Johnny Phyfe Basketball Math

Had the pleasure of being guest coach for the draft day, a league that been running 20 years in Venice Beach that has put some great basketball players on the map.

I got to run the players through some drills and some of my mental exercises for dealing with discomfort and pushing past what your brain is telling you is your limit. I gave them extended timed planks, they’re more of a brain game to me to learn to push you past your limits of what your head is telling you is uncomfortable. This can applied to sports, life, business and so forth. If we want better versions of ourselves, we have to step into the uncomfortable zones to get there and I hope these young men and women picked up some of this and will apply to their everyday lives.

We can’t get where we want to go by staying in what feels good to us all the time. Growth will require being uncomfortable, scared to take the next steps, questioning lots of our choices. I just say go for it and put yourself out there. It’s better to be in the arena putting something on the line, than a quiet observer in the stands if we want to better ourselves.

Thanks for a great day everyone, and you know I very much appreciate the effort everyone put in. Good luck this summer!

Are you pushing yourself in life? Or ya staying all cozy?

Former Nike streetball pro. 49 years old. Trying to hold off my 12 year old son. Am I cooked by 14??

The basketball is the fun part, but what I really love about this is watching years of work, conversations, teaching, competing, and time together start to show up on the court.

At 12 years old, Dylan is already 5’9” and getting better every month. There are moments now where he’ll hit me with something and I’ll just laugh because I know exactly where he learned it. Then five seconds later I’m coaching him on the next possession while we’re still going at each other.

As fathers, I think this is one of the coolest things we’ll ever experience. You spend years teaching your kids, pushing them, encouraging them, correcting them, and helping them build confidence, and then one day you realize all that work is starting to come back at you.

I’m grateful that at 49 I can still move, still compete, and still make him earn everything, but I’m also realistic enough to know my days are numbered. The gap gets a little smaller every year, and honestly that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

For now, Dad can still get a bucket.

For now. 😂

Retired Nike Streetball pro playing in Venice at 48 and throwing some dimes. I am not chasing pro basketball runs anymore, but at my age I like to be able to chase my kid.