Alright folks, buckle up. Decided to try out Cameron Cook’s drills today. You know, that basketball coach whose stuff pops up everywhere? Heard he had some ‘secret sauce’, so figured why not give it a whirl myself and spill the beans.
First thing I did was drag my butt to the gym early. Coffee in hand, feeling kinda hopeful but also skeptical. Grabbed a ball off the rack – felt weirdly stiff, like maybe someone pumped it up too much last night. Whatever.
The Starting Struggle
Cook talks a big game about footwork drills being the foundation. Okay, fine. Found a clear spot on the baseline. Started with his basic “hop-stick-catch” thing. Sounds simple, right? Totally wasn’t.
- Tried hopping sideways.
- Stuck the landing like he says.
- Went to catch an imaginary pass.
My feet got tangled almost immediately. Felt like I was learning to walk again. Almost face-planted right there. Balance was all messed up. Gritted my teeth, told myself “get it together, dummy”. Took like fifteen tries just to not look like a newborn giraffe doing it.
The Real Kicker: Shot Fakes & Pivots
Then came the part Cook apparently swears by: shot fakes leading into quick pivots. He makes it look smooth in videos. My attempt? Pure comedy gold.
Faked the shot, felt kinda stiff. Went to pivot off my left foot… and just kinda stumbled. The ball wobbled, felt like it wanted to escape. My right foot didn’t plant right – slipped a little on the dusty floor. Nearly launched the ball straight into the bleachers. Seriously questioned his sanity and mine for following along. Wiped sweat off my forehead, mostly frustration-sweat at that point.
Why Was This So Damn Hard?
Standing there, breathing hard after maybe 30 minutes, I realized something. Cook ain’t lying about the footwork being key. My problem? My feet are lazy. Years of playing, but the basic, super-controlled movement he demands? Different animal. It exposes every bad habit. Felt like starting from scratch, which is probably the point, even if it sucked.
The Personal Gut Punch
This actually hit home harder than I expected. Reminded me of trying to learn guitar years back. Thought I could skip scales, jump straight to cool riffs. Sounded like angry cats fighting. Teacher drilled me relentlessly on basics I thought were useless. Hated every second. Felt stupid. Almost quit. But months later? Suddenly the fancy stuff clicked because my fingers knew where to go. Standing there with the basketball, slipping on my pivot, that guitar frustration came flooding back. Cook’s “secrets”? Brutal honesty about the unsexy foundation. Doing the simple things right, over and over, even when you wanna chuck the ball at the wall. Maybe especially then.
Left the gym today sore and humbled. Didn’t magically transform my game. Cook’s not handing out easy fixes. Felt like he handed me a shovel and said “dig, deeper”. Not sure if I uncovered all his “secrets,” but I definitely uncovered how much my fundamentals stink. Gonna be back tomorrow. Probably. Maybe after a beer tonight.
