BOOM & BUST
BASKETBALLER’S COAST BOOST
VISITS to the Gold Coast are the backbone of Boomers basketballer Matt Hodgson’s goal of reaching the NBA.
Hodgson, who celebrates his 27th birthday today, is spending time at Miami working closely with Ultimate Sports Performance strength and conditioning coach Joey Hayes in a bid to improve his troublesome knee and ultimately gain a performance edge.
The 211cm giant with size 18 shoes has been plagued ever since badly damaging the meniscus in his right knee in 2014.
“I know that Joey is obviously very good at getting people’s performance better but if I can’t get my knee better, it doesn’t (matter),” Hodgson said.
“His big focus is helping me get that right and then once that is right, obviously adding in that extra edge that other guys probably don’t have.”
Hayes is offering all sorts of techniques to do so, with wide-ranging outcomes including increased peripheral vision.
“The average human has about nine degrees (of peripheral vision),” Hodgson said. “They say that race car drivers and people who have to use it get to about 25 to 35 degrees so you can improve it a lot.”
Hodgson deliberately signed just a one-year NBL deal with Brisbane, who he will join from Adelaide, with the aim of copying Joe Ingles on “the journeyman way” to the NBA.
“I feel like if I get a chance to prove myself, I can then take that step to the next level,” he said.