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SportsPrep Live is an engaging podcast hosted by Graydon Prescott, a talented 15-year-old with a passion for sports. Despite his young age, Graydon brings a wealth of experience to the table, having started his podcasting journey at the age of 9. With a focus on excellence in athletics, SportsPrep Live promises captivating interviews with a diverse range of athletes, offering valuable insights and inspiring stories to its listeners.
Unknown Speaker 0:00
You're listening to local programming produced in KU NV studios. Hey everybody, and welcome to another episode of sports prep live autographed live, where we unbox the mic and talk excellence in athletics.
Unknown Speaker 0:25
What is up everybody? Welcome to Season Two of sports prep live. I'm your host Graydon Prescott. And today we have a very special guest, former professional basketball player turn skills and fitness trainer, and also a mentor from Hooper's of all ages. He's the founder and owner of full circle Training and Development. Mr. David Bell is on the show. David, welcome. It's a pleasure to have you.
Unknown Speaker 0:46
Thank you for having me, man. It's a pleasure.
Unknown Speaker 0:49
All right, we got a lot to cover today. So let's just get right into it, shall we? For sure. All right. Let's take it back to the beginning. How did you start your journey in basketball? And what were some early influences that shaped your love for the game? Good
Unknown Speaker 1:00
question. So my my whole thing was I was a really shy and quiet kid. So my parents really wanted me to do something to try to open up my personality. And one day, I just came home with this piece of paper that had a basketball tryout. And from there, I think I was seven or eight years old. And from there just started playing, found out that I had a little bit of skill. And from there just the journey just continued on all the way up to the professional level.
Unknown Speaker 1:29
Can you share some memorable moments from your pre professional career? So high school, middle school, college, whatever it be, and that the moments that laugh left a lasting impression on you? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 1:40
there's definitely a lot in there. I think that early on was just a family member, my cousin really had a big influence on me. He was a varsity player at the time. And I think I was in middle school or something. So he would take me out to the parks and just have me play with grown men. And it was one of the biggest things that he wanted me to get down so that I wasn't scared when I did reach the high school level of bigger players, more physical players. And, you know, the influence is just kept pulling from there from high school. I grew up in the Bay Area, of course, and I went to school with Eddie house. And that was the next phase. When I was in high school. Just seeing Eddie go off. He was like a young Steph. Now, I think back he had the handle, he had the shot. Yeah, he talked a little bit more than Steph, I don't know if you know, anybody, he can talk. And we watched that and we mimicked everything that he did. And our goal, me and my friends that really hung together. And those were really my peers were my mentors at the time. And then we, we all just watch Edie and see what he did all the way up to the division one level. And we wanted to go Division one. And I was fortunate enough to go junior college and have some role models there that were from Washington, DC and Chicago. And that kind of led me on on a journey on how to win. And that journey took me to the University of Montana, where was a whole nother culture shock happening for me, you know, but it was all you know, it was all part of my journey. And I took all those things up to the professional level.
Unknown Speaker 3:12
Once you got to that point where you had finished your career at the University of Montana, you ended up playing professionally for 16 years. What inspired you to pursue the professional career? And how did you navigate the challenges and opportunities that came with that?
