Merry Christmas from Yanders Law!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We talk a lot about using holidays and weekends to outwork your opponents, but maybe hang with family on this one.

At Yanders Law and The Basketball Movement, we are serious about hoops. However, we are also well-aware that there are plenty of things that are bigger than basketball. Over at The Basketball Movement blog, we have discussed doing inside work on rainy days, getting in a gym on holiday weekends, and more. That said, Christmas is one of the most important times of the year for stepping away from work, school, and play to focus on what is important.

We were thrilled to partner with The Basketball Movement and Jones Family YMCA to show the power of basketball with our Angels of the Hardwood event. It was great to show that even as basketball organizations, there are still ways to get involved in the true reason for the Christmas season.

To all of the players, parents, fans, and Yanders Law coaches and staff - Merry Christmas! This is an excellent time to reflect on a year’s worth of accomplishments, hardships overcome, and great things on the horizon.

Thank you to everyone that helped us to make 2018 successful. We are proud of everything that has been accomplished and proud to have worked with everyone who helped to make it happen.

Enjoy this time with family and friends and remember what Christmas is all about. Have a blessed and Merry Christmas, everyone!

Tips for parents or other fans

Playing the game can be tough, as can coaching. Watching the games? As invested fans, that can be tough at times too.

As fans of youth basketball, it can be all too easy at times to get involved in everything that goes on on the court - especially for parents. You are taking your kids to camps, practices, and games as well as footing the bills for leagues, equipment, and so on. This gives a deep feeling of involvement with your player and the program.

This is a good thing! You should be active and engaged in what is going on in your son or daughter’s lives. However, this involvement can also make things a bit difficult when you see your athlete placed in tough situations or under-performing.

Just remember - it is often best to address these situations according to the time and place. On the way to or from games are terrific times for constructive discussions, as everything is fresh in the player’s head. At practices, that is the coach’s jurisdiction. Let the coaching staff handle everything on the floor.

Where things often get tough for parents is where it is toughest for all parties - during games.

There are fine lines to walk during games. On the one hand, you are encouraged to cheer on your players and team, to praise them during their successes, and to build them back up when they make mistakes. As such an invested individual though, you may sometimes make mistakes.

Encouragement is always helpful, there is no limit on that. Where things can go wrong though lies in criticism, whether it is of your player, the coach, or even referees. Shouting at the refs will build bad blood between that ref and your team, no matter where it comes from. It also sets a poor example for the players, leading them to believe referees are a scapegoat for their shortcomings.

Criticizing coaches or your player’s teammates is of course discouraged as well. It will distract all of the players and take away from the important focuses of playing the sport.

Finally, save constructive criticism of your own player for another time. Your son, daughter, or otherwise is already going to be aware when they make a mistake. Compounding that with a public disappointment of their parents is going to get in their head in a big way. During game time, just remember - encourage, encourage, encourage. Let the coaches and team handle the rest.

Being an involved parent or fan is important, just do your best to go about it in the best way possible. Yanders Law is a tight-knit group, and we have faith that our parents, players, and coaches can set great examples for each other.

First annual Angels of the Hardwood a success

Our first annual Angels of the Hardwood event was a success, using basketball to make plenty of smiles and memories.

A big thank you to all of our coaches, players, families, and kids that came out to make Angels of the Hardwood a success. It was beautiful to see basketball bring together individuals from so many backgrounds, uniting in an effort to give back to this great community.

As our Yanders Law players handed out basketballs, Nike shoes, and more on Sunday, it was incredible to see the smiles on the faces of the young players at the Jones Family YMCA.

The event included some patented pep talks and workout guidance from Rob Yanders and his staff, but it was clear that Sunday was focused heavily on fun, family, and giving. The amount of love that came from an event centered around that little orange ball was truly a sight to behold.

Special thanks to the YMCA, The Basketball Movement, Nike, and Gatorade for helping to make everything possible.

The goals that Founder Rob Yanders envisioned for Angels of the Hardwood were achieved. The Yanders Law players learned valuable lessons about using their platform and privilege to give back to those in need. Rob and some of the Yanders Law players know about needing basketball as an escape not only during the holidays, but year-round. Yanders Law and The Basketball Movement will continue to seek out ways to give back to the community - especially kids.

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Angels of the Hardwood 🙏🙏🏀🏀🏀🎉🎉🎉

A post shared by Yanders Law (@yanderslawbasketball) on Dec 16, 2018 at 6:31pm PST

Helping these kids was a fantastic experience. Helping their parents through the holidays was also big. When we help others, great things happen. There are many ways to do this, but the international language of sports is a great way to get the message of love across. Basketball is our thing, but if it isn’t yours, do your best to find other ways to give back.

If you weren’t able to make it this year, keep your eye out going forward for more ways to get involved with Yanders Law. Whether you are a player, parent, fan, whatever, there is always room to grow and give back with Yanders Law.

