41 The Off-Season Blueprint: Skill Work, Nutrition & Drills

"The best players get better when nobody's watching or paying attention."

School is out, the graduations are over, and summer is officially here. In this solo episode, Coach Rodo delivers a raw reality check to young athletes who think playing AAU tournaments or attending a couple of team practices a week is enough to guarantee a starting spot next season. Rodo breaks down why true development doesn't take time off and explains why the hot summer weather serves as the ultimate growth and healing season for your joints and body.

Rodo shares a powerful lesson from his nephew at USC about defending your roster spot from incoming recruits, explains how a simple diet shift helped Kalamazoo Central's Tim Tarantine Jr. overcome chronic injury inflammation, and passes down a legendary trick for bench players looking to get subbed in by a frustrated coach. From bodyweight calisthenics to driveway lessons on keeping your head up while dribbling, this episode is your ultimate guide to rewarding yourself through pure hard work.

#CoachRodo #WinningRegardless #SummerGrind #OffSeasonTraining #AAUBasketball #KalamazooCentral #Calisthenics #AthleteDiet #USCFootball #PlayerDevelopment #YouthSports #basketballdrills 

(00:00) - No Days Off: Why getting better doesn't take a summer vacation.
(01:45) - The Coach-Parent Dynamic: Open houses, graduation proms, and finding reasons to complain.
(03:30) - Defend Your Spot: A stark warning from a USC Trojan on incoming roster recruits.
(05:45) - The Sun is a Healer: Why summer is prime growth season for young joints and bodies.
(08:15) - Driveway Coaching: Yelling at neighborhood kids to keep their heads up while dribbling.
(10:30) - 20-Hour Self-Evaluation: Why real self-reflection takes one day, not months.
(12:15) - Diet vs. Inflammation: How Tim Tarantine Jr. changed his nutrition to beat chronic injuries.
(14:45) - The AAU Illusion: Why the European game is catching up fundamentally.
(17:15) - Average vs. Elite: The truth about top-tier shoe circuits vs. mediocre local runs.
(20:00) - Standing Next to the Coach: The ultimate tactical strategy for bench players to get their shot.
(22:30) - Weight Room Breaks: Utilizing calisthenics, push-ups, and bodyweight workouts to protect your joints.
(25:15) - Stacking Hours Alone: Waking up early to hoop at the Y or sneak into Western's Rec center.