Unknown Speaker 3:27
So, you know, I was really just young. If I look back, and I'm honest, I was just young, young minded a little bit. I hadn't matured, when I was even in college. And I would say the summer of my scene going into my senior year, we had a new coach, Rob Norris, I actually just contacted him a couple of weeks ago, but he was the first one to put player development together for us kids up there, Montana. And he was the first person to tell me, hey, you know, you could probably go pro. And that was I had never heard that before. I don't even know what I was thinking at the time. If I would go pro, I knew I might have an opportunity. I knew I wasn't good enough. Or I didn't think that I was really good enough to make it to the NBA. But overseas was never really my my thought process in the beginning. Yeah. But once he said that, to me, I took a little bit more serious. And I really nail down all those things that I had grew up doing, and try to organize it to a way that I can somewhat be the best Pro I could be. Yeah. So he was my biggest influence when I started thinking about being a professional
Unknown Speaker 4:33
and reflecting as your time as a professional, are there any specific games moments achievements that stand out as some of the highlights of your career
Unknown Speaker 4:44
16 is a long time. Like and it was a long journey from the bottom to you know, to the D league, which is called the G league now. The CBA when when the CBA was still around a summertime league Getting a USBL, which I don't even think that's even out anymore. But probably the biggest moment of my career was having my jersey retired. Oh, wow, just because that was like, I was in Germany for the longest period. My daughter was born there. My family spent most of our time in Germany because that was my longest period as a pro. And that really solidified, like, all the work that led up to that point. Yeah. They retired it. A few were a few years before I retired, so I was still playing when they retired. Yeah, which was really like, an emotional thing that I never even, you know, I don't know, it's just like, sometimes you put your head down, and you just grind and then you look up and you're like, Wow, that was 16 years I just played and oh, wow, they're, they're gonna retire my jersey. So it was kind of a surprise. But I would say that would be the biggest moment of my career, along with some other big games and some goals that I wanted to achieve that I did achieve. But the staple is really being able to have my jersey, sitting in Germany in an arena right now. That's incredible.
Unknown Speaker 6:08
Once you finished your career as a player, you came back here and started becoming a trainer and that train, and that transition from being a player to a trainer is obviously a significant shift. What motivated you to make that transition? And how do your experiences as a player influence how you approach training?
Unknown Speaker 6:25
Yes, so when I was playing, in the early stages, the biggest thing for me was to get stronger. So I couldn't afford and at the time, there wasn't trainers like that, like, yeah, you know, you have trainers now, and you can have a personal trainer, and you have a skills trainer. So but at the time, I needed to get stronger. And I couldn't afford that, because I was making, like $800 a month in Switzerland. And so I couldn't bring any money back to really afford to trainer. So I put some money away and just got my certification early in my career. And then from there every year, I've just kind of was alongside the physical therapists. So it's almost doing a little internship as I went throughout my career on the personal training side. So that's where the background of that came. And then later on in my career, a lot of guys were asking me questions about whether what do i What do I do in the summer, what is my workouts look like, and I have always watched film before I did my own workouts, it was me and my dad, similar to you, you know, it was me and my dad together, he would work me out, it was the only person who ever worked me out. And then we'll put these workouts together, we watch him, go back, put a workout together and go do the workout. And that would be my summer. Pretty much. So from that I kind of just built in. Always watching film on guys. And even in the season, I would watch film on other team just personally not even with the team. And I would just Scout other teams see how they regard me and I would see how they would guard us and how I can get other people open. So that kind of just made my mind shift into a skills trainer type of thing. And that's where I like to share a lot of those things with everybody that wants to play basketball. You know, there's so many trainers out here, but I believe that every trainer has some type of skill that they can they can hand down to another player.
Unknown Speaker 8:17
It's great impressed got here on Sports prep live. And I'm on the mic with former professional basketball player and the founder of full circle training and development, David Bell, speaking of full circle, what inspired you to start the full spherical training brand? And what is the philosophy behind it?
Unknown Speaker 8:31
The philosophy is one drop at a time. Throughout my journey, I realized that every step that I made, and every entity that I wanted to incorporate into my game was just one opportunity. It was like one decision happening for me that I had to nail that day. And I kind of took that philosophy throughout my professional career. And that's what I like to pass down to other people's just, you got one decision one in one day, and you make that decision to get better. And then. So the full circle thing is almost like putting all those days together by and coming back around and seeing how much you developed over a course of time. So it's just redeveloping yourself coming full circle. And, you know, we try to be a little bit dynamic. Yeah, so being full circle is kind of broad, but it can be more specific at the same time.
