Baller 21

iPhone & iPod Touch Basketball Instruction App

by Chris Harvey on 08/18/09

I recently had the opportunity to test a new iPhone & iPod Touch app, 23 Ways to Destroy Your Defender: Moves & Counter Moves of the Superstars.

The basketball instruction is led by Ganon Baker and in association with Level X Hoops & Avatron Publishing.

Featured Highlights //
* DVD-like control of the footage – skip and rewind footage — as well as re-play moves in slow motion.
* Tag moves of favorites and organize them in a folder for immediate access.
* Moves broken down and demonstrated by instructor with a defender.
* User-friendly navigation.
* Quality video footage – 30 minutes total — 23 scoring drills.

Moves taken from the following players //
Derrick Rose — Killer Crossover, Killer Crossover Counter
Chauncey Billups — X-Plosion, X-Plosion Counter
Dirk Nowitzki — Step Back, Step Back Counter
Ricky Rubio — 2X, 2X Counter
Allen Iverson — Killer X, Killer X Counter
Steve Nash — Jab Swivel, Jab Swivel Counter
Chris Paul — Inside Out, Inside Out Counter
Manu Ginobili — Jab, Jab Counter
Tony Parker — Combo, Combo Counter
Grayson “The Professor” Boucher — Stutter, Stutter Counter
Deron Williams — Spin Series (3 Moves)

The app is still available at a special price of just 99 cents on the iTunes App Store!

Level X Hoops plans to release various basketball-instruction apps this year that cover a range of skills:
“Mastering The Ball Screen With Ganon Baker: Pick & Roll Skills And Drills,”
August; “The Dribble Triple Threat With Ganon Baker,”
“Attacking The 1-3-1 Half Court Trap With Jamie Angeli,”
“The Professor’ Grayson Boucher: School’s In Session” (a five-app set), this fall and titles featuring Ed Schilling, Lason Perkins, Herb Welling, Mike Lee and others.

Here is the press release with a full list of details.

Overall Impression //
This is a great idea and continuing trend that we will see in the basketball training industry. For coaches, trainers, and players, it allows them to take the instruction and video room visuals right onto the practice court.

Note to video developers: Incorporating music and vocals into a demo video or into the app is a good idea, but don’t make it annoying. Personally, the promo video intro vocals on Lexel X Hoops website is annoying. I had to turn it off after hearing it for the first time. Thankfully, the vocals were not continued on the actually “23 Ways” app.

C.Harv