Galen Harkness • May 14, 2025
Train Like a Pro This Summer: Lessons from Caitlin Clark’s Offseason
Summer is the season where real growth happens.
Summer is the season where real growth happens.
For serious high school basketball players, this isn’t the time to coast. It’s the time to separate yourself. If you want to take your game to the next level, take a page from WNBA star Caitlin Clark’s offseason playbook.
Here’s what she focused on—and how you can apply it this summer:
1. Get Stronger to Play Stronger
The game only gets more physical at higher levels. Caitlin Clark used her offseason to build strength so she could handle contact, maintain her balance, and stay efficient even when tired.
You can do the same:
Bodyweight strength work like pushups, squats, lunges, and planks builds a powerful base.
Core strength helps you finish through contact and protect the ball under pressure.
Strong legs = better defense, more explosiveness, and more consistency in your shot.
This summer, commit to strength training 2–3 days per week.
2. Recovery Is Part of Training
Recovery is not just for pros—it’s what allows you to train hard again the next day. Clark’s offseason wasn’t just about grinding—it was about taking care of her body with sleep, nutrition, hydration, stretching, and downtime.
What does recovery look like for you?
Go to bed early.
Drink water throughout the day.
Take time to stretch, roll out, and cool down.
Don’t train yourself into the ground—train to be consistent.
Recovery helps you show up every day with energy and focus.
3. Work on Game-Specific Skills
Clark didn’t just shoot 1,000 shots a day. She trained the shots she actually takes in games: pull-ups, deep threes, quick releases, contact finishes, tight handle under pressure.
This is where most players fall short—they train skills in perfect settings instead of game situations.
This summer:
Add contact to finishing drills.
Practice handling under pressure, not just cones.
Get game-speed reps on your shot.
Compete in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 as much as you can.
Your training should look like the game you want to play.
4. Put It All Together
Clark’s offseason success wasn’t magic—it was a smart, consistent plan. She got stronger. She recovered with purpose. She trained her game with intensity.
You can do the same.
Strength builds your body.
Recovery protects it.
Skill work sharpens your game.
This summer, train with a purpose—not just sweat, but skill.
Final Thought:
The offseason is where players are made. The ones who train smart, recover well, and stay consistent will come back in the fall stronger, sharper, and more confident.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to keep showing up and doing the work.
Whenever you're ready, here are 3 ways EYG Basketball can help you this summer:
Committed Skills Academy – Weekly high-level skills training for players who want consistent work on ball-handling, finishing, shooting, and playmaking.
Summer Camps – Fun, challenging, and competitive camps in Superior, Northglenn, and Longmont. 1v1 to 3v3 play every day.
Training Memberships – Serious about your game? Memberships are for players who want more. Train 2–3 times per week with a structured plan and coaching.
Check out all our summer training options at www.eygbball.com
In basketball — and in life — emotions often beat teams more than their opponents do. The price of admission for championship-level performance isn’t talent, size, or even skill. It’s the ability to stay present. The Oklahoma City Thunder live by this. Their championship rings are engraved with “0–0 Mentality.” It’s more than a slogan. It’s a mindset: no matter what happened yesterday, and no matter what’s ahead — the score is always 0–0. That mentality keeps them grounded. Keeps them focused. Keeps them competing in the moment. Why the Present Matters When players start thinking about the future — “What if we win?” — or dwell on the past — “I missed my last shot” — they lose control of what they can actually influence: the next possession . You can see it in how OKC plays. They don’t play the score. They play possessions. They don’t chase stats. They chase standards. They train this discipline daily — one rep, one drill, one decision at a time. It’s not flashy. It’s not emotional. But it builds something powerful: consistency . The EYG Way At EYG, we teach this same principle. Whether it’s a 3rd grader learning to dribble or a high school player chasing a roster spot, the goal is the same — stay locked into the moment right in front of you. That means: Don’t rush the process. Don’t replay the mistake. Don’t drift into the “what ifs.” Just do the next thing well. The players who learn to focus on this rep, this drill, this shot, are the ones who grow faster, play freer, and perform better when it matters most. How to Train Presence Being present isn’t natural — it’s trained. Here’s how we build it into our workouts and mindset training: Reset after every rep . Miss or make, move on. Focus on controllables. Effort, attitude, and attention. Start every session at 0–0. Yesterday doesn’t count. End each session reflecting on what you did well — not just what went wrong. Over time, this mindset compounds. You start to control your emotions instead of being controlled by them. Final Thought When the game’s on the line, pressure doesn’t decide who wins — presence does. The players who can breathe, focus, and compete in the moment… are the ones who keep stacking success, one possession at a time. At EYG, that’s what we train for — to stay grounded, stay focused, and keep the score 0–0 . How EYG Basketball Can Help Our training programs are built around teaching focus, discipline, and game-ready confidence — not just drills. If your son or daughter wants to improve their skills and their mindset, explore our upcoming programs at eygbball.com. Every rep has a purpose. Every session builds belief. Every player learns to play — and live — with a 0–0 mentality.
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