Hello to all of our “Play Smarter” Students and Parents

We are wishing your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Christmas weekend, Saturday, December 24 and Sunday, December 25

We have decided to close down for both of these very special days,  We want to let our students and parents have a break so they do not need to break up their Christmas Holliday at all three of our class locations.   We want our students to spend these two very special holiday with their families and friends.

Sunday, New Year Day, January 1st,  We will close down our San Gabriel Academy class only on New Year’s Day but both of our Saturday classes will still be open for classes as usual.

• Saturday and Sunday, December 24 and 25 Christmas weekend, all classes will be closed.
• Saturday, December 31^st both of our Saturday classes will be open as usual.
• Sunday, on New Year’s Day at: San Gabriel Academy we will be closed on this day,  See you next weekend at all of our classes,

Have a great Holiday Vacation

From  All  of  Our  Play  Smarter  Basketball  Coaching  Staff

Be Available for Your Children:

• Notice times when your kids are most likely to talk–for example, at bedtime, before dinner, in the car–and be available.
• Start the conversation; it lets your kids know you care about what’s happening in their lives.
• Find time each week for a one-on-one activity with each child, and avoid scheduling other activities during that time.
• Learn about your children’s interests – for example, favorite music and activities–and show interest in them.
• Initiate conversations by sharing what you have been thinking about rather than beginning a conversation with a question.

Let your kids know you’re listening:

• When your children are talking about concerns, stop whatever you are doing and listen.
• Express interest in what they are saying without being intrusive.
• Listen to their point of view, even if it’s difficult to hear.
• Let them complete their point before you respond.
• Repeat what you heard them say to ensure that you understand them correctly.
• Respond in a Way Your Children will Hear.
• Soften strong reactions; kids will tune you out if you appear angry or defensive.
• Express your opinion without putting down theirs; acknowledge that it’s okay to disagree.
• Resist arguing about who is right. Instead say, “I know you disagree with me, but this is what I think.”
• Focus on your child’s feelings rather than your own during your conversation.

Remember:

• Ask your children what they may want or need from you in a conversation, such as advice, simply listening, help in dealing with feelings, or help solving a problem.
• Kids learn by imitating. Most often, they will follow your lead in how they deal with anger, solve problems, and work through difficult feelings.
• Talk to your children–don’t lecture, criticize, threaten, or say hurtful things.
• Kids learn from their own choices. As long as the consequences are not dangerous, don’t feel you have to step in.
• Realize your children may test you by telling you a small part of what is bothering them. Listen carefully to what they say, encourage them to talk, and they may share the rest of the story.

Parenting is Hard Work

Listening and talking is the key to a healthy connection between you and your children. But parenting is hard work and maintaining a good connection with teens can be challenging, especially since parents are dealing with many other pressures. If you are having problems over an extended period of time, you might want to consider consulting with a mental health professional to find out how they can help.

Source: American Psychological Association

Last summer Max was invited to represent China in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China. He has since left the University at Cal Berkeley and is currently playing for Yao Ming’s Shanghai Sharks Pro Team in the CBA and will again representing China in this summer’s, 2012 Olympic Games in London. This is truly a dream come true.

It was four years ago when a skinny Chinese ball player named Zhang Zhaoxu from the Shan Dong Province and just out of high school.   Zhang was sent to live and be trained by the “Play Smarter” Basketball Class head Coach, Richard Marquis.   He was given his new English name of Max by Coach Marquis’ wife, Shirley Marquis for the word maximum and it has stayed with him ever since.  

At only seventeen years old and with a lot of development to be done, his parents wanted their son to have the best chance to be able to play major university basketball in the USA.  Coach Marquis became their first choice to help Max with their challenge.  After living with Coach Marquis and his family and with a new American diet, Max began to slowly gain weight and even grew a couple of more inches.

Today, Max is a little over 7’3”.  With a lot of help from Max’s uncle Charley Loh and his own dedication and personal desire to improve, it sure didn’t take him long to improve his strength and master his English by living in an English speaking household.   Max started to impress everyone around him and it wasn’t long that many US major universities were calling him on a regular basis.  He trained hard all the time and coach Marquis ask his good friend, Coach Sid Cooke of Renaissance High School to also help out as Max’s personal training coach.