To see more images and videos of this fantastic event, check us out on Instagram and give us a follow.

This weekend! Angels of the Hardwood - Yanders Law, The Basketball Movement, and Jones Family YMCA

Reminder - Yanders Law, The Basketball Movement, and the Jones Family YMCA are teaming up to bring Angels of the Hardwood to the local community.

This year will mark the first annual Angels of the Hardwood event put on by Yanders Law and its players. Yanders Law will be partnering with The Basketball Movement and its coaches to utilize the facilities and resources that The Basketball Movement can provide. The goal of this absolutely free event is to make a difference in the lives of children and let them know that people care.

During the Angels of the Hardwood event, 100 pairs of Nike shoes will be given to those in need as well as Nike shirts, basketballs, and more. The event will take place at the Jones Family YMCA on December 16th from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Angels of the Hardwood is an idea by Rob Yanders, born out of a desire to give back to the community using the platform of basketball.

“There is no greater way to find yourself than through service for others. Angels of the Hardwood will show the boys and girls of Yanders Law the importance of selflessness and teach them about character, humility, and integrity.”

— Rob Yanders

Rob has described that players need to understand the privilege that they have to be able to play the game of basketball. This privilege can be best utilized as a platform to reach others - either inspirationally or through acts of service. Angels of the Hardwood will help create the next generation of leaders by teaching these kids to use their advantages to give to the less fortunate.

The players involved in this free program must understand that the giving season does not come about through a red-suited man in a sleigh. Behind all of that are good, real people working hard to be able to provide for their family and friends. There is joy to be found in giving, and Yanders Law and The Basketball Movement want players to get to experience that.

“A night of basketball” will be taking place at the Jones Family YMCA in conjunction with the Angels of the Hardwood event. This evening will bring everything back to basketball, giving the players the opportunity to grow on the court through Basketball Movement skills and drills.

Yanders Law and The Basketball Movement’s Rob Yanders reflected back on his time growing up in Milwaukee and what basketball meant to him.

“Growing up I remember how much I looked forward to after-school programs at Salvation Army, YMCA, and Boys and Girls Club. Basketball meant so much because it was an escape for us. It could take your mind off a missed meal or troubles at home. It was a chance to make friends and an opportunity to be a part of something. That’s what motivates me to give back.”

— Rob Yanders

The Basketball Movement and Yanders Law are excited for this opportunity to be a teammate for their community. This is the first Angels of the Hardwood event, but it won’t be the last. Rob and his entities are driven by development of players and people, and that will shine through absolutely on December 16th.

***Pre-registration is required - Call (417)881-1599 or see the front desk to register.***

Follow Yanders Law and The Basketball Movement wherever possible to learn more about initiatives like this as well as some of the best basketball training and development available in the Midwest.

The definition of team chemistry

Coaches, fans, and basketball pundits all love to talk about team chemistry. What does it really mean?

At the risk of starting this off like a middle school essay, let’s just go ahead and state the literal definition of the word “chemistry”. The definition is not as clean and simple as we may like. However, you can see how when broken down, it can be simply applied to the sport of basketball.

Google defines chemistry as “the branch of science that deals with the identification of the substances of which matter is composed; the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change; and the use of these processes to form new substances.”

To start, we can fill in a few of the terms with basketball jargon: Identification of the players of which a team is composed. Identifying for our purposes isn’t just knowing your teammate’s names. To achieve ideal chemistry, you must know their strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies.

“…the investigation of their properties and the ways in which they interact, combine, and change…” Once you know them as mentioned above, you can begin to anticipate their actions, while also watching them grow as players and teammates.

Finally, “form new substances” is the resulting team. Players that know each other inside and out, on and off the court form the teams that will have what is referred to as great team chemistry.

Chemistry can be difficult for teams that introduce or bid farewell to players such as Yanders Law has to do from time to time. Still, stressing the importance of chemistry allows our coaches and teams to have a working understanding of what is necessary at all times.

“We create a standard for how we want to do things and everyone’s got to buy into that standard or you really can’t have any team chemistry. Mediocre people don’t like high-achievers and high-achievers don’t like mediocre people.”

— Nick Saban

When a team has good chemistry, it shows. Chemistry happens in the trenches, such as during practices. It also happens off the court, when teams are able to bond on more personal levels.

This is an important area for our teams, and we encourage our players to always stick together. Help your teammates up, give them affirmation in real life or on social media, just… be a friend.

For more on teamwork, Yanders Law players, activities, and everything else, keep it locked right here.

Go forth and lead

In basketball and in life, leadership is highly valuable. It is the goal of Yanders Law to turn out as many leaders as possible.

Every individual is made up of unique skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Society and teams are at their best though when leaders are able to step up and guide groups in ways that benefit everyone. Yanders Law teams make sure to do our part in creating as many leaders as possible.

