The BERNDT FAMILY…
Motivation is a word coaches throw around a lot these days. There are motivational speakers everywhere. These days motivation from coaches play a huge part in players becoming successful. If you can motivate a player, you have a real chance of seeing a young person do something special. Yet there is something more exciting to me. The young player or players who are self motivated. To me these are the special ones. Which gets me to a sister, brother act. Kyle and Natalie Berndt are two players who are self motivated to be the best they can be… there not happy being just like everyone else. They want to be special, different and GREAT. They don’t need your motivation… THEY HAVE THEIR OWN👍
So often these days Coaches have become more psychologist and cheerleaders all wrapped up into one. Today coaches have to measure their words as not to hurt a players or parents feeling. Truth has to be measured when talking to a player. Can they handle the truth and how much of the truth. It goes to a players self esteem and confidence. These days so many coaches spend their time cheering and telling players how great they are… even when they not, they think there giving a player confidence. You heard them yelling “keep shooting”. Have you ever heard them say “stop shooting because you don’t practice enough”? It’s just the way it is these days. That why when you see two players like Natalie and Kyle Berndt as a coach or trainer you get excited. You get excited for them and their futures. You see this sister/ brother act motives coaches. They flip the switch, they want you as a coach to be better. That’s because they demand you be better by their work ethic… a relentless unforgiving work ethic. They don’t just challenge themselves, they challenge you as a coach. They don’t need phony motivation and corny one liners to hype them up. These two just want the facts. They want truth, because when you work as hard as these two, you will settle for nothing less.
Natalie Berndt is a 6th grader and I can tell you right now unless the sky falls, she is going to be a megastar one day. Her ability to grind and work herself to the bone is borderline freakishly beautiful. When you watch her pace of play and effort your jaw drops and you think, how can this kid be only in the 6th grade? Then when you realize her learning curve and IQ are off the charts, you can only shake your head in disbelief. How good do I believe Natalie is you ask? There is not one 6th grader in the Shore area I have seen is even on the same planet as her… yes she is that talented. But I honestly believe it’s her work ethic that totally separates her from everyone else. When you watch her workout it’s impossible not to fall in love with her game. It’s impossible not to want to help her grow. She makes you want to bring your “A” game as a trainer and coach because make no mistake.. she is always bringing hers. She deserves your best and you feel guilty if you cheat her. I can tell you she is rare a for her age. I can tell you that she is that rare young player who flips the switch because she has something you do not teach..PRESENCE. When you see her, she looks different, walks different. The eyes are different, you cannot help but notice her. She has something all the great ones have … A PRESENCE
Kyle Berndt is the other half of this sister/brother act. The moment I saw Kyle I knew he had a chance to be different. Right away I knew he was a better athlete than he even knew. I loved his Shiftiness an above all I loved his willingness to be coached. To be challenged. I love kids who beg you to challenge them. Kyle is clearly that kid. I jump on him about getting his off hand up when dribbling and he does exactly that. Anything you tell him he does and he does it with real effort. There is nothing phony in his game. He will be a freshman in high school next season. I know he will be successful, do you know how I know? Because there is not a chance in hell anyone will outwork him. Kyle doesn’t take off minutes, hours or days. He has mastered the art of showing up everyday. It’s not a mistake he is a deadly shooter or has a tight handle. What you think those things were given to him. Hell no because the first thing I realized about him at the virtual workouts was this… he was not going to let anyone outwork him. You see it’s a little thing called PRIDE… Kyle has lots of it. He also has natural talent and don’t let anyone fool you in the boys game it matters. Just like getting buckets matter. Trust me on this one, Kyle is going to get buckets that just a fact. You see his passion and willingness to work are things he has embedded his system.
Both Kyle and Natalie are from Pa and truth be told I have no idea how I came to know them. I just noticed they would be on twitter working like animals. They were working with such an edge. Then one day they showed up on my virtual workout. It was clear from day one I was drawn to them. Let’s be honest, coaches are always drawn to hard workers. But on top of this, they both were mega talents. It’s strange but I have seen the best two best 6th graders I know in virtual training and neither is from the Shore. Addy Nyemchek and now NAT are beyond special. These are young ladies who stars shine bright. Both will have D1 offers before they play a high school game one day. I hope they will stay grounded and understand a lot can go wrong if their not careful. If they don’t let their parents and love ones give them truth and guidance.
Kyle is a different story because the boys game is so much more about physical development as well as skills. I can tell you this, nobody is going to out skill Kyle, that’s just not going to happen. I also know when the time is right. He will develop physically, do you know why? Because Kyle will work as hard off the court as he does on the court. You see when you want something as bad as Kyle does.. you don’t understand shortcuts. I already know this about him. You see his actions speak loud and clear…failure is not a option for him. Soon he will be the total package… trust me in such matters.
This Berndt sister/brother act is as good as it gets. For me it’s one of the best shows around. One day this act it going to hit the big time and play under the bright lights. One day both Kyle and Natalie are going to make there dreams come true. Why? Because nobody forces them to train and practice with such desire and commitment. They have a inner desire to excel and be magical on their own. They choose to be different, great and to make sacrifices because they love this game we play. It’s in there blood and what they love. It’s a beautiful thing. So for now I will just keep watching in amazement and totally enjoy how two young people are so self motivated to be GREAT!👏👏🏀