Unknown Speaker 9:22
I've worked with you. You've trained me on multiple occasions, and I've noticed that your training involves strength, skill and mindset. How do you integrate those three elements into your training process? And can you tell us why they are so essential for all athletes? Great
Unknown Speaker 9:39
question. at a professional level, that's not just the skill you know, it's it's the mind behind it that's going to help you last the long the longest run so before I even start with any of the as you know, some of the training is really understanding what you want out of the training. What is your philosophy, almost what you're seeing as a player and then From there, we can incorporate the mindset to always keep you back on track. Because the biggest moments of people's career, high school, middle school professional is when they're struggling. So when you're struggling, you have to find a way out. And that's where you find that consistency. So that's where the mindset comes in. I like to play defense and as you know, in the, in the sessions, just because, you know, I don't like cones, we don't we, I don't think we ever put down a cone. But that's just my philosophy, I like to play defense, I like to get people to read and react to what defenses will do put you in some different situations, and really get your heart rate up and see where you're at at, when you're tired. See where your patterns are, when you start to get a little fatigued. And from there, that's where the mindset comes in. And then it all kind of ties in together.
Unknown Speaker 10:52
You've trained people from all age groups from young kids up to NBA players, how does your training how do you modify your training philosophy, when you're approaching younger kids versus professional athletes at advanced levels? Well,
Unknown Speaker 11:07
I like to do some type of assessment if I don't have film on them. So from that point on, I kind of see where I kind of write out my whole scout on that player. And then from there, I like to incorporate what they do well, and kind of put them through a test on what I think they can improve on from, you know, middle school to all the way up to the pros, obviously, right. And I think the film and assessment really, lets me and that person know where they stand as a basketball player. And then from there, the modification comes to what level they're playing at at that moment, and what's going to help him develop as a better player in that moment. So for a younger person, it's a lot of a lot more reads that they might not be used to, it's a finishing with contact, because the younger generation, you know, doesn't want too much context. So we try to put a lot of contact on that with finishing. And then we go to the pros, like it's a different, you know, certain guys play and play in certain countries or play at a certain level to where there's patterns in how you're going to run a pick and roll how they're going to read, you want to pick and roll. And we'll put them through those scenarios. So they so they can understand what to do in those scenarios. And then they become the mindset with that is for them to it to be easier read for them. So now they don't have to think about the read that you can just play off that read and be great at what they do at the same time.
Unknown Speaker 12:35
Athletes have worked with a lot of different trainers, but not a lot of athletes get the opportunity to to work with a trainer who is also a former professional, how do you draw from your personal experiences as a professional to connect and inspire athletes you work with?
Unknown Speaker 12:49
Good question. So I would say 11 or 12 years out of my career, I was a I was the captain. Okay, so I was always the vocal leader, I was always the one to bridge the gap between the coach and and the players. So from that I kind of learned how to talk to certain certain guys how to motivate certain guys, because everybody obviously isn't different, everybody is motivated the same way. And those years, I was able to bridge that gap with my coach wanting one thing, and not really knowing especially with the language barrier, how to speak to certain guys. And yeah, that would be my responsibility, even when it came down to organization, you have to talk to the organization, you have to talk to sponsors and bring that back to the team and make sure the team understands how important certain wins are, especially in and Europe because it's you know, it's a different, different level. So I really incorporate that with, especially with my pros, just learning what they how they operate, learning what motivates them, and then really digging into that and trying to get them motivated to to have a good summer.
Unknown Speaker 13:59
Establishing your training brand full circle, were there any particular lessons or experiences from your background, professional, amateur, whatever it be, that you find instrumental in shaping the foundation of the brand?
Unknown Speaker 14:12
Yeah, man, the journey going from the bottom, Switzerland and going to as high as Champions League and in Italy. I kind of I don't want to say I did it myself because there was so many people that were instrumental in my growth, but I really grinded from the bottom. I know everybody always says it, but I just it was just me and my dad just kind of going through things and modifying things and just kind of learning on the fly through trial and error. And that's kind of how this company was was founded just a lot of trial and error. Obviously a lot of luck and from from there. We just keep grinding and we're just going to keep building and growing. Absolutely.
