Speaker A: I gotta go back to you got bodies.
They do.
[00:57:17] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:57:17] Speaker A: So, yeah. So that's just one example. Right. You're just used to a certain lifestyle.
But anyways, for me, I think it's.
I heard, I heard a quote recently that was super powerful, which is when you're on a mission, like there's no finish line. Yeah. Right. So just because you got to the NBA there it's. Life doesn't end at the NBA. Right. So as soon as I got back, I started thinking about, like, what's my mission and all this and like what's going to sustain my family and then what's going to also fuel my passion, similar to how the MBA fueled my love and passion. Right. So clinic ownership. Like I'm about to purchase a physical therapy clinic in Milton.
[00:57:58] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:58:00] Speaker A: The Canadian Basketball Performance Network.
A lot of private training, a lot of private consulting. A lot of the players that I had the privilege of knowing in the NBA, G League, NBA.
Working with them, working with them on the private side. So going back to our conversation about each players now having their own guy. Like even G League players have their own guy. Right. So I'm working with a few players from that standpoint.
And another initiative that I have is the National Basketball Youth Mentorship program.
[00:58:32] Speaker B: Started in 2018, right?
[00:58:34] Speaker A: Yep, started 2018.
And for a very similar reason, the physiotherapist that I, that mentored me to become to pursue the field, I had a similar mentor, but from a basketball standpoint at the same age. So at 12, 13, sorry, 10 years old, he introduced me to basketball, guided me throughout basketball, throughout life, whatever.
So that mentorship program again is to provide kids with the same stuff that I got. Because if it wasn't for those early days as a 10, 11, 12 year old getting that mentorship, I wouldn't be here right now. So the goal through that is to provide that same mentorship or to offer those same mentorship options for kids at that level. So that's another side, side quest.
And yeah, that's just.
[00:59:20] Speaker B: You talk about working with Canada basketball too. Just what's that been like and what do you see like in Canadian athletes? Maybe like if there's a gap in care performance and where you're trying to fill that gap and working with some of Canada's like, like next brightest stars too?
[00:59:36] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that Canada basketball is a great experience. Like when you look back at Shea, Lou Dort, even guys like Josh Primo. Like, there's. There's Canadians that have all gone through junior academy, right? So at some point, they were grade seven, grade eight, and they were playing at Humber College, going through those same drills, doing all the same stuff, right? So I think Canada as a whole is doing a. It's doing a great job developing these young guys and building them up to get to that level.
The gap is in the resources, which I think we all know. But again, I think athletes in the States.
Sorry, so there's a gap in resources, but there's also a gap in, like, understanding what's required to get there, right? So athletes in the States, they have the technology that they need even at a young age to track all these things and to make sure injuries are minimal and all that stuff.
But aside from that, I think they just have an awareness of, like, what's required, like, from a sleep standpoint, nutrition standpoint, all these things to get to that level. Because in Canada, we can.
We can do all the things that we want to do. We can get all the equipment and. And I heard this today from Anil, one of the strength coaches in with Canada basketball. We can do everything from, like, a performance standpoint. We can. We can replicate it and make it similar to the NBA. But if an athlete is not getting, like, the food that they need, right, because the team's not providing it, or their situation at home is. Is not sustainable or stable or whatever, if they're not getting the bare minimum of food and they're not educated on how to, like, sleep properly or when to sleep, how long to sleep, like, we got to cover that first, right? So we got to. We got to take care of some things first.
[01:01:35] Speaker B: You talk about not sleeping, right? If you learn the times that I sleep, I think it stunted my growth. I think I'd be. I'm like 6 foot on a good day. I like to tell people. Sometimes I think I'd be like, six, five or something like that. And if I didn't sleep at, like, maybe like 2, 3am Every single. Every single night, playing 2K sometimes, you know, but, you know, I enjoy that sometimes, you know, how much you think that also plays a factor, too. And how do you want to, like, help you talk about, obviously, like, the resources are maybe not there for Canada yet. It's growing. People are taking notice. And, like, how do you see that, like, performance and training infrastructure, like, developing in Canada maybe in the next five to 10 years? And how do you see yourself part of that?
[01:02:14] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. The. The performance network is a big part of that. Like, my goal in the next five to 10 years is to make sure athletes are getting that education that they need to make sure that they are doing the right things they need to. And then in a way that's helping with the overall achievement of Canada basketball of, like, the success of our athletes, hopefully. Right. Like just educating them on what they should do from an early age.
And then I think.
I think to when I think about five to 10 years from now, I also think about the professionals that are also educating these people. Right. The people coming out of college. Like, I'm thinking about the first year kinesiology student right now who wants to get to the MBA or wants to, like, help out with Team Canada. Right. So if we can again, through the network, educate these professions, these students on how, like, what's required and how we should be educating the athletes, then I think that's another avenue too. So very multi.
There's multiple levels to it, but I think one way I'm trying to help is through that network.
[01:03:24] Speaker B: Yeah. How would you sum up your journey? From Ajax, G league, grind, NBA, now coming back to Canada, helping, I feel like the next generation. And how would you sum up your journey? Heated toilets.
How would you sum up your journey?
