How To Win Everytime

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never,
never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty
-- never give in, except to convictions of honor and
good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to
the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

- Sir Winston Churchill, 1941

The following philosophy was presented to me
recently by strength and training wizard John
Wood, and I want to pass it along because it
will help with your shooting and anything else in
your life worth doing. Even though John is in his
mid 20's he is a long-time student of success and
a world-class strength and physical culture
authority.

The fact you exist means that you will make
mistakes and fail. You will face adversity, and
things will often not be as easy as you'd like. But
that's a good thing because anything worth
having is worth fighting for.

Sometimes that will be a literal fight. Enemies
from without want to tear you down, put you in
your place, or even destroy you at times. And
only you can stop them.

The rest of the time the struggle is unseen
because it is within you. You'll struggle with
doubts, fears, thinking that keeps you trapped,
past experiences, etc.

Now quoting John directly:

'Regardless of where the struggle exists, you will
not win - you WILL NOT win -- by being lazy,
by feeling sorry for yourself, by making excuses
or by quitting.'

Anyone who has ever been successful at
anything has experienced hardship. And
overcoming that hardship is a part of what made
them great.

It all begins with a choice...

The choice that no matter what happens, you will
not be quit or be defeated.

Skills can be developed, money can can be
generated, equipment can be acquired, and effort
can be made.

Because when you decide you will not be beaten,
you will find a way.

Never give up.

Shoot For the Stars,

Coach Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. See what's up in John's strength world and
especially find out 'What's in the bag?' now at:

http://www.functionalhandstrength.com/whats_new.html

Note: This blog is protected by copyright with
all rights reserved, but you do have permission
to copy and use entries in their entirety as long
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information is included.

Copyright 2006,2007
Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Coach Dean Delker
8413 SW 4th Place
Gainesville, FL 32607
352-494-6572

dean@deandelker.com
www.deandelker.com

Dinosaurs Walk The Earth

Dinosaurs still walk the earth. I had lunch with one
about a year ago, and lived to tell about it. Brooks
Kubik is his name.

During the day Brooks puts on his Clark Kent suit
and tie and does some of the best lawyering south
of the Ohio River, but when he goes home at night
he turns into DinoMan, a 5-time national bench
press champion who has turned from the iron
game and embraced the lost secrets of training
and development, and he's bringing a whole host
of athletes with him.

Take a minute and see what I mean at:

http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight_training.html

I got an email from Brooks today and the message
was so powerful I had to pass it along to you
verbatim. I'll just let Brooks do the talking:

"I tried something new the other night in my
workout, and it was so tough I barely finished my
training session.

It was a simple idea -- not one that they write
about in the muscle mags, not one that the so-
called "champs" practice, not one that the self-
proclaimed "experts" preach. It was just an idea
that popped into my head one day. Something
that sounded like it might work.

So I tried it.

And it almost flattened me.

In a little under half an hour, I was dripping with
sweat, breathing like a race-horse, and wondering
if I would have the strength to make it from the
garage where I train to the house. At one point,
my left thigh cramped so badly that I had to hobble
out of the garage and into the alley in a sort of semi-
squatting position to try to "walk it off" -- except it
was more like "limp it off" or "stagger it off."

It was new, it was exciting, it was fun, it was
different, and it was a HECK of a workout. The
operative words are "new" and "different." New
and different [in this case] is good.

Remember, I'm 49 and closing in on the half
century mark - with almost 40 years of serious
physical training to my credit. By conservative
estimate, I've had over 10,000 workouts in my life
-- and yet, even after FOUR DECADES of serious
training, I was able to think of something new,
different, exciting, productive, interesting and
demanding that I had never done before.

There's a lesson there for all of you. Never think
you know all there is to know about physical
training. Never assume there's nothing left to
learn. Never believe you "know it all."

Life is growth. You are either growing, gaining,
and progressing -- or you are shrinking, losing
and diminishing. There is no staying in one place.
If you're not going forward, you're going
backwards.

Far too many trainees stop growing because they
stop learning."

Brooks' wisdom is true about any skill, especially
shooting the basketball. If you're looking for
something new to try on your quest to become a
hoops sharpshooter you'll find plenty to work on
today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/products.html

Shoot For The Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. I talked to Patrick Chylinsky and his secret,
underground report on how to become a big-time
scorer and average over 20 points per game is
ready. I just need to do my part now. Sorry,
but I've been helping my wife with a business
project of her own. Forgive me for frustrating
you like this again, but as always you'll see it
was worth the wait.

To Your Success.

And You Thought You Were Busy

Today is the busiest day of the year according to
the post office. Over 900 million items mailed.
Mostly cards and gifts I would imagine.

I feel like I've already gotten a big Christmas gift
with the Florida Gators getting to play for the
National Championship in college football. The
Gators have the rare opportunity of winning a
national title in both basketball and football in
the same season. I don't think it's ever been
done before.

Those athletes have worked their butts off and
have overcome a lot of adversity (and made their
luck sometimes) to get to this point. I know they
deserve it, but you can make a good case for the
Michigan Wolverines too. The two were just
separated by one-thousandth of a point in the
convoluted BCS system.

It's time for a playoff. There will always be some
controversy on who gets into a playoff, but I'd
rather the controversy be with the 7th and 8th
ranked teams than with the 2nd and 3rd.

