The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Camp
them use their brains while their bodies are moving.
“Carston is a math wizard and one of the drills Coach Zimmerman has them do is answer a math problem as they pass the ball. I tried that on him and he recited the answer before I could figure it out myself,” she said with a laugh. “I guess I better know the answer first next time.”
A native of the Netherlands, she appreciates Zimmerman’s style.
“I like that he doesn’t yell at the kids and that he gives respect and demands respect,” she said. “My son plays baseball and most recently flag football that are coached by dads who are sometimes very intense. I think they learn more when there’s less noise and more focus.”
Zimmerman doesn’t use a whistle and doesn’t raise his voice. When he needs the players to pay attention to him, he stands in the middle of the court and raises his hand. With his fingers, he counts down from five. By the time he gets to zero, all eyes should be on him and basketballs should be still.
Currently the athletic director at the Atlanta Jewish Academy, Zimmerman puts character development before athletic skills.
“The goal never is to grow NBA stars,” he said.
His company, Conditioned Minds, is an extension of what he focuses on in life and in his day job.
His Global Leadership Academy has graduated students who have mainly gone to college on academic scholarships. He said there’s a football player at UGA and a track and field athlete who came through his program, but his focus is on building leaders.
“The greatest fear is fear of one’s own expectations,” he said, adding that if young people are designed to seek higher than expected goals through hard work and fun, the worst they’ll end up with is reaching the goal. In the end, the students are taught how to strengthen their own journeys.
The kids grumbled a little through some of the tougher exercises, including one in which they had to remain crouched in a defensive position while going backward through the alphabet. If someone messed up they had to start again. Even for young, spry kids, that bending can make for sore thigh muscles.
“You can step out if you want to,” Zimmerman said, no judgment in his voice.
One or two kids contemplated leaving, but stayed the course. After about 10 or 15 do-overs, they finally went from Z to A.
“Take a five-minute break and drink lots of water,” said Zimmerman.
Although it wasn’t easy, the kids shook out the tired muscles and talked about their favorite NBA teams and basketball heroes. Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry were mentioned.
Several students said they were talked into coming to camp, but didn’t mind the hard work and liked that they were building skills.
Zimmerman’s daughter Jada was among the participants, but she doesn’t see herself as the next Lisa Leslie of WNBA fame.
“I like volleyball better, but I’m more interested in a business career,” she said.
And that’s OK with Dad. “It’s easy to focus on what they like to build,” said Zimmerman. “The primary focus of this training is not the actual sport skill set itself, but rather the mental ability to increase each individual’s stature, distance for potential success.”