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 Coaches Bios and Philosophy |
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Coach Eugene Topping
As the Head Coach & Director of Basketball Operations for Air-Max Elite Basketball Club, Coach Eugene Topping is doing what his passion has called him to do - to teach and develop young athletes.
Coach Topping knows the hard work a young person needs to put in to be a successful athlete. He is an accomplished Football and Basketball athlete both in the high school and college levels. He was a three year varsity high school lettermen in football. His college sports experience includes playing at Morehead State University where he also served as an assistant coach and earned a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science. Coach Topping also holds a Masters Degree in Physical Education.
Coach Topping spent five years as an assistant Basketball and Football coach for College of the Canyons in California before relocating to Texas.
Coach Topping's most recent coaching experience with youth select basketball includes Cannons of Castaic in California and Liberty 360 in DFW, Texas.
Coach Topping is originally from Southern California. He moved his family to Keller, Texas in 2006. Coach Topping is married to Teresa Topping, who is Air Max's Director of Team Operations. Between the two, the Toppings have six children - Geena, Thomas, Mia and Jillian Topping, and Corey and Alexes Streeter. Alexes plays on Air Max's 9th Grade Girls Team.
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Coach Nathan Erdmann Coach Nathan Erdmann comes to Air-Max Elite Basketball with a breadth of experience in the high school, college and professional levels. Coach Erdmann, was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1997. He spent just under a year with the Jazz then went on to play professionally in Europe for 10 years, 6 of those in Italy. Coach Erdmann also played in France, Spain, and Poland. Coach Erdman credits his father for shaping much of his early career in basketball. His father coached high school basketball for 30 years in Portales, New Mexico, his hometown. He played for his father during high school. After graduating, he assisted his dad with the teams in off season work outs. Coach Erdmann is quite an accomplished college basketball player. He spent two years at Washington State University, then two years at University of Oklahoma. He was all conference selection for both years at OU. Coach Erdmann moved to Fort Worth, Texas after graduating from College with a degree in Sociology. He kept his home in Fort Worth and came home during the summers when he played professional basketball in Europe. Coach Erdmann is married with three girls and a newborn son. ___________________________________________________
Coach Donald Calton Coach Donald Calton has been coaching organized basketball since 1992. Coach Calton has led six teams to win league championships. He has coached throughout the state of Texas including Austin, Pflugerville, Fort Worth, Saginaw, Watagua, Keller and Southlake. Coach Calton truly enjoys working with kids. He says coaching kids is a “way of investing in their futures“. Coach Calton has played through high school, and has been involved in the game in some capacity for about 25 years. ___________________________________________________
Coach Anthony Williams Coach Anthony Williams' love & drive for coaching youth sports comes from the vow he made to himself and to his children a long time ago - that he would NOT let his children go through what he went through as a young athlete - a boy with a lot of potential but very few opportunities to play sports and develop into the best athlete he could be. He hasn't stopped fulfilling that promise to this day, and it's a promise not only to his own children but to all the young people he coaches. Coach Williams has coached youth sports in the DFW Metroplex for over a decade. He comes to Air Max Elite Basketball with a breadth of experience having coached youths from 1st grade to high school in a variety of sports including baseball, soccer, football and basketball. Coach Williams' recent experiences coaching youth select basketball include his tenure with the Dallas Hawks as Director of Basketball from 2004-2006. In 2006, he formed his own organization, North Texas Flight Boys and Girls Basketball Club. After a successful two years of multiple tournament championships with North Texas Flight, Coach Williams decided he really wanted to concentrate on his love for coaching and joined Air Max Elite Basketball as coach for our 7th grade Boys team. Coach Williams is originally from New Orleans, LA and settled in Mesquite, TX in 1998. Coach Williams is married to his college sweetheart, Misty, of 18 years. The Williams have a 16 year old son, Anthony Jr., and a 14 year old daughter, Christy, who plays on Air Max's 9th Grade Girls team.
Coach Topping's Basketball Philosophy Our basketball Club is intended to be a positive experience for each and every player who participates. My philosophy is based on providing a high quality, competitive, hard working, and character driven team. My first goal is to provide all players with the knowledge and confidence to play for any team or coach. The last goal is to develop a team that is both competitive and FEARED!!! Team will always come first over the individual and each player will be responsible to exhibit this quality in practice, at home, and in games. It is a difficult and time-consuming responsibility being a Select/Travel Basketball parent. You need to know that I want what is best for your student athlete. The only thing that I can promise you is that I want your child to succeed. I will work as hard as I can to help him/her to succeed. Playing time and his/her role on the team is based on effort, skill, team play, practice habits, attitude, and performance. Playing time is not a guarantee to any player. Some players will not get as much playing time as others and in some games a team member may not play at all. I believe that there are many rewards that come from being part of a team. They include the improvement that comes from every day effort, the friendships made, and the lessons learned. These benefits far out-weigh the game time played. Success is earned through commitment and team play. Every athlete will have a role on the team that will be specifically spelled out to him/her. No role is less important than another. The success of our team as a whole and the success of your son/daughter as an individual will be based on how well each player performs their specific role. Practice Approach In practice I emphasize toughness, how to compete, ball security, defense and team play. I teach all fundamentals for the game, but to truly develop the fundamentals for the game, athletes need individual lessons from mom/dad or qualified fundamentals coach. Practice time is limited to twice a week, so I need to focus the majority of our time on team play. Coach’s Beliefs As your coach my beliefs to or for success are as follows. I believe in leadership and organization, I believe in a family environment, I believe in loyalty, I believe in treating people fairly not equally, I believe that you must have a reason for what you are teaching, I believe there is a proper teaching progression, I believe in the “K.I.S.S” keep it simple stupid principal, I believe that a quality coach can adapt his coaching style or team concepts to any group/player, I believe in focusing on weaknesses not strengths, I believe in hard work, and last I truly believe in making the game FUN! Final Thoughts I am not a “shoot from the hip” coach. If I did not put thought into it, we will not practice it. If we did not practice it, we will not run it in a game. I do not coach to win games, but if I am teaching the right things then winning will happen naturally. Remember we are a young team, but in life it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish that counts! Thank you and I am excited about this opportunity!!!
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