A LITTLE MAN’S TAKE ON A BIG SPORTS WORLD
By Jim Biery
Should We Talk
About Practice?
I
know this is an infamous phrase
Allen Iverson once uttered, but I
feel there is a real necessity to live
by these words.
Unless you’re a diehard NBA fan, most of us
have moved on from “How in the world did South
Carolina make it to the Final Four?” to the fact
that there is really no reason to follow basketball
on any level right now, unless you’re caught
up in the “Where is Romeo Langford going to
college?” sweepstakes.
So, what should a true basketball fan and
player do during this down time? Well, my advice
is to begin working on your game, and a big
part of that should be improving your shooting
technique. As we know, the game is a lot more
fun when you know how to score points. Allow
me to introduce to you Charlie Wallace, who
has invented The Qube, a training aid that is
beneficial to any aspiring basketball player of
any age, skill level, or gender.
Charlie attended Seneca High School in
Louisville, played football, basketball and
baseball. He was an all-state first team football
player who went to Western Kentucky to play
football and baseball. After two seasons, he
transferred to the University of Kentucky. After
graduating, he worked in sales with the fitness
equipment company Cybex until he opened
his own fitness company called Magna Fitness
Center in St. Louis. Jackie Joyner-Kersee and
Mark McGwire were among those who trained
at his fitness center.
In 2006, Charlie moved back to Louisville to be
close to family – both of his sons played football
and graduated from Ballard High School – and
became involved with The Basketball Academy.
While working on shooting techniques with kids
of all ages, he had an idea. Instead of seeing a
round ball in his hands, he envisioned a square
cube. He then designed a cube that was the same
weight as a basketball. He consulted with many
high-level basketball players who loved the idea
and asked how they could help.
Charlie spoke with the people he had worked
with while he was the strength and conditioning
coach for the St. Louis University basketball team
about The Qube he designed. Everyone said that
this was something that could benefit any player
regardless of size, age or gender. Once Charlie
added the German national wheelchair team
as a client, he realized The Qube could change
and revolutionize how we shoot a basketball.
We all grew up learning how to shoot based on
whom we watched shooting at the time. Most of
us shot the ball from our hips because we weren’t
strong enough to get it to the basket otherwise.
Then we emulated who we saw on TV. For me
it was Jay Shidler, the Blonde Bomber from
Kentucky. The Qube takes it to a whole other level.
“The key to the design of The Qube is to have
hand, wrist and elbow alignment in the same
path and motion,” Charlie said. “Conceptually,
the most important thing about shooting a
basketball is to make sure it goes straight with
proper arc. If a player is missing left or right,
their shot is flawed.
“The Qube helps you maximize your chances
of making shots by teaching proper form and
technique. By placing your thumbs and fingers
in the right place, you will allow the ball to go
straight as opposed to left and right if your
thumbs are in the right position,” he explained.
According to Charlie, data has come in from
all levels of competition showing that nearly
anyone can improve shooting percentages
using the The Qube. Success stories have come
from Ballard, as well as schools from around the
country and the Netherlands, Spain, Canada,
Japan, Australia and Germany.
Charlie hopes to continue to improve on
manufacturing The Qube and introduce it to
AAU circuits, basketball camps and clinics and,
ultimately, the “Shark Tank” team.
For more information on The Qube, visit
www.Qubebasketball.com or email Charlie at
[email protected].
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