On the basketball court, it is easy to point to a team’s leading scorer or point guard when picking out the leader. This of course does not have to be true. Leadership is possible at all positions.

A player that always makes sure to be a positive presence on the bench is a leader. Players that work to foster off-court relationships with their teammates are leaders. Players that outrun everyone else during practice are leaders. Players that hold teammates accountable in the classroom are leaders.

You can still have the classic leaders as well; The most vocal defender, the offense initiator, or others that lead by example.

Leadership can be a difficult aspect of life to hone. To be a leader means to be one step ahead of others by taking initiative. That can be a bit scary sometimes, and it may occasionally strike a nerve with those around you. The key is to be confident and understanding of the sacrifices it takes to help a team succeed.

“If you’re going to be a leader, you’re not going to please everybody. You gotta hold people accountable, even if you have that moment of being uncomfortable.”

— Kobe Bryant

Yanders Law understands that leadership can come from anywhere, so we make sure to empower all of our players to step up as leaders in their own way. Leadership in basketball is just one of many lessons that we want our boys or girls to take away from time with our program.

Those of you that are leaders already - Go forth! Spread your gift in any way you can that helps others, on the court or off. As our players apply their Yanders Law lessons to their high school teams and other aspects of school, we wish them the best and hope they continue to hold themselves to our high standards.

For more on Yanders Law, you are in the right place, but can also follow along with us on Twiter @YandersLaw

Max Preps early top 25 rankings

Prep basketball authority, MaxPreps has released their first national rankings for high school boys basketball for the young season.

Of course things around here are really focused on Yanders Law teams - one of the top grassroots basketball programs in the Midwest. With school ball underway though, we are going to shift our focus for a moment to high school ball on the national level as we examine the top teams in the country.

MaxPreps is the most diligent site there is for tracking prep sport movement. Their lists like this one are still largely subjective, but also serve as one of the best indicators we have for the top teams in the nation.

It is early in the high school basketball season, but this will still give you a good idea of who sits near the top in the nation for school ball.

All of the teams listed are undefeated, showing the margin of error that exists at this tier. Teams that have picked up losses and fallen off of the top 25 list are Mountain Brook (Birmingham, Ala.), Guyer (Denton, Texas), Norcross (Ga.), South Garland (Garland, Texas), and defending champion Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, AZ).

Below is the full list per MaxPreps.com:

1. Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)

2. Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)

3. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)

4. Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.)

5. University (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

6. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)

7. Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.)

8. La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.)

9. McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.)

10. Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.)

11. Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.)

12. Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.)

13. Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.)

14. Belleville West (Belleville, Ill.)

15. Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah)

16. Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)

17. Ranney (Tinton Falls, N.J.)

18. Gonzaga Prep (Spokane, Wash.)

19. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)

20. Federal Way (Wash.)

21. Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.)

22. Pinnacle (Phoenix, Az.)

23. Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.)

24. Carmel Christian (Matthews, N.C.)

25. Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.)

With plenty of games to go and holiday tournaments coming up, many of these rankings are subject to volatility. It is good to see a few teams on the list from the Midwest - there is a wealth of talent here and it is good to see some recognition of that.

The MaxPreps list on the girl’s side of things is a bit older than the above, resulting in few teams having played more than three games. Even so, that list can be found here.

As high school teams around the county fight to enter the fray on the national level on down to intra-conference play, we will be excitedly watching the basketball goodness unfold.

2018-19 high school and middle school games are underway!

Good luck to all of the Yanders Law players whose regular season school games are starting up.

The boys and girls of Yanders Law typically don’t put basketball out of their mind at any particular point in the year. The sport can be played year-round, so there is always time to get in the gym.

Yanders Law basketball doesn’t take much of the year off either, with many of our teams still currently seeing action. Though the program prides itself on Yanders Law team success, it also takes great pride in individual successes of its many young men and women.

Individual exposure can happen anywhere, but there is also something special about playing for your school’s team. The rivalries between schools (or players), school spirit, and playing with others you have grown up around make playing ball for your school a great experience.

So, as many of our players kick off these seasons for high school and middle school, we want to wish them the best of luck! Our support does not stop when you take off your Yanders Law jersey.

Each of our players are part of a brotherhood or sisterhood that carries over no-matter which court you’re on or which colors you’re wearing.

Don’t hesitate to let us know about your successes for your school either. We love to hear about every accolade on the court or in the classroom. Basketball can’t last forever (as a player) so our main goals are centered around cultivating responsible, disciplined, and driven individuals and teammates in all areas of life.

Many of our players are using this time to prove what they can do on the floor and get noticed by coaches and scouts at the next level of the game. A special shoutout to those individuals as they strive to make their dream of continued basketball a reality. (Read up on one such Yanders Law player here)

Good luck to all as these new seasons start up. We’ll be watching, so make us proud!