Cross-training program will open doors for young athletes
MORGAN HILL — Larry Green and Terry Smith have worked to improve prep hoops in Morgan Hill with innovative training through Hoops Dreams Basketball Consulting LLC., a company they have operated locally since 2005.
Their private workouts and clinics have helped mold some of the city’s best talent in recent years, including more than a dozen first- or second-team all league honorees. Others made noticeable improvement through Hoop Dreams’ regimen, which sets realistic goals based on each athlete’s skill level.
“Our vision was to teach the game to young players and give the more experience ones an opportunity to set the bar at the highest notch,” Smith said. “We want to get players in public schools around the South Valley to train year-round, so they can compete with private schools.”
Green and Smith are opening their business to all sports, and they have the perfect team on board to help. The two former Division I college players have entered a partnership that will bring their clients to the cross-fit experts at Train For Life gym in Morgan Hill.
Starting this summer, Hoop Dreams players will receive top-notch coaching from Green and Smith plus exceptional fitness training that prepares them for a variety of sports.
“It’s a basketball focus, but it isn’t specifically basketball,” Green said. “The kids are going to gain good hand strength, footwork, balance and quickness and be in the best shape possible. They’re going to switch off in quick-stage workouts that last about 35 seconds — that’s going to get them into a basketball mentality.”
As before, the Hoop Dreams program is open to all levels of fitness and expertise. Athletes will be grouped into beginner, intermediate and elite classes of 15-25 and tested early and often to track their progression.
They will train together with TFL co-owners Margarita Jimenez and Skip Rebozzi occasionally but mostly work with multisport specialist C.J. Powell, who competed in football and track and field at Upper Iowa University.
“We’re at the point here we have great facilities and top-notch people,” Green said. “Ultimately, we want this program to put all Morgan Hill sports on the map.”
Powell, a Live Oak High alumnus, has been a fitness trainer for six years.
“We have a great program lined up,” he said. “It will definitely help anyone that wants to work hard and be a better athlete.”
Rebozzi understands the quality of coaching each player will receive. His two daughters played under Smith in the South County Basketball Association.
“They have a really, really good way of teaching,” Rebozzi said of Smith and Green. “They don’t just condition or show them skills, they teach them the game. They have a great understanding of how the game is played. I know first hand their program works. We’re lucky to be working with them.”
Among Hoop Dreams’ biggest advantages is its competitive clientele. Green and Smith typically have classes that include players from Sobrato and Live Oak — and also private schools like Archbishop Mitty and Valley Christian.
“It makes for some pretty intense sessions,” Smith said. “Every kid wants to do one more rep, one more set than the guy next to him.”
Located at 17680 Butterfield Blvd., TFL has grown steadily since its opening a year ago, during the height of the economic recession. It caters best to those with sincere goals, Jimenez said.
“If you want to go to the next level of fitness, you typically have to sign up with a personal trainer for, let’s say, $80 an hour,” she said. “Here, you pay the same price and you get a month with personal trainers that work with you all the time.
“When you have professionals leading the workout, they keep you motivated in an encouraging way.”
Train For Life has received glowing reviews.
“I have seen more results in the last year from TFL than I have the last 10 years at other gyms,” Brenda Masterson says. “My body has never felt stronger … and at age 50, I’m in the best shape of my life.”
Train For Life will have an anniversary celebration June 15, just after the Hoop Dreams program picks up June 1.
To sign up, visit www.hoopdreams25.com.
