This review is WAY overdue. But I am glad I didn't write this immediately because I had no idea how much training with Coach Dwane would impact him.
My son is really tall. He was never very interested in sports, so imagine my surprise when he decided he was going to play basketball! I played, and I was so excited for him to experience all that I did... some of my fondest memories! Despite having no basic skills, he made the freshman team clearly based on size alone. This didn't sit well with a number of other players that had friends that did have skills that did not make the team, understandably so. My son didn't really understand how much he had to learn until after a few weeks of practice. He decided he wanted help, so we found Coach Dwane. We drove into DC from Reston every weekend, on his one day off from practice, no matter how exhausted he was. I would love to be able to tell you that he ended up with mad bball skills and was all district his senior year, but no. He found that sports wasn't for him, and he never did form the bonds with his team mates that are such a huge part of sports.
So why the 5 star review, you ask? Simple. Because Coach Dwane taught my son so much MORE than basketball. He taught him about character, and confidence, and strength - life skills. Like so many other people that were so much taller than his peers, my shy, awkward son tended to slouch and try to be invisible. If he could have melted into the walls, he would. Somehow Coach motivated him to drag his tired, sore butt out of bed for what he knew would be an exhausting workout, by choice. He made him WANT something, and to WORK for what he wanted. That was something new in my son. He started standing taller, both physically and in character. He didn't try to be invisible. He really blossomed into this outgoing, fun young man that now stands up straight.
I can't explain to you HOW Coach D did this... if I knew I would write a book. But he has a way with young men (and probably ladies too) that makes them want to be better in all things. Most of his coaching had some secondary lesson - working on footwork, but also on sneaking in life lessons on doing your best in all things, for example. He also coached me, equally stealthily, about how to more effectively motivate my son.
So no. No NBA future for my boy. But when he graduates next week, I know he will stand up to his full height, and walk across that stage tall and proud, and go on to the next phase of his life a better young man for having known Coach Dwane. read more