7 Questions With…Alan Stein

By James Blackburn

Alan Stein is the owner of Stronger Team and the Head Strength & Conditioning coach for the nationally renowned, Nike Elite DeMatha Catholic High School boys basketball program. He spent 7 years serving a similar position with the Montrose Christian basketball program.

Alan brings a wealth of valuable experience to his training arsenal after years of extensive work with elite high school, college, and NBA players.

Alan Stein Kobe Bryant

1. Who are some of the NBA guys you will be working with this year or have worked with in the past? Are there any thing other camps or other ventures that you will be doing this year that you have not done in the past, that you would like our readers to know about, or any new clients?

It is too early to know what NBA players (or players preparing for this year’s draft) will be in DC this off-season. I have had the great fortune of working with several current NBA players when they were in high school and college – Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Tywon Lawson, Michael Beasley, and Greivis Vasquez to name a few. While I certainly enjoy working with pros, my main clientele are junior high and high school age players. I am in the process of finalizing my summer schedule, but am looking forward to being a part of several new camps – in Englad, Jordan, Canada, and maybe Italy! I will certainly continue my staple of events in the US – the NBPA Top 100 Camp, the Nike Skills Academies, and the Chris Paul Elite Backcourt Camp. But I am excited to use basketball as a vehicle to take me all over the world. I am overwhelming thankful to do what I do for a living.

2. How did you break into the business?

I have always loved the game of basketball and became fascinated with strength & conditioning in high school. I decided this was what I wanted to do for a living my junior year in college. Basketball specific strength & conditioning was almost non-existent then (late 1990’s) so I saw this line of work as a unique niche. I haven’t looked back since!

3. What is one of the main things players need to improve on/work on when they make the jump from HS to college or from college to the pros? What area do you think most players struggle to translate to that next level.

Every time you go up a level the players are stronger, faster, and more explosive. Those are the areas players need to improve to compete at the next level!

Alan Stein

4. Do you ever turn players down that want to work out with you? If so, is it because of your schedule or players attitude, or a little of both?

As long as I can accommodate schedule wise, and as long as the player has a great attitude and is committed to their own development – I don’t ever turn away players.

It doesn’t matter to me if a kid is trying to make his JV high school team or he is a McDonalds All-American – I want to work with them if they meet the aforementioned criteria.

5. Do most players that come to you for help come with an agenda of what they want to improve on?

Yes, most of the players come to me with set goals in mind…. Which is GREAT! And for 99% of basketball players they are the same goals – get stronger, how to jump higher, gain weight, improve quickness!

6. How is your team doing at Dematha Catholic this season? Any player who is under the radar that we should keep an eye on?

I am so thankful to be at DeMatha and surrounded by such great kids and coaches. We have an outstanding team this year. We suffered our first loss of the season this past weekend but are confident that it will serve as a valuable learning experience. We are currently ranked #14 in the nation by ESPN and have upcoming games against St. Anthony’s (#3) and Norcom (#6) – in addition to our intense WCAC schedule. We are a fairly young team and have tons of potential talent. I say ‘potential’ because they need to stay focused and keep working if they want to be as good as they can be!

7. What is next for you and where do you see yourself and the business going next?

The next major things for me after our season is over is the McDonalds All-American game (Chicago) and the Jordan Brand All-American Classic (Charlotte)… both are always tremendous events. As for my business, I just want to keep being a resource for players and coaches of all ages… all over the world.

To learn more about Alan’s work, check out Stronger Team online and you can follow Alan on Twitter or Facebook.

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3 comments

  • Alan is not only one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the industry, he is a class act and tremendous resource for young athletes. I’ve had a chance to see Alan train his players firsthand and he is truly in a league of his own. Nice interview James!

  • Yes, I saw Alan working with Chris Paul, Nolan Smith, Harrison Barnes, Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Rodney Purvis and Kendall Marshall last summer. He’s the real deal.

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