Transcript

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For my kids who are taking time this summer to get better, I hope you start early. I'm hoping that you kids who don't want to settle are out here working your butt off with school being out, because the thing about sports is you can lose it if you don't use it. Tell kids all of the time, hey, if you think you got better and you want your coach to notice, then I expect some of y'all to be standing next to the coach so that when he looks to sub somebody, if you ain't in there, when he looks to sub somebody and he's frustrated and he can't remember a name, and he just grabs you and you go. I went to a couple open houses and didn't see a coach there. You know, it just took me back to when I was listening to a parent talk about, you know, not liking the coach, and they don't even invite him to their um open house. And and, you know, I went to two good athletes open houses and no the coach wasn't there. So again, I think people put too much emphasis on trying to figure out a reason why not to like coaches. Well, with that being said, let's just move on. Um, you know, again, with the summer coming along, I want to I wonder what my athletes are doing to get better, you know. I wonder what the kids who sat the bench but hated it are doing to get better. Um, you know, to getting better doesn't take it, it doesn't take time off. You know, I I've talked to a couple of little young kids who, you know, sophomores, gonna be juniors, you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna take a month off, or or I'm gonna take a couple weeks off, or you know, I'm going to play in in uh AAU and going to play in these tournaments, you know. I was like, but you know, you're taking time off, or there's a kid out there that's not taking time off, it's getting better. You're going to play in these tournaments, these AAU tournaments, and you only practice like maybe once or twice a week. What are you doing outside of that? You know, I mean, you have all you have this extra time. You know, I football players, same way. I know a couple of kids that skip seven on seven. Now understanding that that's extra work. You know, some coaches hold that against you. You know, that might be um one of those cases where the coaches say, uh, we'll we'll we'll we'll let them weed themselves out, is how they say it. You know, it's one of those things where it wasn't mandatory, but it was suggested mandatory. Um and I know some kids who sat that out, and I I mean I I I found it befuddling to myself because um these are kids that were talking about getting better and wanted to start next year. So we'll see how that works out for them. But you know, for my kids who are taking time this summer to get better, I hope you start early. I hope you intensify your workouts. You know, my nephew was just in town who plays at USC, and it was funny listening to talking to him because I can notice he shrunk a little bit. And he first thing he said to me was, I know Uncle Rado, I gotta get in the gym and get myself ready. And his words were because there's somebody that we recruited who's coming to try to take my spot next year. So those of you who are, you know, engraved in your spots who know they're gonna be starting or know their positions that they're gonna be playing, um, you know, like he said, there's somebody trying to get that. Um so you probably need to work hard. You probably need to work harder. And the best time to do that is in the summer, to me, because it's so hot out that it trains your body to not only lose weight, but you get in, you you get into shape being outside working out in a manner in which a controlled environment doesn't provide. Because when you're outside working out, it becomes improvisation in some causes of your workout. You know, like I remember when we were kids to get better, you know, a group of us would be like, man, we we let's go get let's go hit these push-ups, you know, let's go run around the track, you know, let's let's get let's go, okay, now let's get in this crowd, let's get these little hunt, let's knock out these hundred sit-ups, you know. I mean, and that was just to get better, and it was crazy because when my son Devin was coming up, they used to do that. You know, him, Jadakus Lewis, you know, all of those kids, they would, they would have groups of them, and they would all summer, they would work out to get better. And I don't see that anymore. And I'm hoping to see that this summer. I'm hoping that you kids who don't want to settle are out here working your butt off of the school, being out, because the thing about sports is you can lose it if you don't use it. You know, it goes away just as quick as it comes. All of these kids that are in AAU and all of that, there is nothing wrong with getting your individual work as well. But the problem is these kids come home and the first thing that they say is they're tired. You know, um, but they won't sacrifice a weekend of AAU for that weekend to be skill work, drill work, getting better work. They'd rather just go hang out and kick it, you know, shoot three balls that they're not gonna shoot in game in in high school games, um, try and trick people on the court. And, you know, I mean, let's just be honest, AAU is just five on five run. You know, you got some plays, you got, you got exceptional players, you know, and you got, but most of them run just motion, you know, and uh, and you just rely on the athleticism of the kids, which is, you know, to me, I mean, as they say, which is why the European kids are catching up or even surpassing us so in some aspects of basketball. Now, don't get me wrong. I would never think athletically, and total, we're totally inferior athletically. But fundamentally, they've they've caught us because we don't fundamentally work anymore. We don't work on the fundamentals of the game. Like, you know, a lot of people were complaining about Shea Joker's Alexander. They say he push off, he flops a lot, this, that. But the thing that they were missing was that dude's mid-range game is killer. I mean, you and and he's scoring 32 with maybe hitting two or three threes a game while you got cats jacking up 10, 15 and walking out of there with 22 points. I mean, make it make sense. Because it's a skill work that he put the work in. It's a skill. You know, you look, you, your football players, you know. The thing that you gotta understand is the the weight room is a great place to get better and attract, but also you have to know when to give your body a break from the weight room, and therefore it becomes about body weight workout. You know, you got all summer to use bodyweight workout and mix in weights. You know, maybe you do weights two times out the week, and the other, you know, the other three are, you know, push-ups, sit-ups, knee be deep knee bends, squats, wall