Unknown Speaker 14:53
We're here on Sports prep live 91 5k u n v M grade in Prescott and I'm sitting down with David Bell owner full circle training to discuss basketball, fitness training and more. David, as a trainer, you've likely encountered various training myths, can you debunk one or two of the common misconceptions about fitness and training?
Unknown Speaker 15:15
Well, if we're talking about basketball, or if we're talking about
Unknown Speaker 15:17
just any fitness because you do more than just anything in general,
Unknown Speaker 15:21
exactly. You know, what's funny is that, you know, as basketball players, we feel like we have to run so much. Yeah, we have to run and I used to run hills. And I used to do all this crazy stuff, right. And he'll repeat and running up three mile hills just to prove that I was in shape, which it worked for me, maybe it did, maybe it didn't. But the biggest myth, I believe, is that there's plenty of different ways to get in shape. Yeah, and not every fitness. Exercise is made for that person. So just in general, like a squat isn't made for everybody, you might not get the best benefits from a squat, if you're a certain person is, it's just how you're built. If you don't have the mobility in your ankles, and your hips don't move or something like that, then a squat probably isn't the best thing for you. Just like for basketball players, some guys like to run to get in shape. And I didn't like to run, but I did it anyway. But not until later in my career, I would say the last three years, I realized that I didn't have to run, I could just do certain things like a circuit really get my heart rate up and Be Explosive at the same time, because the running was actually actually taken away from a lot of my explosiveness. Not that was a big jump or anything, but it just, it took away. And I kind of saved some years, I guess it save some save some years, maybe but I don't know. But you know, every exercise isn't built for everybody.
Unknown Speaker 16:50
I hear that. Are there any specific aspects of the game of basketball that you believe are often overlooked in training? And how do you address those in your training programs?
Unknown Speaker 17:01
overlooked? Well, I think a lot of things that are overlooked is that skipping steps, a lot of people just are cookie cutter with a lot of things. And they just put one one guard in to another workout with another guard, which isn't really what skill training should be about, it should be about individualized skill training for a certain person. And if that trainer has enough education and has seen enough games, he can modify each player that's on that court, right, so they can maximize their skill, specifically. So that would be one of the biggest things is there's so many trainers out here doing so many different things, and some of his good and some of his not good. But regardless, if you're going to do that, I think that more trainers should specialize in modifying to that player.
Unknown Speaker 17:56
You've talked a lot about recovery for athletes. And a lot of times, I'll hear athletes don't take the recovery process as seriously as they might need to what recovery strategies do you emphasize? And how do you ensure that your athletes prioritize rest and regeneration? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 18:12
sleep is big, I believe in that. Mobility is really something that I'm really tapping into with a lot of my guys now is that mobility aspect that we can lengthen the body a little bit more, you can encounter a lot more on the court. And you know, rest, of course, like being more strategic with how you train, a lot of people overdo it when they don't need to almost like running a three, three and a half mile uphill. And just maybe just going to do a circuit for you know, a certain amount of time, because she'll keep to the same benefits. So I think really scheduling out sleep and eating the proper way. Of course, that's one of the biggest Yeah, biggest things. And my big thing right now is mobility.
Unknown Speaker 19:03
Another big thing that is often overlooked and guilty as charged nutrition. Yeah. nutrition plays a crucial role in an athlete's performance. And I don't think that a lot of athletes understand that as much as they should. How do you guide your athletes in terms of dietary habits and nutrition plans to be the best that they can be? Well,
Unknown Speaker 19:22
my biggest thing right now is trying to get those people on just trying it out. And what they'll realize that I've just kind of noticed is that once you plan it out, and you've done it for a certain amount of time, the time that you don't want you go back to some bad habits is when you'll feel it the most. Yeah, so you might not feel it when you're in the moment when eating all these nutrition things that are good for you and help you recover and get your protein and things like that. But the minute you step out that box a little bit and start eating a little junk, here and there. You're gonna feel a little bit more than than normal. So my biggest thing is just getting them to try it for a certain amount of days. And then being able to ask the same questions to them like, okay, so how you feel today? And they start saying, Well, man, I'm stomach kind of hurts or kind of sluggish today, I'm a little bit tired. I'm a little bit sore. And those are the signs that obviously you're not doing something right. Absolutely.
