Last Friday night, several of our State Performance Program athletes were treated with a special visit from San Antonio Spurs and Australian Boomer star, Patty Mills.
Mills, currently in Australia promoting the athletic brand, Under Armour, stopped by a training session run by Metro High Performance Coach Sam Gruggen and lead the athletes in a number of drills and learning experiences.
Gruggen said that the experience was invaluable having an NBA Championship winner join his training session especially a week out from the U16 Australian Junior Championships as his athletes concentrated on similar attributes that Mills focuses on in his own game.
“We focused on drills that broke down the pick and roll, guard specific skills and different options coming off screens,” Gruggen said.
“These drills are a big part of Patty’s game and it was a great to have him come and teach our SPP athletes to further enhance their development.”
“It was great to see first-hand his thought process when he comes off the screen and his decision-making process while under pressure in game like scenarios when going through the motion of these drills.”
“It was a great opportunity to have such an active and positive Australian role model come and not only speak to the athletes, but also be actively engaged in the training session.”
“I would like to say a big thankyou on behalf of Basketball NSW to Patty for taking the time out of his busy schedule to come and join in on a session and of course Under Armour for providing this unique opportunity,” Gruggen said.
The State Performance Program (SPP) is the second tier of the Basketball NSW High-Performance Program. The program exists to assist in identifying, developing, and preparing athletes in the Under 16 & Under 18 age group to represent New South Wales at the Australian Junior Championships.
CLICK HERE to see some of the action shots from the night.