push-ups, um, you know, uh, empty shoulder shrugs. People don't understand that calisthenics will get you, get you where you want to be just as quickly and in less pain because your body needs to take a break. Especially you young kids. This is summer is growth, growth of season. The weather is great, you're getting fresh air, you're getting stuff that your body normally would not get because of how cold it is, at least for us here in Michigan, and how temperamental our weather is. Most kids grow in the summertime because now all of a sudden they are outside. Now all of a sudden they are getting that breath, that fresher breath, that breath of fresh air through their system in their body. That's why I always tell kids, I used to tell my kids, motherfucker, you're not about to be in this house. You better get outside. I don't care how hot it is. Get outside. Because the outside brings so much to the body that I think we missed that. I think we missed that point. I don't think that these kids understand or are told enough. I don't think these athletes are told that enough. Why do you think that when it's hot out and the sun is out, your joints don't hurt because that sun and that heat is lubricating you. That sun in itself is a rejuvenator. That sun in itself is a healer. Take it from a person like me, man. I go out to Air, I'll be here in the wintertime. And we go out to Arizona, man, I feel like a whole new person because I'm not, I don't have aches and pains anymore. It's because I'm out there in that sun. And I, and my wife, she cracks up at me because I do not like to be inside. Heck, even here, with when if it's nice outside, I go in my driveway. I set out my little, my, my chair, and I sit in my driveway. And, you know, my employee who's here from California said, just like an old man, huh? Yep, just like an old man. I sit there with my little bourbon, smoke me a cigar, just watch the kids come down dribbling. When they dribble with their head up, I yell across the street to them, hey, what you see down there? Ain't no money on the ground. Why you dribbling the ball looking down? What basketball player have you ever seen dribble with the basketball with his head down? You know, I'll say just stuff like that to the kids. And then I watch him work on what I just yelled at him about. And it just brings a joy to me because now I know that that kid is gonna remember what I told him every time he's dribbling that basketball. Or at least every time he drives by, he's gonna remember, oh shoot, dude might be sitting out there in his chair, and he's gonna say something if I got my head down. But if I got my head up, he's gonna tell me how good of a job I've done. And I love for kids to know that that's I love to know that that's gonna be a reaction from a kid. That's the giving of me, like giving advice to a kid that I know is gonna help them get better. And I think you kids need to take this summer, evaluate yourself. And the thing about being a kid is you only need a day or two. Grown-ups take months to evaluate themselves. And it's it's a joke to me when you I gotta evaluate, I gotta do some self-evaluation. Well, you do self-evaluation in goddamn 20 hours. One day. Okay, I done self-evaluated myself. You know, you know everything about you. You know where you're deficient at. You know, I would take the time to self-evaluate myself. Um what is it I need to get in shape. I don't like the way my body looks. Okay, how can I change that? Maybe it's by my diet, adding my workout, intensifying my workout to my diet. And that's the thing, too. This summer, I want you athletes to work on your diets. This summer, I want you athletes to work on your diets. People don't understand. Like, I there's a player for Kamazoo Central, and um, my man, Tim Tarantine Jr., really, really great kid, great kid. But he was always injured. And I told him, I said one day, I said to him, man, you know, um, might want to look at your diet, bro. You know, you might want to change up some of the things that you eat, you know, that causes inflammation in the body, and and and you don't even know it. And, you know, and it might affect your injury status. And he did. He changed his diet. I mean, he he he still had little tweaks that came with the game, but they weren't what they were before he changed his diet. He even acknowledged that, which, you know, like I try to give you kids or kids, period, any piece of knowledge that I have that would help you be better mentally, physically, or whatever it takes, you know, maybe absorb what a coach tells you, you know, whatever I can do to help make your athletic life even better. You know, I don't want to see you guys sitting around this summer, you know. I don't I don't want to see you guys and girls thinking that, you know, summers, I'm I'm out of school, is for the rest. No, rest is for the weary. You know, you you you you gotta get out there and get it. None of these people, pro athletes that you guys um look up to and uh strive to be, even the college athletes, unless they're 6'8, 6'9 and dominant, or you know, six like like Big Dewey and Big Lipsy, 6'5, 6'6, 320-pound people movers who can walk into a place and already, you know, a sign right here. You need to be trying to get better. You need to be working out. You need to not take a break. You know, you need to start yesterday. You need to start running heels yesterday. You need to start doing push-ups yesterday, you needed to do squats yesterday, you know, you needed to do your leg lifts yesterday, you needed to shoot your thousand shots yesterday. You know, I'm uh I love the AAU game. But again, like I said, I hate when I go there and I see um, you know, guys just running up and down the court and just, you know, and just playing. Uh uh hoping for a fast break. And then when they get in a half-court set, it's it just looks raggedy. You know, I hate seeing that. I love to see Crisp AAU play where teams are running plays, you know, um, like the big-time teams do. Um but also those big-time teams have those kids that I just described that are walking in at 6'8, 6'7, you know, you got 6'4, 8th graders, you know, I mean, so those are exceptions to the rules. See, that's what our kids don't understand. You might be playing AAU, but the ones to me that are exceptions to the rules are the EYBL and the Adidas top top circuit, like with Boo Williams and, you know, Bradley Beal coaching, you know, um, Kendrick Perkins' uh little teams, and and and you know, those guys, those are exceptions to the rule, which means the rest of you guys are average and mediocre and good in your area at best. If that's not what you want to be, then you need to be working. And I hate to say that I don't see that enough. You know, I see these cats. Well, we got our practice on Wednesday, and then we leave in either Thursday or Friday for our tournament and playing