Nike Basketball Trainer Ganon Baker shows 23 Ways To Destroy Your Defender: New style iPhone app!

Posted on 01 August 2009, at 4:37 pm, by Travis Ehrlich

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Some of you may know that my “real” job is being a high school history teacher and coach. What some of you may not know is that coaches are in constant search of information, ideas, drills, plays etc… I have a rather large library of football and basketball playbooks, instructional books, videos and hand drawn plays on napkins. We may not be necessarily searching for the next big thing, but knowledge on every offense and defense. I want to understand what my opponent is doing so I can adjust what I am doing. There are many websites, books and DVDs available, but never has there been an app to assist coaches and players. 23 Ways To Destroy Your Defender opens a new genre for the iPhone and touch.

The app is basically a 30 minute basketball skills video. The instructor is renowned Nike Basketball Trainer Ganon Baker. Baker goes through 23 different ball handling moves that were made famous by NBA stars. Each skill is explained and performed through real time video. Baker explains the move, shows the move several times full speed, then the move is shown in slow motion. At the end of each lesson, a slide with coaching points on the move is presented. Each segment of the video is selected by the superstar they are known for. Most of the moves include a counter move to extend the use of the first. The videos are usable for coaches as well as players to improve ball handling skills. The developer said he expected to have 20 different videos in the app store by Christmas.

It is obvious why this app may be exciting for me as a coach. The geek in me loves the way the developers put the app together. I have many videos that break down plays or drills, but they are just that, videos. This app, allows the user to choose each part of the “video” in a smooth and attractive method. Click on the superstar move you want to watch from the main menu. Any videos for that star are then presented in a smaller menu. Bookmark favorites for quick reference if you want to watch several videos over and over. There is also an option to watch the video straight through as if it was in a DVD player.

I look forward to hopefully a huge library of resources available for coaches in the app store someday. I also look forward to more apps using the style used in 23 Ways. Not only could an iPhone user learn to perform or teach Iverson’s Killer Cross, but maybe how to fix a car, paint a picture or add ram to your Mac Mini.

I applaud the developers for not only bringing coaching resources to my iPhone but also creating a great standard for presenting instructional videos. Get the app in the app store for the introductory price of $.99. Improve your game or team!!!