[01:03:41] Speaker A: Man, I don't know.
Miraculous. I don't know.
I'm a very religious guy, so I just attribute everything back up to that. And the favor that's been given to me has just been miraculous. So a lot of what we're talking about is things that we can do to get there. At the end of the day, you're gonna get there or you're not gonna get there. Like, whatever's in your plan is what's gonna happen. But I think.
I think what can be appreciated is the effort to try and get there and doing everything you possibly can to get to where you want to go. And if it doesn't work out, at the end of the day, you can say, I did everything I can.
[01:04:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Canadian Basketball Performance Network. How can people that want to learn more get involved or want to be a part of it? How do people get involved?
[01:04:31] Speaker A: Yeah.
It's a unique name. So quick Google search, you'll find it right away. You'll find the website performance conferences coming up featuring NBA, wnba, cebl, Canada basketball staff training staff, strength and conditioning coaches. That's on February 8th.
Everything's virtual right now.
[01:04:51] Speaker B: Virtual.
[01:04:52] Speaker A: Nice. So that's going to be a virtual conference on February 8th for high school athletes.
[01:04:56] Speaker B: Nice.
[01:04:57] Speaker A: So that's going to be all education for them.
And then there's going to be a professionals conference for college students, new grads, young professionals that want to get into those spaces.
That'll be on March 14th, March 15th.
All virtual. And again, just shout out to the speakers that we have because these are also Canadian people who have made it to the NBA, wnba, Canada, basketball, who've agreed to speak and give back and mentor to these people. And we also have Mike G, one of the legends. He's Fred Van Vliet's personal guy, American guy, but just a super dope down to earth, one of probably the most popular private NBA trainer right now.
So he's going to be speaking at both conferences, so it's exciting. And then the mentorship cohorts, right? So anyone interested in tapping in there, like again, 20 to 30 people just putting us all together and really just giving as much information as possible to help them get out, if that's their goal. To the NBA, wnba.
[01:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Last question before I let you leave kind of a advice for me. How do you give advice to like a washed up athlete? You know, I was once, you know, I was once a star player. You ask people in this room, look around, they'll tell you that I was a guy in high school. But how do you give up advice to, to a washed up that, you know, sometimes he eats, Uber eats too much, sometimes he gets Joey's chicken parm too much. Like, what's your advice to me? Like, looking at you, I'm like, I need to get on whatever program you're on. So what's, what's your advice for, for someone that's trying to get back into.
[01:06:37] Speaker A: It, man, keep moving, keep moving.
After I should know this, but I can't remember the age. But after a certain age, damn, I'm cooked it up.
After a certain age, the percent of muscle that you have in your body just naturally starts to drip like dip.
[01:07:00] Speaker B: You're scaring me.
[01:07:01] Speaker A: And then once you get to a certain age, this like, mind you, this is years ahead from where we're both at.
Then it just, it just drives. This is why for like old people, we're like, yo, you need, you need to move around, you need to move around, you need to lift weights.
But just keep moving. If you can, just keep moving. Whether it's through walking, go to the gym. The thing with being a former athlete, and I struggle with this too, I'm used to five, six days a week of training, right? Training, working out. So now when I only train Two or three days a week. I'm like, this is nothing. I might as well just stay at home. Like, what?
[01:07:38] Speaker B: Hey, I agree, right? So watch some Netflix, right? Watch some basketball, college basketball, NBA, you know.
[01:07:43] Speaker A: Might as well. Might as well work on my craft. Yeah, but the two to three days a week is the. Actually the standard. It's the recommendation. So if you can hit the gym at least two times a week, move, walk, if you have a desk job, just sit up every 15 minutes, you'll be all right.
[01:08:03] Speaker B: Just seeing your face looking at me, people listening or not seeing that. You don't seem hopeful for me, but I'm gonna try to get to the YFCA to speak. I would try.
[01:08:12] Speaker A: I got you at the program.
[01:08:13] Speaker B: You'll take the program after this.
[01:08:15] Speaker A: Give you an MBA program. Yeah.
[01:08:16] Speaker B: Kevin, I can't thank you enough for. For joining the podcast, sharing your journey. I always, like I talked about the top. I want people that are within the Canadian basketball space that are doing unique things, that strength and conditioning in the NBA, in the G League, giving back now to Canada and the next generation, just to show, like, there's so many unique opportunities, right? Just what you don't have to be a basketball player to.
[01:08:37] Speaker A: To.
[01:08:37] Speaker B: To make an impact.
[01:08:38] Speaker A: So.
[01:08:39] Speaker B: Yeah, I can't thank you enough for. For coming on. Any. Any last words?
[01:08:42] Speaker A: No, just appreciate you. Like, like you just said, like, there's so many avenues and pathways, right? Like, everything you're doing, everything that I'm doing, like, there's a way to do it, right? So young listeners listening, if you want to be an accountant, like, you can be unaccounted for. The Toronto Raptors, right? Like, there's. The possibilities are endless.
[01:09:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Endless. Kevin, again, can't thank you enough. This has been the Canadian Basketball show, your go to spot for the latest news stories and analysis on Canadian basketball with Kevin Wilson. And we out.
