So today I will give you the Gym Rats. I hope I don’t miss anyone as I did with Lauren Lithgow yesterday. But I corrected myself this morning and hope today I will repeat not my actions. Today I am going to give the GYM RATS in each class.

So you think it’s somebody that is in the gym everyday? Maybe you think it’s somebody that spends hours in the gym? Maybe you think it’s somebody who works hard in the gym. Finally maybe you think it’s a player who’s in the gym against the best competition. Well on some level you may be right. But in many cases, a player may have all these qualities and not be a gym rat.

Yes GYM RATS do spend hours in the gym. But what matters, is what they are doing in the gym. Like are they pushing their body to far, not allowing it to rest. Some people spend hours in the gym, but what are they working on. Do they really have a game plan and are they laser focused. You see some players work out; GYM RATS WORK TOWARDS GOAL. Now some people think being a GYM RAT is working hard. Well newsflash this is the biggest misconception about what makes a GYM RAT. Lots of players work hard.  But if you are not working on the right thing. You are not a GYM RAT, your just somebody who works hard.

Finally just because your in the gym with talented players on a regular bias. That does not make you a GYM RAT. There are players who train in low level environments who are and become gym rats. Better players tend to be more ball dominate and be Alpha males and females.  If you are in the gym everyday losing confidence, ego and self esteem because you can’t keep it up… you are not a GYM RAT…but rather a player losing confidence and not growing emotionally…..lose your confidence, lose your game.

  WHAT MAKES A GYM RAT?

A GYM RAT is somebody that shows up everyday. When you not the center of attention, try showing up everyday.  A GYM RAT never has excuses. A GYM RAT  allows you to coach them hard and embraces honesty. GYM RATS ask what can I do better, not I have I gotten better. GYM RATS are relentless, they seek you out for gym time, coaching, film. Anything to gain a edge. GYM RATS above all are honest about their games and hold themselves accountable…GYM RATS never ask who is in the gym...THEIR COMPETITIVE NATURE DOESN’T CARE. You have never seen a true GYM RAT duck an opportunity to play against real competition. Then finally the big one…GYM RATS don’t have to brag about being in the gym...everyone around them, does this for them. They get a reputation and everyone knows their commitment….can you say DARA MABREY.

When people say, “just because I’m not training with you, doesn’t mean I’m not in the gym working”…I just smile.  That may be true, but then when I see the shot, the handle and the skills…I know…I KNOW. Not being a GYM RAT doesn’t mean your lazy or not committed. It doesn’t mean your not a baller. What it means is that you not part of the small and I mean small population that eat, sleep and live basketball 24/7/365…some people actually have lives, unlike myself.  Stephanie Karcz was not a Gym Rat, yet she was one of the best players in Shore history. She currently in my opinion is the best player in the Patriot League(told you so…heheheheh had to get that in there).

WHY ARE GYM RATS IMPORTANT

1. They can play a level ABOVE their ability
2. They elevate your in season practices and off season workouts
3. They get better and make their teammates better every year
4. They set a standard of excellence and accountability for your team
5. They are always the last to surrender …ALWAYS (they’ve put to much time into it)
6. They protect your culture/ because they love to practice.
7. They keep your coaches energized.

BIGGEST GYM RAT IN EACH CLASS

2022

JUSTINE PISSOT- RBC- 6’2″- SHOOTING GUARD  Let end it all right her and now. This is the GYM RAT of all GYM RATS. This is Kelly Campbell on steroids. 5,000 shots a week, in the gym building skills set every day. Never in the gym without a goal to start the day. It 7 days a week, some days up to 5 hours. Talk is cheap, this young lady always shows up and more importantly can take the heat of being coached hard with an all out assault on her senses…including  her ego. Never is she happy with her game. There is always more to do and she is willing to do it…Why?  Because when she wants down the street, she wants people to say…”There goes Justine Pissot the hardest worker to ever to play the game”

2021

AMELIA MEDOLLA- RBR- 5’6″- COMBO GUARD

She is 100% a case of a true GYM RAT. In the gym everyday after school shooting. In the summer comes to camp, then shoots with the college kids at lunch time. Then say after to shoot for up to 2 more hours. Shows up in competitive gyms knowing full well, she does not carry the same status, yet never back down or disappears regardless of what court she is on. Never takes a weekend off, the result? Now she is really to explode on the shore landscape. She has worked with and against the best. She is fearless and simply has decided nobody will ever out work her….RBR is going to have to step up there game, because she going to bring it everyday in and out of season…who else sends a text are 6am on a Sunday and asks….”where we shooting today, can I come”

2020

STEPHANIE MAYERHOFFER- MIDDLETOWN SOUTH- COMBO GUARD

Now folks this one is so easy, even a blind me can see. Stephanie Mayerhoffer has no business being in the D1 conversation. But there are some kids who simply refuse to lose..when it comes to reaching their goals. Mayerhoffer is a force of will that you rarely see in kids. Tell her to get in the gym and shoot and she my friends must be dragged out of the gym. When you joke and tell her she is not working hard enough, she puts it in over drive. I stopped joking with her about her work habits, she takes it dead serious…talk about can’t take a joke! She will workout and shoot in rain, sleet or show. She will travel anywhere to get in a gym and challenge anyone in front of her. She went from being a ghost and not being giving a drop of attention during workouts to the 2018 HOOP GROUP MOST IMPROVED PLAYER. She refused to take the easy way out. She worked her way up from the side courts, B teams and other forms of disrespect. By simply out working the world…she has a new mission this fall. To kept reminding those who doubted her to …SEE WHAT SHE HAS BECOME.

2019

LOLA MULLANEY- MANASQUAN- SHOOTING GAURD

Well there’s not exactly a whole lot of mystery here(us Harvard grads got to still together..LOL). If your not doing a workout, she doesn’t care. She just goes and shoots on her own. If anyone blind, cripple, crazy, toddlers, babies, old folks, ugly folks, any folks are in the gym….her first words are…can I jump in. How hard can you coach her? Hell nobody is ever going to get that answer to that one. What gym has she not been in? I heard their is a gym in the North Pole she hasn’t been too. Listen, this is the work horse of work horses. But her lesson to you is this, just don’t get in the gym to brag about being in the gym. Go work smart. Like wake up for a hour before your SAT class, so you can get a little work in. Show at a workout and get the 45 mins before your summer or fall league game. When people talk about you, have them say things like this “omg Tiny Green was so hard on her today, I can’t believe it” Then show up the next day in the gym, like nothing ever happened. Then treat helpless opponents like farm animals with your insane talents. Go get to the gym on game day and shoot for a hour before your game…that’s how the pro’s do it baby. When you walk in the gym, notice all the top talented babies try to sneak on to your court. It called being a GYM RAT the has the RESPECT OF ALL….LOLA MULLANEY BABY.

TOMORROW- PROGRAMS KIDS…. THEY MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER

NBS UPDATE

There are spots available for the Boys Session..9-11am and the 3rd to 6th grade session…9am-11….those interested in the girls session may sign up and be put on the waiting list….. nothingbutskills.com