Suburban Lifestyles
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Local pro-turned-coach making Hoop Dreams for kids

By Nicole Beattie
Associate Editor

At 6'10" tall and 260 pounds, Greg Grant surely captures the attention of his Romeo-area neighbors wherever he goes around town, but his presence is especially felt on the basketball court, as he towers over his athlete students during his various basketball clinics, small-group and personal one-on-one coaching sessions.

While Grant has a naturally assertive and tough approach to coaching, it's his ability to communicate with young basketball players of all ages, boys and girls alike, that stands out.

Maybe his strong communication skills stem from years of playing basketball at a professional level overseas in thirty countries, including stops in Europe, Asia and South America, or it could be his desire to help young athletes reach their NBA dreams as he did years ago with the Detroit Pistons and Seattle Supersonics.

"It was kind of a dream come true that just ended a little bit short," Grant said of his Preseason Camp with the Pistons in 1995. "It's something I always wanted to do and I knew I wanted to continue playing basketball after college. When it didn't work out with the Pistons, I went overseas."

Grant's impressive resume of international play has given him experience and exposure to a variety of basketball philosophies that he says he uses when coaching today.

"Most of the time, I played power forward or a center position, but when I went to Europe, I had to learn to play the two, three, four and five positions, guarding their best players. When you go over there, you have to learn to do a little bit of everything - you can't just be good at one position," Grant said. "The Europeans are much more fundamentally sound, Americans rely on their athleticism. I've always been a fundamentally sound player, and that's why I fit in so well in Europe and why coaching was a good fit for me also."

After playing on the European Superleague in 2001, Grant joined the Detroit Dogs of the American Basketball Association before the team folded in 2002 and then began his coaching career with high school varsity boys.

"I have a lot of friends and relatives that would ask me to coach their kids. At first, I wasn't interested, but when I saw how quickly the kids improved, I started to enjoy it and it was great to see their progress. I can relate to kids really easily."

Coach Grant now trains students on his own, traveling to area schools, gymnasiums, churches and YMCAs where he hosts shooting and posting clinics as well as basketball camps with an emphasis on fundamentals, discipline, a strong work ethic, confidence, competitiveness, respect and teamwork.

In addition, Grant says he's also available for weekly small-group and one-on-one sessions, where athletes can experience a more intense, customized lesson in order to ask questions, discuss difficulties and work on how to specifically improve their game.

"The best part of coaching is seeing the player actually get it," Grant said. "When that player has success, that's when I get the enjoyment. I also like when the parents see dramatic improvement in their child, which can come in one session."

For more information on Coach Greg Grant Personal Training, Coaching and Mentoring, call (586) 651-0020.