Unknown Speaker 20:21
Looking beyond basketball, what other experiences or aspects of your background do you believe contribute to your effectiveness as a trainer and a mentor today?
Unknown Speaker 20:29
Well, today, I'm actually in the referee scene, as you know, Oh, yeah. So I am doing the referee. I've always wanted to do it. And right now I'm at the college level, while doing a lot of the High School Stuff varsity here, but kind of travel a little bit for college. So that's one thing that's really helped me as skill development, because I can speak the rules of the game to certain players. And, you know, a lot of us get into it with referees, you know, and I was one of the biggest ones, right? I was one of the biggest ones to yell at a ref. And, you know, go crazy. But now by rule by, by certain rules, I can speak the language a little bit better. Yeah. And I want to share that with a lot of a lot of my players, so they don't end up and get mentally blocked by a referee, possibly calling fouls or doing certain things. But you can come with some rulebook knowledge to a referee, I guarantee, they'll respect it. And then you can let it go. And then you can get back to your game and stay on track. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 21:38
I hear that. Looking ahead, what are some of your aspirations for full circle training? Or you at personally, whether it be referee trainer, and how do you see those things evolving in the coming years? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 21:53
one of the biggest things I have going right now we're opening up the first shoot 360 here in Las Vegas. Oh, wow. So that'll be opening in May. That's one of the biggest things I've been looking forward to a couple of my friends on St. George have really put this thing together and the AR skills is going to actually be in the facility during the skilled training. So we really want to change the narrative here in Vegas and really have some good skilled training. That's one of the biggest things. We want to have a lot of mentors and influence through that facility, with pros, you know, agents coming in coaches coming in and being able to talk to all the kids and in the community. And you know, this is becoming one of the biggest hubs for the NBA, right. So we'll have a lot of people coming in and out of there trying to get their feedback and picking people's brain on skill development and having people come train with some of the big, big trainers or coaches that that come through the town. So that's one of the biggest things on the basketball side. As far as the fitness side, you know, we're just going to keep it going. Yeah, it's a good time. It's more of a community than trying to be a big box gym. What we've built is a community out there in Henderson that has really opened up and helped a lot of people throughout. Yeah, throughout the throughout the neighborhood.
Unknown Speaker 23:13
It's great impressed got here on Sports prep live, and today I am on the mic with a former professional basketball player, fitness trainer, athletic skills trainer, whatever you name he does. Mr. David Bell. All right. As we come towards the end of the show, one of the things that I love to do is a rapid fire session with each of my guests. Let's do one and it will be quick questions, looking to find quick answers. Maybe some hot takes. You can take your time with your answers. Just know one minute answers. Okay. What is the most points you've ever scored in a professional game? 37 hardest person you've ever had to guard?
Unknown Speaker 23:57
Gilbert Arenas?
Unknown Speaker 23:58
You gotta Gilbert. How'd that go?
Unknown Speaker 24:03
Not too good. I was just an odd the whole time. But I was I was younger. And I just his handle was so crazy. Yeah. It was something I'd never seen before.
Unknown Speaker 24:13
Yeah, this one might take a little bit more thought the best basketball shoe of all time. Yep.
Unknown Speaker 24:21
Got me past basketball shoe. You know what I really I was Jordan 20 threes with the big yes, I know. I know. Those are like my go to or the 29th or the 30s. I think they were the next one that came out with the toe. Which I I had I don't know how many parents are those because once I get to a shoe I just I'm gonna run it. I'm gonna just keep getting the same shoe every year. So yeah, I had those for a while and I'll try to bring that back. Like towards the end of my career. Trash but they were they were they're still my shoes. I still got a couple of pay on my clothes. You know? You know, like the copious the Colbys Yes, but every, but my thing is like, you don't want to do what everybody else is doing. No, not that. But if I run through shoes like it's not okay. Yeah. Like, I don't know if I'm heavy foot or what, but just heavy. I don't know. But the Cobis would only last me three weeks a month if I'm playing in. Yeah. So I just couldn't do it anymore. Wow, I'm just running through him. All right.
