Sports

Jamil Abiad Working To Grow Basketball Training Empire

Published

3 years ago

November 1, 2020

Serial entrepreneur Jamil Abiad is continuing to make waves in the booming Canadian basketball scene with a wide array of different programs. He has an impressive portfolio of ex-students under his belt, establishing him as a renowned global basketball coach and trainer who has personally competed in Canada’s college basketball circuit as well as professionally overseas.

Playing professionally in Lebanon, Jamil got the opportunity to train with and learn from some ex- NBA players, and has had the opportunity to learn from other high level trainers. As both a player and a trainer, Jamil learned a great deal from these experiences and has since trained athletes who have gone on to achieve great things.

While overseas playing basketball, Jamil also explored his passion for video production and editing that started when he was creating compilations of his own match highlights as a college player. This eventually led to the creation of ‘Next Level Media’, his very first business that is focused around helping other athletes promote themselves for selection by coaches. This is just one of the several successful enterprises Jamil has founded since he stopped competing professionally.

Two of his other ventures include the U17/U19 boys basketball program Team Believe as well as NL Fitness. Through both of these programs, Jamil passes on the experience and expertise he’s developed to young and aspiring athletes.

During the time that he played at a professional level, Jamil was able to develop and perfect his training system. This training system is based on Jamil’s unique philosophy, and he believes it is the best method for preparing a player’s mind and body for the rigors of competitive play.

Not only does Jamil provide practical training, he mentors and motivates his students too. In fact, the basketball veteran often undertakes speaking engagements where he talks about some of the essential skills that he learned through competition that apply to other aspects of life, such as time management, leadership, self-discipline, and the ability to overcome adversity.

Jamil acknowledges that competing as a professional athlete in any sport requires not only routine training but a strong mental focus. This mental focus needs to be worked on just like any specific skill a player has, and this is something that Jamil talks about and works on with his students.

Since the NBA championship win of the Toronto Raptors, Canada’s interest in basketball has skyrocketed. A new generation of young Canadians is now exploring basketball both for recreation and for competitive play.

Jamil was already a successful basketball trainer by the time the Raptors won and has been lucky to be at the heart of this new surge in player interest. Junior and senior basketball athletes can benefit greatly from Jamil’s expertise.

Overall, Jamil is on-track to complete his goal of helping young athletes develop confidence in their abilities and become highly competitive basketball athletes. Only time will tell what the next big move for Jamil Abiad will be.

Sports

Why Todd Graves Is Driven To Innovate Golfing Techniques and Inspire Future Athletes

Published

2 weeks ago

November 28, 2023

Jonathan Grilli

When you look up the history of sports and how it changed over the years, you will find several influential public figures and athletes’ names at the top of unique inventions. After all, those who play the sport, also know what could improve and popularize it. Todd Graves is one of those individuals with a passion for golf and sports innovation.

He is an innovative thought leader and business expert with nearly 50 years of experience in the golf community. He practiced golf under the training and guidance of Murray “Moe” Norman, the world-renowned PGA golfer of the 20^th Century. Norman was one of the most influential figures in the golf community with his unique techniques and innovative methods to approach the game.

His contributions and golf skills earned him the nickname of “Pipeline Moe”, mainly for his unmatched ability to hit one straight shot after another with the slightest deviation in the ball’s trajectory. As his protégé, Todd Graves vowed to be among the leading sports personalities and innovators in the golf space. He worked on the single-plane swing technique modeled by his mentor, Moe Norman over his professional career.

It is a technique that helps a golfer reduce strain on the lower back while increasing the consistency and frequency of making a solid impact with the ball. Before, it was limited in practice to highly experienced golfers with immense knowledge of kinetic movements and swinging techniques. Today, Todd Graves’ contributions have enabled the wide use and adoption of the single-plane swing method in the global golf community.

The pro golfer believes that innovation is a key component of progress and without progress, humanity could come to a standstill. Whether it is progress in the personal, professional, or sports world, every great athlete should strive for it and reach their maximum potential, according to Todd Graves. To bring new knowledge to a wider audience around the world, he recently partnered with Barry Morrow, who is a famous American screenwriter and film producer credited with co-writing the screenplay for the movie Rain Main (1988).

Graves partnered with Oscar-winning Barry Morrow to create a documentary on the life and achievements of the great pro golfer, Moe Norman. Through the documentary, Todd wishes to inspire athletes and motivate golfers to bring innovation to their gameplay. Todd Graves shares his drive for bringing innovation and catalyzing change in the sports world with aspiring athletes, pro golfers, and students.

Graves’s inspiration comes from his dedication to the advancement of sports science. He spent a better part of his career with kinesiology experts and sports scientists to discover intricate details involved in various physical activities, also including golf. He identified potential risk injuries, analyzed their occurrences, and gathered factual data with the help of scientists.

He aims to portray actual findings in his upcoming documentary and inspire young athletes to be more than participants in national and international competitions. Todd Graves stands as one of the most influential and inspirational figures in the golf community and has earned association with several famous personalities including Ben Hago, and Tiger Woods, among others.