Elevate your game with the greatest 3-point shooter of all time?
I know, it was kind of silly of me to watch the Stephen Curry Masterclass, considering that I’m completely blind- but I was so intrigued in what Steph could be teaching in his class, that I had to know even if there was no chance that I’d ever put this learning to practice. And here are my thoughts on the Man’s Masterclass!
First thing, I was super impressed by Steph and how eloquent and impressive he was as a teacher. As with these things, they point a camera at you and just get you talking and not everyone feels comfortable in those situations. However, Steph was super chilled and comfortable in front of the camera and explained everything so clearly and easy to follow, that even I, someone who was not seeing what he was doing, I was still able to follow on throughout the lessons.
The next thing which was a stand-out, was that Steph’s class is totally achievable and relevant for everyone who will watch it. As he’s not teaching you dunking or other superhuman basketball traits which 99% of us aren’t physically gifted enough to do. But the class is on shooting, ball-handling and scoring (if you follow his teaching correctly), which doesn’t require size or height. And the steps which he divulges are all about mechanic’s- which you can replicate and are totally repeatable. So, no joke, after the class you could be shooting and scoring like Steph Curry!
And throughout the class I was just thinking to myself…… Only if this Masterclass thing was around when I was 12-15 years old when I was playing high school basketball! If I knew these tips and tricks, I guarantee you I would have been a better basketball player. Hands down! I just remember our coaches (old boys or Math teachers), telling us to do some weaving passing drill, or just go dribble a ball, or take turns shooting at the Free throw line. But at no point did they ever teach us technique, I didn’t know about ’10 toes to the basket’, none of this ‘hard dribble’ stuff, nor the concept of the ‘shooting pocket’! Even if my 13-year-old self was shown these 3 tips, I think I would have been a more consistent shooter, perhaps I might have mastered the between the legs dribble, and perhaps I might have scored more than 4 points in a game (which was my highest scoring game……).
Who would benefit from these classes? I hear you ask. Realistically, I’m thinking if you get a 12–15-year-old who already plays basketball, get them in front of the TV during the school holidays before the start of a basketball season and have them watch all the lessons? I think they will be the ones who will benefit the most from the Masterclass. But what would this really mean? It’ll mean that kids of privileged parents would have access to this awesome resource, as realistically the target audience of a Masterclass membership are individuals like me, a 30-40 something professional with money to burn on non-essentials like Masterclass. So, there will be a bit of inequality in who will see these lessons and who will elevate their game. While imagine this!? If you’re a basketball coach, say if you’re a high school teacher or you coach your child’s basketball team. Imagine sitting the team down for 10 minutes before each practice session and show the team Steph’s Masterclass on a tablet. Then have them go away for 30 minutes to practice what they’ve learnt in that Masterclass lesson. I’d guarantee that the team would improve in all facets of the game. No joke.
But could I see an aging white-collar professional elevate their game from watching Steph’s lessons? Probably not. Just because knowledge is one thing, but it does come down to practice. Requiring time and energy which old folk like us just don’t have. Besides, who has access to a full-sized basketball hoop, which is purely yours to use for hours and hours a day? Oh yeah, this reminds me when I once had access to one! In the early days my parents had a full-size basketball hoop in their backyard, but it was right next to the swimming pool. I’d be practicing my shooting for around 10 minutes, before inevitably the ball would take an unexpected deflection off the ring and go straight into the pool. And that was the end of my shootaround, as trying to shoot a wet ball? That was nasty. *Sigh*.
So yeah, mastery of basketball is a young person’s game, so leave it to the next gen to benefit from Steph’s wisdom and sage advice!
So, in the past 18 years in which I’ve been blind, there has been very few moments where I’ve felt regret, regret that I couldn’t see. But during Steph’s lessons, I honestly felt this rare occurrence where I wished I was sighted again. Even just for one hour, so I could go to a gym somewhere and try and implement the lessons that I’d learnt from Steph. I really mean it, I wanted so badly to get a ball in my hands and attempt a 3 pointer, applying all the things I’d learnt from Steph, the greatest 3-point shooter of all time! I just wanted to see if his knowledge could make me, an unremarkable person, able to do the remarkable!
So if you want to check out Stephen Curry’s Masterclass- Shooting, Ball-handling, and Scoring, prior to committing to a year’s subscription of Masterclass? Just click HERE to watch the trailer to see if Masterclass is right for you!
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