Preparing for the Fall Season and Beyond

We hope that school is going well for everyone! We encourage so many of our athletes to focus on multiple sports and various forms of training both in season and out of season to maximize their talent and abilities. In our experience and in talking with high school and college coaches, they appreciate and recruit multi-sport athletes because of their versatility, athleticism, and leadership.

Basketball on floor of empty basketball court

As it relates to basketball, we hope everyone is planning for a great Fall and Winter season in both competitive youth leagues, Junior High, and High School. The players on our teams have invested time in their Spring and Summer AAU season to grow and become better and look forward to demonstrating what they have learned for their respective school teams.

Our Academy mission is to use basketball as a vehicle to develop leaders on and off the court, and our focus is to prepare them for the next level of competition including high school and college. We want all of our athletes to be successful and impactful leaders who leverage the skills and core values that they learn through our academy in whatever they do. We are confident that we can teach them to play basketball the right way; the differentiator is developing their leadership and mental toughness skills.

If this sounds like something you would be interested in for your son, check out our teams and programs and email me for more information. If you are not a part of one of our teams or academy, we would love to talk to you to see if it is a fit for your student athlete. All of our teams including our 2022 team, which I personally coach, will be looking for a few select athletes to join us for the Spring/Summer AAU season. We also offer some skills and shooting training for players who might be a fit for our program.

Basketball is an excellent sport to learn teamwork, leadership, and perseverance, and we look forward to helping our athletes develop in all of those areas! After all, we are preparing them for the Fall season and beyond!

Spurs National Championship Update

Katy Raptors 2022 at 2018 Spurs Championship

Our Katy Raptors 2022 team had a great showing at the 2018 Spurs National Basketball Championship Tournament! They won their Pool Play division going 2-0 in decisive wins. They won their first tournament bracket game by a big margin earning a place in the Gold Championship Tournament Bracket. While the final result was not what we wanted, I love the heart and talent of this incredible team! We lost our Elite 8 tournament game in a heartbreaker by 1 on a last second shot late Saturday night after playing our third game of a long day!

Overall, we finished 3-1 in the Spurs National Championship and had college referees and other coaches and fans complimenting the way these young men play the game and compete! I am so proud of our Katy Raptors team and parents! I love coaching this team, and I would go to battle any day with these guys! We have one tournament left this season and are looking forward to competing in the 2018 Prime Time National Basketball Championship in Dallas July 25-29th.

Mid Season Report

Prime Time Spring Shootout Championship

The Katy Raptors 2022 team has a done a great job in the first half of their season! The focus for this team has been integrating a couple of new players, competing in competitive tournaments, and preparing this group for high school basketball. They have responded well with a 10-2 record, going undefeated in Pool Play in every tournament we have played in. They won a qualifying Prime Time championship tournament, finished in the quarterfinals of the Pearland/Houston Showcase Tournament, and finished in the semifinals of the Summer Prep Showcase.

Prime Time Spring Shootout Championship

We have also continued developing all of the players in our basketball academy with our “Leadership Moments.” In April, we had former Seven Lakes High School and Stephen F. Austin point guard Trey Pinkney come and speak about working hard to achieve your dreams.

Trey Pinkney

In May, we had Seven Lakes Head Basketball Coach Shannon Heston come and speak about developing championship habits.

Shannon Heston picture

Now, the focus is on getting prepared for 2 big national championships that we have been invited to in San Antonio and Dallas in July. Coaches who are interested in our schedule can view it here. You can also contact Head Coach Mike Van Hoozer for player and information inquiries.

 

First Tournament Championship of the Season!

Our Katy Raptors teams were very active in several different tournaments this past weekend including the Prime Time Sports Spring Shootout. Our Katy Raptors 2024 team made it to the championship game and came in 2nd place in a very close game. Our Katy Raptors 2022 team went 5-0 and won the championship game for their first tournament and their first tournament championship of the season. I was very proud of how this team played including their speed, teamwork, tempo, and defense.

Prime Time Spring Shootout Championship
Katy Raptors 2022 Win The 2018 Prime Time Spring Shootout Tournament

Our Katy Raptors 2025 team played in a tournament at Alodia and came in 2nd place. We are excited to announce that we now have 4 teams that are playing within our academy, and all of our teams are working hard at becoming their best both individually and collectively as a team. We are also conducting our “leadership moments” on Monday nights as a part of our practice to focus on leadership, teamwork, and mental sports performance principles and techniques.

Leadership Moments
Leadership Moments With Our Players

We are excited about the tournament season and helping our players develop as leaders on and off the court!

Official Practice Begins March 5

Now that school basketball has finished, we will be officially kicking off our tournament season on March 5th for all of our teams. Our players and coaches are excited about the opportunity to grow, develop, and compete! Our mission and focus is to develop leaders on and off the court and take a holistic approach to skill development physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In addition to our skill building practices and playing in the most competitive tournaments, we will have even more opportunities this year for them to develop as a player and person including:

  • Leadership moments – Group sessions for all of our players to come together and develop leadership skills as well as skills around mental toughness and character development.
  • Friends of The Program Moments – Group sessions where we invite friends of our basketball and leadership academy to come in and share their expertise in the areas of peak performance, personal development, and effective skills for navigating the next level of high school, college, and beyond.
  • Goal Setting – Individual opportunities to teach all of our players our effective system for setting and achieving the right goals.
  • Serving The Community – Team opportunities to participate in service projects for people and causes within our sphere of influence.
  • Individual and Team Training – Opportunities to sign up for additional skill training including shooting, specific position play including playing point guard, speed and explosiveness training from my friend and peak performance colleague Will Collins, etc.

The difference is always seen in the changed lives of others, and we are looking forward to continuing to make a positive impact in the lives of the players in our program both on and off the court!