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It has been a minute since the weekly Atypical Newsletter, but I am back and more motivated than ever to build this community.

A lot has happened in this last two months or so.

I feel I have shared a good part of it through my Off-Season YouTube videos (which I have been loving how they have been turning out), so I think I am going to jump right into the now instead of revisiting the offseason.

I’m back in Lisbon for another year with SL Benfica.

I have big goals for myself and the team.

It should be a very fun year.

Here are some of my thoughts from this first week back in Portugal.

Why I Do This:

The top message is nice, but not what moved me.

Now the second… the second is an important part of the Atypical vision.

I’m open and transparent about everything I am doing, going through, and learning because I want the next generation to have a reference point.

Do I believe I am always the greatest example? No.

But, I do feel I am doing my best to give you guys a target, a realistic idea of what your future life could be like.

I pride myself on being a pro in everything I do.

If you are rocking with Atypical, then you are learning how to be a better pro right along side me.

Hopefully that resonates with you just like my man who sent me this message.

Thoughts From This Week

Stop Running From “Inconvenience”

I would make a bet that all of you have some something that you know you should have done, but keep avoiding it.

I have a lot.

For me, it is things like getting groceries or doing paperwork that I put off until they are absolutely urgent. Everytime I do this, the simple tasks end up stressing me out 10x more than if I would have done them the first chance I had.

When I leave these things unfinished, they become constant leeches of brain power.

They are always subconsciously on my mental to-do list.

They convince me that I am stressed or busy.

I know you guys are thinking of some task or thing that does the same thing to you.

The hard truth and easy fix is to just knock them out.

Do them the first opportunity you can.

They suck I know, but doing them right away zaps their power over your mental.

This allows you to have more time, mental capacity, and freedom for the things that recharge you.

In the weirdest way, if I do not have a fridge full of groceries, I will be more scatterbrained at my basketball practice compared to when that bad boy is stocked with food.

Do the things you hate to do first, so that you can fully enjoy the things you want to be doing more.

Just Watch This

chriswillx

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Contemplate the price you pay for inaction.

What a powerful idea.

Doing nothing, is not free, it is more expensive than doing what you know you should do or want to do.

The price is not always obvious until it is… until years go by and you still are not where you want to be.

The price is scary, but a good scary, like a scare you straight into action type feeling.

Scared into chasing your dreams.

This video rocked me to my core.

Time to get to work.

Lift the Ball

Since returning to preseason practices, my shot has been out of sync. This happens to everyone the first couple weeks back after a long break and I credit it to the adjustment period to the faster speed of the game. You can simulate game-speed in the off-season, but there will always be a difference between open gyms + off season workouts and real live games/practice.

My mind is registering what is happening, but my body… it’s simply behind. The physical reaction speed isn’t where it needs to be for my game to be fully tuned up.

This manifests itself most in my shot.

My legs are moving at a frantic rushed pace, and my attempt to gain control of my shooting movement is incorrectly slowing down my upper body. This creates even more of a disconnect. Now my upper body is not only moving more unnaturally, but it is having to produce all the power for my shot. The lower body produces power only to be met with a slower, stiffer upper body, thus creating a huge log jam of power.

Inefficient.

Each time this happens to me, there is a rather simple correction due to this shooting truth:

The speed of the ball lift on your shot must be either,

A. Faster than the rest of your shot

or,

B. Earlier than the rest of your shot.

Why?

The rest of your shooting stack (the part beneath your upper body) must have a place to flow its produced power through or else the power actually works against your shot.

When coaches say, “get your legs underneath you”, what they are trying to say is to, “get the ball ahead of your legs”.

This shooting concept has been at the forefront of my mind this week as I transition back into game speed and shape. I’ve been workshopping it and have noticed a clear difference between when the ball is on top of my shooting stack and when it is not.

The clear reference point is the arc on my shot.

Experiment with moving the ball up into your shot earlier or faster and see if the ball begins to fly out of your hands (in a good way ahah).

(If you are hitting the front of the rim a lot, this will be a game changer for you)

First Impressions

Everybody hates them because they are intense, usually not fair, and always a bit awkward, so in the spirit of me meeting my new teammates this week, let me give my blueprint to them.

1. Be yourself.

If you are not yourself in your first impression, then you immediately feel misaligned and uncomfortable. This new person has a version of you that is far from the version you tell yourself. Not fun. It is very draining adhering to a version of yourself that is not natural. It will be revealed. Time always shows true colors. Knowing this, you must be unapologetically you from the start. It’s the best thing you can do and the easiest.

Simple advice, but it takes serious self-acceptance.

2. Know Yourself.

I said to ‘be yourself’, but how can you be yourself if you don’t know yourself? Understanding who you are, who you want to become, and how you will make that happen allows you to be at peace when someone else makes a first judgement of you. To get to this place takes a lot of hard work and introspection. Ask yourself the tough questions, make commitments to things that matter in your life, and be consistent in them every day.

It sounds cliche, but Drake once rapped a simple line, “Know yourself, know your worth, boy”. When you know your worth, first impressions don’t seem so daunting anymore because you keep your power.

3. Understand Their Importance.

Basketball is a team sport full of roles. Most of the roles get set by the coach’s decision or the players’ skill sets, but some of them are set by which player goes and takes them first. Everyone has relatively equal claim to all roles when a new group is formed especially in grown-adult, professional sports. In this fast-paced overseas basketball environment where teams are expected to win and win right away (even as soon as 1-month after coming together), roles are set quick and often not perfect. The first impression has a big impact on the initial shuffling out of roles, if certain traits are not expressed from the start, players can be dismissed as candidates for certain roles. Don’t let this be you, be yourself, and if there is a role you want, than you need to go take it.

The confident and assertive player is more successful and has bigger, more important roles on newly formed teams.

So, if you have some upcoming first impressions or are joining a new team in the next few months, remember these three things when considering the situation.

1. Relax, be yourself.

2. Put the work in beforehand to know yourself.

3. Understand the importance to go and take what you want.

Sunday YouTube Drop

Another week of my off season training, lots of helpful workouts, valuable insights, and laughs.

I’ve been loving making these weekly vlogs, I know we are a bit behind schedule, but that’s how the quality has been leveling up.

More time into each video = better video = happier Atypical community.

Good maths.

Atypical Merch Update

Okay, so I knew this would be a logistical nightmare shipping to both Europe and the US with a small Portuguese manufacturer, but it has been even worse than expected.

The EU orders have all been shipped and delivered (except for a few that had hiccups). I am still waiting on the package with all the US orders to get to my house in Tacoma, WA before my wife will pack and ship out all of those. This took way longer than expected and I am really disappointed, but my wife should be receiving them on Monday or Tuesday. She will have them shipped out by Thursday or Friday. Again, I am sorry, but I am learning and trying my best.

If you have any questions, feel free to email or message me on Instagram.

I’ll Leave You With This:

I’m glad to be back in Lisbon and establishing a rhythm.

I’m glad to be back sending these out every Sunday.

Here’s to another year of building and growing.

Love y’all,

Trey.

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