Unknown Speaker 25:23
What is the ideal pregame meal or postgame home? Because
Unknown Speaker 25:28
you know, I'm a scheduled guy, right? I got my hope my family knows like, on game days, it's like wake up. don't really talk to me because I'm just in a mood to shoot around, come back. And it's normally like a huge breakfast, eggs, pancakes, grits, some turkey sausage or something like that. Oh, wow. This like I go crazy on before. Before I take my nap. And I wake up may maybe have a snack and then get to the game. Okay.
Unknown Speaker 25:55
Do you prefer evening or morning workouts? Morning? Yeah, I knew that. A skill that every young basketball player has to have
Unknown Speaker 26:05
a skill? Well, I would say you got to have some type some type of intensity on defense. But a skill I would I would have to say like young like my son, he has to be able to handle the ball. Yeah. Or you're just not going to be able to do much without, you're not going to be able to control your own environment if you can't handle the ball. Right? Right. He can shoot a little bit but he can't handle it. You can't sit out there and just wait for somebody to pass you the ball to shoot. So yeah, being able to handle I think it's one of the biggest things. All right,
Unknown Speaker 26:37
and then in no specific order. Who's your top five ever?
Unknown Speaker 26:42
Jordan? Yeah. Man, I can't do this.
Unknown Speaker 26:47
Being from Oakland, Steph Curry,
Unknown Speaker 26:49
I gotta throw stuff. Yeah, I agree. I agree. I agree. I respect LeBron. So I would I I respect that. I mean, the guys are respected. I don't know if I will put them in. I don't know. I got Mike. Yeah, Kobe is in there. I'm not good at the top fives. Because it's always like I said no, in no order. But you know, is it a top five to create a team to play against the team? Or is it just top five? As an individual?
Unknown Speaker 27:19
How about as an individual? Yep. And well, I
Unknown Speaker 27:22
go magic. Unheard of coach Shaq so far. So
Unknown Speaker 27:29
you had Steph, MJ Kobe, magic and shot? Okay. That's interesting. I've never heard that. All right. Lastly, this is not a rapid fire, you can take your time with this one. If you could give one piece of advice to an aspiring athlete, or anyone considering to pursue athletic training, what would it be?
Unknown Speaker 27:51
To pursue athletic training. You know, take it in, take it in levels, I mean, you don't have to get everything all at once. I think it's a growth process, along with everything, like the journey, but if you can really nail in one thing at a time and get really good at it, it will help you develop into other things. And you kind of find your path within that, what you want to specialize in. And as long as you take it slow, I think that and you nail in the thing that you love the most, I think that'll kind of create your path for the next phase of training or next phase of education. And then you gotta love it, you gotta love what you do. Because, you know, it's not it's not a standardized job to be fitness trainer or skills trainer, you know, it's just, it's random. Guys want to come in at certain times. Certain guys want this certain, certain players want that. And then you got groups with different people that want different things. So be ready for that be really open to those things. And I think I think enjoying it and being open. You know, you can you can overtake and and have a nice long career at that. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 29:09
All right. This has been great. David. Once again, I'd like to thank you for joining me today. It's been a pleasure having you on the program. Thank you, sir. All right, you can find David on Instagram at becoming full circle. You can check out all the rest of our episodes on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or wherever you find your podcast. Thank you all for tuning into this episode of sports prep live. I'm Greg and Prescott and as always, have a fantastic day everyone.
Unknown Speaker 29:44
Thank you for tuning in to this episode of sports prep live. I'm grading Prescott and don't forget to catch all of our episodes on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and be sure to follow us on Instagram or Twitter at sports rep la Thank you
Transcribed by https://otter.ai