Currently continuing with his development, Max played AAU summer ball for Coach Alan Adrian and Shawn La Tulippae with their Impact travel team.   Max improved very quickly and all of this hard work had paid off when Coach Adrian and uncle Charley helped lead him to a full four year scholarship at a Pack 10 Team at the University California at Berkeley.  With Max’s personal desire and height, Max will be playing basketball for a long time to come.  Last summer Max was invited to represent China in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China.  He has since left the University at Cal Berkeley and is currently playing for Yao Ming’s Shanghai Sharks Pro Team in the CBA and will again representing China in this   summer’s, 2012 Olympic Games in London.  This is truly a dream come true. 

Hoop Rat of the 2010

Congratulations To: Nathan Kuoch
Twice the “Hoop Rat” Camper of the year for: 2009 and 2010

Hoop Rat of the 2010

Congratulations To: Alex, Aric, and Alen Quan Family
Most Dedicated and Improved Campers for: 2010

Q: How to be a Hoop Rat & Hoop Brat ?
A: Throughout the year, our coaching staff will reward most of our students one way or another but for students that put in the extra work and effort, they will receive more recognition from our program. These dedicated students are selected for their effort, listen, team work, encouraging others, consistent, completing extra homework and improvement.
Hoop Rat: 10 ~16 Years old.
Hoop Brat: 6 ~ 9 Years old.

Some of our kids develop faster than other kids and most of the time. It is just because the ones that make most of progress comes from desire and trying harder. This usually happens as they see their own progress and they can start to enjoy playing and achieving the skill they are learning.

Most of their skill and progress comes from their own desire to practice or play on their own. It’s called home work and it really does make a big different in our program as you most Likely are aware of we try our best to use rewards to help motivate students but rewards must be earned to have a lasting effect.

“My uncle was goading me on, saying, ‘Hey, that guy’s talking trash about you, Coach,’” Marquis said, looking back on when he was growing up in the 1950s. “Oh — well, he didn’t say ‘Coach,’ but ‘Richard.’”

Marquis, a hardscrabble kid who would go on to win a Golden Gloves competition before leaving boxing for a lifetime in basketball, can be forgiven for occasionally forgetting that his first name has not always been “Coach.”

Starting straight out of high school, Marquis has been a basketball coach for nearly five decades, working at his alma mater, Mark Keppel High School in Alhambra, then with varsity teams at UC Irvine and Cal State LA, and later coaching university teams in Korea and Japan. He’s also coached national teams in the Philippines and Thailand, and once held a month-long clinic here he coached the entire Chinese professional basketball league, teaching the game to hundreds of players — and more than 70 coaches.

This summer, Marquis will host a basketball camp in central China, then take the players to watch some games at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

His basketball expertise will be on display on the court at the Olympics, too, in the form of the basketball itself. As an executive for Molten, a Japanese rubber company that produces the basketballs used in international play, Marquis helped design the ball that will be on the court in Beijing. He got the job with Molten after passing a blind test in which he correctly identified the make and model of nine different, unlabeled basketballs strictly by feel.

He truly is a coaches’ coach. No wonder his voice is permanently hoarse. And the man who founded the National Basketball Association’s summer pro league isn’t finished yet. He still runs his Play Smarter Basketball clinics for kids every week at locations around the San Gabriel Valley, imparting an unparalleled knowledge of the game to a new generation of players.

“If you have any question about basketball, he’s your encyclopedia,” said Tony Grbac, who was a kid when he first met Marquis at a gym in Monterey Park and went on to coach basketball at Mark Keppel. “He knows everything.”

Marquis created from scratch a form of zone defense designed to neutralize an opponent’s size advantage, Grbac said, as well as a “mushroom” offense that can now be seen in various forms around the NBA and college basketball.

Beyond that, Grbac said, Marquis is a teacher, a man he considered a second father. That sentiment was echoed by Monica Hang, a former of player of Marquis’ at Keppel who now coaches at Glendale College.

“He told me about the importance of education, and now I have a master’s degree,” Hang said. “He teaches about understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and your opponent’s. He’ll push you to your max and he’s not going to settle for less. One of the best coaches I ever played for and one of the best people I ever met.”

Marquis said his strength as a coach comes partly from his own willingness to learn.
“The first thing I say when I get to a new place is ‘Let me watch you guys for a day and see what you’re doing,’” Marquis said.

