About Us


Build Your Game (BYG) offers a premium hands-on basketball development program. Whether you're a newcomer to the sport or already involved, our mission is to enhance every facet of your game, shaping you into a versatile and top-tier basketball player. With a blueprint catering to all your basketball requirements, our systematic method guarantees excellence for every athlete under our wing.

Our goal at BYG is to unite the basketball community by offering top-notch developmental support for athletes to build their athletic foundation. We aim to enhance your game through inclusive and excellent sessions. If you're unsure where to start your athlete's development, look no further—BYG has a straightforward 4-stage plan to set you on the path to success.

Our model considers an athlete's developmental age, regardless of the skill stage they begin at, rather than their chronological age. Using chronological age as the basis for individual development is inadequate. Likewise, using scaled-down versions of training and competition models designed for adults is also not a beneficial alternative.

We will assist in developing the necessary skills at any stage of their development. We aim to maximize athletic potential by leveraging sensitive periods in an athlete’s growth. These periods represent accelerated adaptation to enhancements in endurance, strength, speed, and skill, which are often overlooked in planning. Recognizing these sensitive periods is crucial because children and adolescents are physiologically most receptive to acquiring skills and improving specific physical attributes during these times.

We should capitalize on sensitive periods to build fundamental athletic skills and attributes. After mastering these basics, we can introduce and develop more specialized sports-specific skills. There may be some overlap between stages, as the transition is flexible and based on developmental age rather than chronological age. For example, a 15-year-old with no prior experience would start at Stage 1 to learn fundamental skills and fitness, focusing on optimizing their training windows to improve strength and speed.

  1. Stage 1: Building the Basics of Basketball

    At this stage, participants focus on getting active and mastering fundamental skills, primarily at the youth recreational level. This involves modified basketball games such as 1-on-1, 2-on-2, 3-on-3, and 4-on-4 formats. Participants also work on acquiring fitness abilities like pushing, pulling, jumping, power, and speed, alongside essential basketball skills like stance, footwork, dribbling, passing, and shooting. The emphasis is on understanding both the "how to" and "why to" of these skills. For instance, mastering dribbling means knowing how and why it's used in the game.

  2. Stage 2: Advancing Your Game

    During this stage, which includes elementary, junior high, high school, and club-level play, players focus on refining and developing their basketball skills. This involves improving footwork, ball handling, dribbling, passing, shooting, and understanding both offensive and defensive strategies. Players learn proper spacing, how to attack from various angles on offense, and principles of man-to-man defense, as well as the importance of teamwork.

    Decision-making becomes crucial at this stage, with players learning "when to" execute specific skills during gameplay. Repetition is key to mastering these skills. For instance, recognizing a defender's position and changing direction demonstrates the technical skill of a "change of direction" dribble.

    This stage emphasizes long-term growth through exposure to real game scenarios. Players learn "what to do" by understanding offensive strategies such as simple patterns, assigned roles, or attacking defensive formations in half-court situations.

  3. Stage 3: Competitive Level

    In this phase, encompassing college and professional levels, athletes strive to excel and achieve success. Mental fortitude becomes paramount, focusing on enjoyment, confidence, concentration, goal-setting, social support, and managing competition.

    Strategic thinking reaches its peak, with a high level of creativity in play. Short-term adjustments to long-term plans are crucial, with tactics tailored specifically for upcoming games. For instance, teams might strategize to force opponents/ teams to their less efficient side based on scouting reports.

    Individualized training takes precedence, with tailored fitness and recovery programs, psychological readiness, and technical skill development. This personalized approach hones in on each athlete's strengths and weaknesses to maximize performance.

  4. Stage 4: Lifelong Engagement

    At this stage, individuals engage in ongoing adult recreational activities like pickup basketball to maintain overall health. It marks a seamless transition from a competitive athletic career to a lifelong commitment to physical activity and sports participation.

    Life skills such as leadership, responsibility, self-reliance, trust, and communication are emphasized, fostering personal growth and social development beyond the court.

BYG has created an atmosphere where players can develop a deep love for and dedication to basketball. We believe that providing a positive sports experience is essential for keeping athletes engaged even after they transition away from competitive play. Our goal is for every athlete we engage with to cultivate a strong work ethic and maintain a lifelong passion for the game.

Mamba Mentality x BYG

As athletes begin to mature, the competition to practice ratio often becomes skewed to the competition. The focus is shifted from development to winning, with practices becoming few and far between. There is often too much emphasis on competing and not enough on teaching fundamentals. Even during practices, focus is sometimes shifted to practicing sets, press break or scrimmaging, before a player can make a left handed layup. Our focus as leaders of the next generation of players must be to develop well-rounded basketball players. This can only happen if coaches emphasize development of the individual player more so than the team.

“We need to train our young players as athletes first – develop their athletic base. Then we need to add “basketball” skills and concepts. But mostly we need to quit playing so many games and start teaching the fundamentals of the game. Kids want to learn – it is up to us to teach them.” -- Canadian Women’s National Team Head Coach, Allison McNeill