h i s t o r y

History has to be created and we are currently involved in the creation of the Hampton Roads Basketball Academy. My name is Ken Spell and the academy was established in January of 2007, but has been in creation both mentally and physically of mine since December of 2005. Over the past four months, we have been conducting various workout sessions at gymnasiums in Virginia Beach. Feedback from the kids and parents has been outstanding. Each and every session I have seen progressive improvement from the previous week. I’m excited to continue this growth throughout the Virginia Beach area and know that you will enjoy your time with us.

f o u n d a t i o n

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, foundation is a basis upon which something stands or is supported. It is also a body or ground upon which something is built up or overlaid. To succeed in life, we must all have a foundation that is solid. Creating the foundation for this academy has taken about five years and is still transforming to this day. At the core, however, the foundation for the Hampton Roads Basketball Academy will always be:

“Expect great things from hard work and dedication. Establish core principals in young boys and girls that include believing in yourself, discipline, a desire to improve on the court and winning or losing as a team.”

As long as the above statement holds true within this academy, I will feel as if we are successful. As a child, I remember constantly hearing of my “world” as being different from my parents’. As I’ve grown to be a parent, I have seen that statement hold true. Our world will continue to change, but the basic foundation we want to give children will not. Sports can and will teach children to deal with friendships, how to handle adversity, how to push themselves mentally and physically, how to work as a team, how to be a leader, and how to win and lose.

I will deliver on my foundation everyday that I am with my athletes. I look forward to watching my foundation grow with each child and in the community.

p h i l o s o p h y

The philosophy behind the Hampton Roads Basketball Academy is to make kids better basketball players by increasing their personal skill set, mastering the fundamentals, providing resources and tools to get bigger, faster, and stronger while expanding their basketball IQ. The unique aspect of the academy is our goal to achieve this at a team setting. Over the history of this great sport we have been witness to some outstanding, borderline-unbelievable individual efforts on the hardwood. From Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game in March of 1962 to Michael Jordan’s heroics, we have seen a tremendous amount of talent. All of the talent in the world can not compare to a team moving, communicating, and working as a cohesive unit.

In today’s environment of basketball, we have lost touch with the concept of team and fundamentals. Unfortunately, in this world of technology and the “dunks only” highlight reel, our kids have no choice but to think about only themselves. This academy is geared to help kids understand how to work as an efficient team.

Kids need to feel rewarded for their accomplishments. I want the athletes to be proud of themselves and their achievements, but more importantly, I want them to find value in what they are learning and to learn how to handle mistakes. The ability to appreciate instruction and the ability to receive correction can be used on the hardwood, in the school environment, in a work environment, and at home. When a child realizes the value in their lessons, they will take the instruction home to perfect what the teacher is trying to teach them. Knowing that one of my kids works at home after class creates a sense of increased passion for me to strategically feed them more of what I know. Equally important is to teach a pupil to handle a misstep. Many teachers, especially in competitive athletics, are quick to be animated when an error occurs. Rather than dissecting errors in great detail, I prefer to stop, ask the player why I’m stopping them and re-teach the correct concept to them. Soon, I simply say a kids’ name and they know what I’m going to say before I say it. I like to sometimes call it the “light bulb” reward — and the reward is mine.

f o u n d e r ‘ s  b i o

Growing up in central North Carolina, the heart of basketball country, I always had a basketball in my hand. As many kids at that time did, I always envisioned myself hitting the winning shot for my favorite team to win the NCAA tournament, day in and day out. Understanding that a college scholarship was not going to “fall in my lap,” I worked hard to develop my skill set and game IQ at a young age. Coupling my understanding of how the game should be played with my athletic ability allowed me to be recruited by several Division I and II schools. I accepted a scholarship to Elon University near Burlington, NC to play for Coach Mark Simons (current women’s assistant at Auburn University).  My academic, athletic, and social experiences while at Elon changed my life — and I owe it all to basketball.