on Sunday, and then they come home and not doing nothing Monday, Tuesday until practice on Wednesday when you want to beat teams come to high school season and wonder why you can't. Because those guys are they are doing that. They come home, hey, what's up? We're gonna be at the gym tomorrow. That's Monday. Yeah, we'd be at the gym, you know, and just shooting around, just doing drills. You know, oh, I'm resting. That is resting. That is giving your body a break. It's it's a mechanical now. It's something mechanical. It's it's it's mechanical. I'm now I'm dribbling, I'm working on my stuff. You know, I can you can take a break and go get some water. You know, you can you can chill out, but you're still getting in at work. They don't do that anymore, at least not around here. They go to the AAU again and then they, you know, on the weekend after they're done, they do because they miss something. Either they missed a girl, or they missed what was going on in the neighborhood, and and not the hood in their neighborhood. Some of them live in the hood, so that's their neighborhood, and that's fine. You know, even in the suburbs, you you still feel like you miss something. So it's not a hood. When I say the hood in the neighborhood, you know, and so therefore it stops you from putting in that extra. Everybody needs that extra. Pros even need that extra. Football, baseball. Baseball is in full swing in the summertime right now. You know, the thing about baseball is that's one of the sports where you actually do put in the work in the summertime. It's the wintertime when they got to put in their work because all of your games is in the summer. You know, you're playing a lot of travel basketball. You are you're playing a USA national baseball team and all that in the summer. So their time is during that time. But their offseason is during the winter. But I know a lot of most baseball players are multiple sports players. You know, I'm strictly, I'm strictly talking to my basketball and football players as far as when it comes to the summer, what are you doing to make yourself better, to make yourself relevant, to make yourself seen by your coach. You know, the thing I used to tell kids all of the time, hey, if you think you got better and you want your coach to notice, then I expect some of y'all to be standing next to the coach so that when he looks to sub somebody, if you ain't in there, when he looks to sub somebody and he's frustrated and he can't remember a name, and he just grabs you and you go in there. He don't even know who you is because he can't remember what name he wanted to call. And I've seen that happen because I've done it myself. And throw the kid, man, and and and and I end up not taking that kid out for the rest of the game because he was just waiting for his shot. I want y'all to be those kids because you spent that time working and you standing next to that coach, and I want that coach to throw you in. And I want you to get rewarded for your work, but not by the coach. I want you to get rewarded by yourself because that'll tell you the amount of effort that you put into getting better this summer. The reward yourself. The coach throws you in. That's not his reward. His reward is it was because of you that we, you, your contribution. That's his reward. Your reward is getting in the game and putting in that work and showing how much effort I put into my workout this summer. This right here is about to tell me. If I'm on the defensive line, if I'm slanging folks left and right, just getting in the mix, putting my nose in there. If I'm a linebacker, you know, my reading reaction time has gotten a lot quicker. You know, I can hold blocks a lot, I can hold uh uh running backs up a lot longer to get to the ball or to get to the quarterback because of the effort that I put in, the push-ups I put in, the push that I put in, you know, and the work that I put in all summer. I want kids to reward themselves. You know, and that's why I wanted to talk about this. I wanted kids to understand that you have to, in high school and college, to be elite, work every day. It's just like going to school. You know, and that's the thing that kids don't understand. You think you got a break from school because you're not doing no break of work, so that gives you a break from your whatever you're doing sports-wise, when it should be the opposite. My break from work means I get to pick up on this. I need to intensify this. Two hours out your day every day, that's nothing. Two hours out your day every day is nothing to get better. I mean, I know I say a lot about my youngest son, you know, but the thing about him is I never had an issue. I never had that problem. He always wanted to get better, even if it was no matter what it was, whatever he was playing. We was going to the cages. In the summertime, he wake me up, Dad. I'm I'm when he couldn't, when I had to take him to the Y. Be waiting for me to wake up. And all I had to do was drop him off. Son, when do I pick you up? I'll call you. Four or five hours later. You because he was in here working, he was playing games, but then he was working too. That's how you, and the thing about it is, it can't always be with your friends. That's y'all's problem. If one friend don't want to do it, then all of y'all don't want to do it. And like we was never like that. We would go anywhere. Oh, y'all ain't hooping? Oh, well, I'm pretty sure they're hooping over here. Hey, let's go. We're going to the west side to hoop. Oh, they ain't hooping at the Y? Let's see if we can get a ride out to the Rec, to the M S U I M. And we was cool with people who would let us in. Just like I noticed some of y'all is cool with these people down here at Western that the Rek gotta let you in. You you got to want to reward yourself with your play. And in order to do that, you've got to get better. And in order to get better, you gotta put in the work. And to put in the work is right now. The best players get better when nobody's watching or paying attention. It becomes a case where you show up and they say, Where the hell did this come from? And then that gives you the opportunity to say, Coach, I've been working all summer. I can see. That's what you want to hear as an athlete. I don't care what sport it is, that's what you want to hear. You want to hear a coach say, damn, you got better. And you want to be able to say it's because I work. So in closing, I just want to be want to say, you know, remember, hard work does pay. And two hours a day is nothing. You'll find, you'll find yourself loving it once you've started. Once you see the improvement, once you see you getting better, once other people tell you you're getting better, you'll find yourself loving it. All I'm asking you to do is just try it. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Coach Wildle's Winning Regardless podcast.