I feel a little bad for my buddy John Wood who
played some ferocious defensive end for Michigan
a couple of years ago, but I know John's not
whining about it. He's is a winner in every sense of
the word, and he knows grumbling and complaining
have no place in the life of a champion.

If you want to be a champion shooter you should
study the lives of great shooters, but also successful
people in all walks of life. You can learn from all of
them. Success is success wherever you find it, and
success leaves clues.

Another friend of mine J.P. Maroney who is a joint
venture broker and business coach says two major
stumbling blocks that keep people from getting
what they want are:

1. Pouting about the past
2. Doubting the future

And the two are interconnected. If you can't let go
of the junk from your past you'll drag it into the
present, and it will almost always cloud your future.

Think about it.

Coach Stan Kellner is a master at training you to
rebound from bad shots. As great as that is you'll
also be learning how to bounce back from your
other failures and missteps. And that's just one of
dozens of powerful mental breakthroughs you can
experience listening to Stan.

You'll never be the same again when you get a
taste of what's possible with just you, a basketball
and a hoop today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/kellner_order.html

Shoot for the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. In honor of the proud, valiant Michigan football
team let me remind you how you can have the hands,
wrists, and forearms of a true champion by making
use of John Wood's battle-tested know-how and gear.
Get started now with the Cadillac of all hand grippers
at:

http://www.deandelker.com/captains_of_crush.html

P.S.S. Notice how these grippers make perfect
stocking stuffers for the athletes in your life, and
really who doesn't want to sport a King Kong grip
when they're shaking hands.

And you can now even get in-between sizes for
every strength level. Start using these puppies, and
you'll never worry about getting balls stripped out of
your hands again.

Make Every Shot Count

Copyright 2006 Delker Enterprises, Inc.

Let's Hear It For The Girls

What can girls or young boys do to build up their
shooting strength?

Rhythm and timing and leg strength can produce
good range on your shooting, but sometimes you
do need to build up specific muscle groups.

Donna Bruneau-Lester wrote to a coaches forum
I frequent and had the following to say:

"As a rule girls usually don't have the strength to
shoot from behind the arc [till they're older], but it
doesn't have to be that way. I could shoot a ball at
11 from behind the arc and still have good form."

Donna says what she did to achieve that was do
pushups, pushups, and more pushups. It's a good
way to build strength without building bulk.

To work the part of the arm usually weak in a
woman she recommends pushups with your hands
turned inward toward each other. You can vary
the distance apart, and also move the hands further
up toward the face for developing the upper body
further.

Also key to Donna's young training regimen was
doing a lot of 1 handed shots starting near the
basket and working outward after hitting 5 or 10
straight. Remember to keep your arm in a perfect
"L" for the best results.

Don't forget to work on your non-dominant hand
too.

If you want to add variety to Donna's pushups
and build core strength, you owe it to yourself to
explore Matt Furey's politically incorrect
bodyweight training program. Matt teaches a
Hindu pushup that looks like a cross between
yoga and pushups, and comes complete with
power breathing and mental imaging so it works
out your mind too.

One of his other core body weight exercises is
called the Hindu squat. It's like no other leg
exercise you've ever seen and it works every
muscle you can think of in the lower body.
Couple that with some hill or stair sprints and
you have a 15 minute workout with star power.

Get your kids started on body weight exercises
like that and sit back and watch them mow down
their competition today. Get the lowdown on real
functional strength and endurance today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/matt_furey.html

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Hal Wissel also stresses the one-handed shot
for mastering proper shooting form. Whether
you're 6 or 60 if you're shot's not consistent Hal
can show you why. Catch the shooting fever
today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/wissel_order.html

Whither Strength

Where does strength for shooting come from?

Dr. Hal Wissel says it comes from the rhythm of
your down & up leg motion. So do most shooting
coaches. No matter what they call it leg drive is
of primo importance.

Leg drive lets you keep your upper body relaxed.
Coach Gary Groharing of the Strictly Shooting
camps in the metro Chicago area calls it 'soft on top.'

The kinetic chain of events in getting that power up
thru the legs into the shot is also critical. Everything
needs to go down together and everything needs to
come up together. The better both halves work
together the smoother and more accurate the shot is.

So shooting strength is much more than arm and
shoulder strength. Leg strength is also a must, and
you have to have a solid mid-section. Core strength
is what you need to transfer your leg power through
to the upper body and to the ball.

Does that mean I recommend running out and doing
Pilates every day? That might not be a bad idea, but
it's not very convenient. You need something you
can do every day, at home or in a hotel room without
any bulky or expensive equipment.

My friend Matt Furey has the perfect answer for you.
Matt has developed an intense daily bodyweight
program for building leg, core, and upper body strength.
And it does this while integrating mind and body and
building endurance and flexibility. And it doesn't take
hours to do either.

Matt's book 'Combat Conditioning' is an international
bestseller which combines Eastern wisdom with
powerful breathing and natural wholistic muscle
building. The result is a body that works together,
and it will provide a great foundation for becoming a
shooter.

See what it can do for you today at:

http://www.deandelker.com/matt_furey.html

Shoot For the Stars,

Dean - The Dean of Shooting Hoops

P.S. Sign up on Matt's opt-in email list, and find out
how you can get "Combat Conditioning" free for
taking a 1 month test drive in Matt's Inner Circle.
You will be estatic you did.