How do you know if your trainer is actually any good?

Hey -,

Private skills training has exploded in youth basketball. There is a trainer in every gym and on every Instagram feed claiming to fix shooting, ball-handling, and confidence in eight sessions.

Some of them are worth every dollar. Most are not. The hard part for parents is telling the difference before you have already spent the money.

Here is a clearer way to evaluate trainers before you hire one.

Five questions to ask before you hire a basketball trainer

A good trainer can change a player's trajectory. A bad one is a few hundred dollars a month for stuff your player could find on YouTube.

The best filter is a five-question conversation before you commit. What is your background. How do you measure progress. What does a session actually look like. Who are some of your current players. What happens if it is not working.

Trainers who are doing the real work answer those questions cleanly. Trainers who are not get vague. We pulled together the full guide on the blog.

Final week to register for July Summer Camps

Most July Summer Camps lock final registration this week. If your player is going to get one this summer, now is the time. PSB Summer Camps in Charlotte, Denver, Memphis, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa are all accepting last-minute spots.

A camp week with PSB coaches gives a different kind of bump than a private trainer. Different reps, different competition, different feedback.

Quick Tip: One question that exposes a bad trainer in five minutes

Ask any trainer this in a discovery call: "What is the last thing you learned that changed how you coach?" Real trainers light up at that question. They will name a book, a coach, a clinic, a system. Trainers who are coasting freeze up. That five-second pause tells you everything.

What's coming up across PSB

Summer Camps are running in Charlotte, Denver, Memphis, Portland, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tampa.

Skills Clinics & Open Gyms are also running in Charlotte for players who want one-day reps. Winston-Salem Spring Academy is in its final stretch.

Find your city's programs at proskillsbasketball.com/register/

From the PSB Blog: Read the new guide on How to Choose a Basketball Skills Trainer. And if your high schooler is being recruited to a showcase camp, the refreshed Pros and Cons of Exposure and Elite College Basketball Camps tells the truth.

See you on the court,

Pro Skills Basketball