But Marquis always leaves his own distinctive mark. His success throughout Asia has made him a celebrity in the basketball world there, and Marquis was recently entrusted with the training of 7-foot-2 Chinese prospect Zhaoxu “Max” Zhang. Zhang lived for a year and a half with Marquis and his wife of nearly 50 years, Shirley, at their home in San Gabriel before moving on to his just-finished redshirt freshman season at Cal Berkeley.

As a child growing up on the mean streets of Long Beach, Marquis was initially drawn to basketball because it provided ample opportunities to get into fights. After what he calls a “rugged” upbringing — his father left the family when Marquis was four months old — Marquis found himself “in a fight every day” before winding up in Juvenile Hall.

He reconnected with his father at 15 and took an interest in his father’s chosen profession, boxing. He won a national Golden Gloves championship at 16 and was brandishing the medal proudly at Mark Keppel when Shirley snatched it away.

“She said, ‘That’s your last fight — I’m pregnant,’” Marquis said.

Luckily for the couple, basketball proved to be a solid fallback option. Marquis went on to earn a degree and work in electrical engineering, but the game has been his life. His “portfolio” does not fit the classic description; it’s more like a scrapbook, packed with mementos like a photo of Marquis holding a basketball with Imelda Marcos, or a poster from the NBA-ABA All-Star series he held in Japan — the only meeting of the two leagues in history.

He doesn’t bother maintaining a more traditional professional record because, in his business, wins and losses speak for themselves.

“I’m a basketball coach,” he said. “Everything is on record.”

Source: Travis Hunter (Pasadena Weekly)

The reason I would recommend “Play Smarter Basketball Camp & Classes” over any other camp or basketball teaching authority is simple, Coach Richard Marquis! There is no greater basketball mind than Coach Marquis. His coaching and teaching experience at all levels including high school, college; professional and international is second to none.

During my 25 years of coaching and working with Coach Marquis, I have learned valuable teaching techniques, fundamentals, preparation and game strategy. I highly recommend “Play Smarter Basketball Camp & Classes” and the basketball wisdom of Coach Marquis for your sons and daughters!

Ed Proud | Parent of Current Student

I enrolled my 7th grade son last summer into the Play Smarter Basketball program based upon recommendations from some of my basketball coach friends. I am very pleased with the progress that my son has shown since he’s started going to the Saturday classes. He learns all kinds of basketball skills and techniques including handling the basketball, passing, shooting, court awareness, game strategies, and more. He has a great time and gets to play with other kids of varying sizes, ages, and skill levels. He looks forward to practicing and doesn’t even complain about getting up early on Saturday mornings.

In addition to having fun though, this basketball program will help prepare my son to play more serious high school basketball in another year or two if he is interested at that time. Coach Marquis and his assistant coaches all provide quality instruction and the kids have a great day. Coach Marquis even uses prizes to motivate the young basketball players to do well. In short, you can’t go wrong in signing up your kids with Play Smarter Basketball.

Ellie Wang  9 year old | Current Student

When I first arrived at Hoop Rat, I only knew how to bounce the ball and then shoot it. However, when I came for a couple times, I improved a lot. I could make the basketball go between my legs, around my body, and behind my back. I could also make 4 layups in a row. My mother also bought a basketball basket for my brother and I to practice some basketball every day. So after I finished my homework, I would play some basketball with my brother. Whenever we get tired, we would practice the drills.

There were basketball teams at school. Everyone chose me for the team captain. Because of Hoop Rat, my team won 3 games, lost 2 games, and tied 1 game. Without going to Hoop Rat, my team would lost all of the games! Hoop Rat is the only place I know that has such great classes.

Jeanne Murset | Membership & Marketing Executive | Temple City Chamber of Commerce

Play Smarter Basketball classes are a great way for those wishing to improve their basketball skills. Led by Coach Marquis who has a background that includes assisting with the LA Lakers as well as one of our countries most experienced international basketball coach’s as he has trained and coached more foreign National Men and Women’s Teams than perhaps any other US coach.  His coaching has sent him throughout all of Asia, South America, Mexico and many parts of Europe.

He was even the head coach at Cal State University of Los Angeles, and the University of Irvine.  Coach coached locally at Mark Keppel High School where he built one of San Gabriel Valley’s best high school girls’ basketball programs.

Coach is a family oriented person with a spiritual side.  I highly recommend Play Smarter Classes and think very highly of Coach Marquis.