I would not have what I do today if not for the great game of basketball. If not for basketball, I would have never met my wife who has given me three beautiful children, and most importantly, helped guide me in my faith. My four years at Elon were challenging, fun, and extremely rewarding. Playing at the collegiate level, no matter what division, is a daunting task and I learned quickly that I needed to be organized, focused, accountable, and passionate to succeed in the classroom and on the court. Recruited as a point guard, I quickly learned that minutes were not going to be handed to me and I had to work harder than ever if I wanted to play in games. During my first two years, I adapted to a wing/point position and help lead Elon to a South Athletic Conference Championship. My junior year, we broke into the Division II NCAA tournament. Our team transitioned from Division II to Division I my senior year which presented tough, more athletic competition. I was fortunate to have a great shooting night during the 1997 TCBY Holiday Classic in Little Rock, Arkansas to help lead us to a victory over Mississippi Valley State and a 3rd place finish. Going 8-11 from three’s also helped me earn all-tournament honors. I graduated with a degree in Corporate Communications in the spring of 1998 and was off to start my life in the real world.

Immediately I started coaching for various AAU organizations and teams in North Carolina. Shelley and I married on March 20, 1999 and we now have three children; Bryson, Landon, and Avery. With our faith in God and our love for basketball, we have been able to establish this academy.

i n s t r u c t i o n

At The Hampton Roads Basketball Academy, there are three key elements in our instruction: concept, passion, and results.

1- Concept – How is the instructor teaching his/her methods?
2- Passion – Is he/she passionate?
3- Result – Are there measurable and emotional results?

Whether teaching numbers or how to surf, more than likely teachers are successful starting with their method, style or concept. Here at the Hampton Roads Basketball Academy we believe in the concept of teaching kids how to play as a team through core development. We hope to accomplish this through progressive training in all aspects of our academy. Establishing a goal to work for is extremely important. Often, the most challenging part of obtaining that goal is the journey we must take to get there. One of the many values of the academy is to establish the building blocks for kids to understand the game better and allow them to efficiently increase their skill set to the next progression. For example: Grabbing a rebound cannot be taught by simply shouting, “go get the ball!” First we must teach proper positioning, how to find the player with your hands, why we need to grab the ball with two hands and aggressively secure the ball once you have it. By teaching the four aspects of rebounding in simple settings we can perfect the little things so that grabbing the rebound is simple. This type of progressive training also allows the kids to work at their own pace and will allow them to understand the game their own way.

Passion is what drives us to succeed at whatever we do. Passion is extremely important in eyes of our young people, especially from teachers. I feel it is very important to have instructors who are passionate about basketball. We all see a vision of making our young people better basketball players because we believe in each of them. Can we make them play basketball? Can we make them want to get up and go to school? Can we make them not talk back? Absolutely not, but for those kids who love this great game and want to succeed at their next level, this camp is for them.

Results vary from individual to individual. Playing team sports, especially at a young age, we often hear that winning or losing is not that important, rather it’s how hard the kids played and how they respected their opponents or how they worked with their teammates. The results I look for while I’m teaching involve all of the aspects above.

It’s simple really, if your team has more points than the other team when the game is over, you win. These results are tangible. Personal results such as field goal percentage, deflections on defense, rebounds … so forth and so on are also tangible. Understanding basic team concepts, increased basketball IQ and developing an elevated work ethic can also improve results. These results are solely based on the individual. I believe the Hampton Roads Basketball Academy offers the best resource for developing these tangible opportunities, but unfortunately a big part of achieving elevated results lies with the person in the mirror. The best part about achieving tangible results is the feeling athletes get when they can relate their results back to their efforts. Exceptional, gifted athletes are out there, but the majority of successful players and coaches have worked hard to achieve certain goals.

The results I look forward to as a coach are the intangible results such as work ethic, respect, attitude and emotion. I, nor any other coach, can control how athletes turn on and off their intensity switch. This switch is controlled solely by the player and is a gift. As in athletic talent, this gift may be natural to some, but a challenge for others. Leading by example, whether it’s a coach or player will help illuminate these results. There is nothing more enjoyable for me than to see a young kid smile as they just perfected a certain ball handling drill or just made 15 free throws in a row. Or better yet, when they are pushing their teammate to work harder in an agility drill or picking them up after they made a mistake. These intangibles are uncoachable. They are however, repeatable.