Dear Parent and Athlete,  

I would like to formally invite you to the Diamond DeShields Select Camp on April 19-20. We are committed to impacting the lives of scholar-athletes by preparing them to take full advantage of athletics which can lead to endless educational and career opportunities. At the same time, we must shield them from the unrealistic expectations and exploitation often associated with athletics. The mission is simple: To teach our young female athletes that they are ALL diamonds. Once you realize the toughness and resiliency of diamonds, coupled with the fact that diamonds are NOT rare, you will start to look at yourself differently.

The Diamond DeShields Select Camp has partnered with B’Ball 101 Elite Player Development. B’Ball 101, over the past 16 years we have been a huge asset in assisting our athletes in a variety of areas that ultimately improve their ability to garner academic and athletic scholarships. Very few player development systems are designed to mold the young player both mentally, spiritually, and physically. 

I understand, now, that spirit-mind-body is the link to successful development. By understanding it, we gain more control over the thought processes of our young athletes and can give them a clear-cut way to create a positive world. In order to become confident, positive, and eternally optimistic adults, they must be that way as youth. This is where we, as parents, teachers, role models, and leaders, come into play. By paying close attention to the words that our kids are saying, we can remove counterproductive language almost immediately. Whenever we speak of language at B’Ball 101, we are speaking of the negative self talk such as: “I can’t”, “maybe”, “hopefully”, “I’ll try”, or “if we are lucky”. 

We should replace these words and phrases with words that project absence of doubt, such as: “I will”, “absolutely”, “I can”, “I create my own luck through hard work”, and “I have all the power I need already within me,” By monitoring this, we have eliminated a large portion of what steers the mind in the wrong direction. However, there is still one catch. Our children would rather “see a good sermon than hear a good sermon”, as my father use to say. This simply means we must monitor what we say to ourselves and to our children because they are watching and listening. 

Finally, improvement in basketball, as well as other endeavors, involves practicing the correct skills over and over again until it becomes instinctive. No person becomes better by receiving instruction and doing nothing with it. We know (not believe or guess) that in basketball and life, you get out of it exactly what you put into it. You can only withdraw from an account what you have deposited. Our children must look at their mind and body as accounts that must constantly be replenished in order to succeed. It is simply a choice. Better yet, it is YOUR choice.

Sincerely,

Diamond DeShields, Founder