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CAMP FOUNDERS
J.A.B. STEP BASKETBALL
Joe Alexander
Over the past 19 years I've played in the #1 prep HS school in America, then in the NCAA for a high major university, then in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls, and then in top European pro leagues for a decade.
I teach kids about work ethic, mindset, pro skills, being an underdog, their future, and about their career potential.
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Barak Swarttz
I'm Barak Swarttz, a leading strength and conditioning coach and former college basketball player. As an athlete, I leverage my experience and adversity to help others reach their full potential.
I train NBA, WNBA, EuroLeague, and National Team basketball players, both men's and women's. Currently, I live in Tel-Aviv and train a top Israeli and European team.
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Teams & Leagues
Unparalleled Pro Experience
Representing unparalleled experience all across the pro basketball world, Joe Alexander and Barak Swarttz bring value nearly impossible to find at your usual summer basketball camp. The list includes over TWENTY teams from FIFTEEN different pro leagues all over the world. The highest level of professional leagues. This is not your typical summer basketball camp staff, and it will not be your typical summer camp learning experience. Joe and Barak are empowered with the wisdom to grow your game and career.
What We Bring
"You need to be learning from trainers who have been to the highest levels of this game. That's Joe and Barak." - Nadav Mor
ABOUT US
J.A.B. Step Basketball is a premier training company run by former NBA player Joe Alexander, and NBA performance trainer Barak Swarttz. We operate private training lessons, camps, clinics, zoom sessions, personalized development programs, and a host of digital content courses.
In addition to being elite basketball development trainers, we are both American-Israeli Jewish players who immigrated to Israel from our homes in America (Maryland - Joe, and Boston - Barak). While living in Israel, we both participated heavily in the Israeli Professional Basketball League; Joe as a player for 7 years, and Barak as a head performance trainer for 4 years.
As part of our summer camp programs, we incorporate information about making the step from the American basketball world to the Israeli basketball world. This Jewish - American Basketball step has served us both tremendously in our basketball careers, and so we wish to instruct others on how they too can embark on that journey.
As trainers, we bring to you the same expertise that we offer to the elite pro players. Joe being a 15 year pro himself who has played in 14 different global leagues, is nothing short of a basketball performance encyclopedia. Barak as a current head performance trainer for a pro team made up of former NBA players and elite European pros, brings a wealth of invaluable knowledge.
CAMP DETAILS
Summer basketball camp is a 4-5 day all-day camp operating usually from 9:00am until 3:00pm for kids and teenagers ages 8 - 16. Players will be split into separate competitive groups based on age where they will learn with and compete against players their own age and skill level. This includes 5-on-5 competition, 3-on-3 competition, and 1-vs-1 games. There will also be a host of various skills contests. The campers will develop a strong bond with new friends throughout the week, as well as bond with the mentor coaches and camp counselors / trainers. The overall goal of the week is healthy, competitive, fun and refreshing learning. Joe and Barak both oversee the curriculum as well as the execution of each and every skill drill and team game.
The learning experience is split as follows:
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70% basketball
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20% strength/athleticism/performance
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10% professional basketball career information.
All strength/athleticism/performance is implemented to help our campers improve themselves once they return home from camp for their own basketball development journey. This leg of the learning process empowers players to become better basketball players by becoming more scientifically tuned athletes with more efficient training understanding.
The professional basketball career information portions of camp will combine lectures with QnA sessions where campers learn about their future prospects in the pro basketball world, including how they can best set themselves up today to embark on that path in the future. This is especially relevant to Jewish players who may want to someday journey to Israel to pursue their pro basketball dreams. Both Joe and Barak have extensive knowledge, personal experience, and connections in this field that make them absolute experts.
Camp will be a safe, high energy, fast paced, fun, competitive environment that is sure to leave each camper with treasured memories and new friendships that hopefully last for years to come. Great detail and attention will be given for each minute of every day to ensue each camper is gaining the maximum benefits of their time at J.A.B. Step Basketball. We take our jobs very seriously, but also know how to have a great time! Come and join us!
MORE ABOUT JOE
MORE ABOUT BARAK
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Join our Dream Real program
DREAM REAL PROGRAM
Are you a player who wants to learn about your potential for playing professional basketball in Israel? Or...
Are you a young Jewish American who wants to learn about your options for traveling to Israel? Or...
Are you a young Jewish American player who wants to make connections with the amateur basketball community in Israel?
Our Dream Real program can help move you closer to accomplishing your goals. Both Joe Alexander and Barak Swarttz are American natives who made their own long journeys to Israel, to eventually become Israeli citizens, participating in the Israeli pro league, and making their homes in the beautiful state-of-the-art metropolitan city of Tel-Aviv, Israel. Both Joe and Barak grew up on the East coast of the United States, not knowing that a short distance away across the Atlantic Ocean was the opportunity for a thriving career in basketball.
Joe Alexander, after playing in the NBA for the Milwaukee Buck and the Chicago Bulls, took the step to Israel where he extended his playing career into his mid thirties by playing for the European powerhouse Maccabi Tel-Aviv, and eventually becoming a member of the Israeli National Basketball Team. Joe would go on to play for 5 different teams in the Israel pro league. He is a wealth on knowledge on making the step to Israel.
Barak Swarttz grew up in Boston where he fell in love with competitive sports, and basketball in particular. After pursuing a college playing career, Barak then fell in love with the sport performance training side, and went on to climb through the ranks of trainers very quickly. Eventually, Barak would travel to Israel where he would become a citizen and begin working as trainer for Maccabi Tel-Aviv (a team with a roster full of former NBA players and top European pros). Barak would then be enlisted to serve as the top performance trainer for various Israeli pro league teams. He now calls Tel-Aviv his home, and is a wealth of knowledge for young aspiring players/trainers/American Jews who want to follow a similar path.
Signing up for our FREE Dream Real program is the first step towards learning how you can use basketball to forge a path for yourself across the Atlantic to the beautiful land of Israel.
LOCATION
Edith and Carl Marks
Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst
7802 Bay Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11214
jchb.org | TEL. 718-331-6800
CONTACT INFORMATION
Phone #: 240-307-2029 | train@jabstepbasketball.com
ALEXANDER SWARTTZ LLC.