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IN THIS ISSUE
01 Why I was the smallest kid on every AAU team I played for
02 What separates the pros from the almost-pros overseas
03 The one system that keeps every other system running
Hey club!
My AAU teams growing up were the Atlanta Celtics and Georgia Stars, two of the top programs in Georgia. I was the smallest kid on both of them. At 12 and under, I'd watch my teammates dunk in warmups while college coaches filled the bleachers to watch them. Not me. I was the kid they weren't there to see.
My mom told me one thing. Just keep showing up. That was it.
Most of those guys aren't playing anymore. And the thing they all had at 12 stopped mattering a long time ago.
Let's go.
TAKEAWAY 1
Talent is the starting line, not the finish
Here’s what I’ve learned playing overseas.
Talent gets you noticed. Systems keep you in the room.
Every player on a professional roster has talent. The thing that separates the guys who last from the guys who don’t is what they built around it.
Because talent without a system is just potential with an expiration date.
TAKEAWAY 2
Systems are what separate the pros from the almost-pros
I watch guys in locker rooms across Europe. The ones who last aren’t always the most gifted.
They’re the ones with a system for everything.
Sleep, film, recovery, mindset.
Building systems isn’t glamorous. Nobody posts their sleep schedule or their film routine.
But that’s what actually keeps you in the league.
TAKEAWAY 3
Faith is the system underneath every other system
This is the part most people skip.
When I say faith, I don't just mean religion. I mean the belief you have in yourself when the game is close and nobody else in the gym is sure you can make the shot.
That kind of faith isn't something you summon in the moment. It's something you build. Mine gets built in the summer when nobody is watching. In the gym at 6am. In the extra reps after practice in-season when the body wants a day off. By the time the game shows up, I'm not hoping I can make the play. I already know. I've already done it a thousand times in an empty gym.
My religious faith sits underneath all of that. I pray before every game. I pray after the bad ones, which is the harder one. The prayer doesn't replace the prep. It sits on top of it.
That's the whole system. Confidence built through work, anchored in something bigger than the result.
So here’s what I want you to sit with this week. Stop asking if you’re talented enough. Start asking if you have a system. The talent conversation was always the wrong one.
“Am I getting better each year? Or am I the same player I was last year?”
Sit with that before you scroll.
Learn the system. It's a free, 10 minutes.
Keep putting in the work,
Faith + Consistency,
Elijah
P.S. Next week I'm breaking down the floater footwork most guards never get right. The landing that saved my season.
One last thing. This is the final run of CC tees. Once they’re gone, we’re not making more.
