Michigan: Winning Frankenmuth Coach Tom Keller says: "... Noah helps coaches like me who are not shooting gurus." Frankenmuth holds all-time record of 758-150, 12 regional titles and a 118-36 playoff record
Coach Tom Keller believes the Frankenmuth High School basketball program and the girls team has improved since purchasing the Noah Select System. This belief comes from a coach who has posted an 88-25 record in five seasons that includes five conference titles and an 11-5 playoff record.
In short, the Eagles have been very good under Coach Keller. In fact, Frankenmuth has a rich and successful basketball tradition dating back to the program's inception in 1973. Frankenmuth has never endured a losing season and has an all-time record of 758-150. The Eagles have won two Michigan state championships (1992 and 1996), 12 regional titles and own a 118-36 playoff tournament record.
"We've really been able to build a strong tradition over the years," Keller said. "We've been very blessed with kids who have grown up playing ball together. We have parents who are committed to seeing their daughters improve their games. I'm just fortunate to reap the benefits of all the years this system has been in place. We have a small community, but we take pride in hard work and our basketball tradition."
With such strong support from parents and an eagerness to play winning basketball from the student-athletes, it's no wonder that when Keller suggested the program purchase a Noah Select System, there was no hesitation.
A little more than a year ago, Keller and a few of his players first encountered Noah at a workout in Detroit. Paul Galbenski, Noah's representative in Michigan and Northwest Ohio, presented Noah to the attendees. Keller's players participated and the coach instantly saw the potential.
"I'm a math teacher," Keller said. "Seeing all the stats, angles and equations got me curious about the technical side of Noah." Galbenski agreed to come to Frankenmuth to do a free clinic. When he arrived, the gym was packed.
"Paul did such a great job in explaining the science behind good shooting and how our student-athletes could replicate the science," Keller said. "Our parents, boosters and coaches agreed Noah was something we needed to get for our program."
For the rest of last summer and into the fall, the Eagles used Noah as one of their primary offseason tools. Keller said he immediately noticed one benefit—players were really motivated to work hard on their free throw shooting.
"Free throw shooting is not something kids want to do a lot," Keller said. "They want to shoot threes. The boys want to dunk. But Noah made it fun for kids to work on their free throw shooting. They can see tangible results and Noah gave them goals to improve their performance."
The results?
The Frankenmuth's girls team upped its free throw shooting from 61 percent in 2009-2010 to 66 percent in 2010-2011. The 66 percent from the charity stripe was good for ninth-best in the state. The Eagles shot 441 free throws last year and Keller figures the improved shooting added up to 2-3 more points per game.
But that's not all.
Frankenmuth, a Class B school with 500 students, loves to push the pace and get up and down the floor. The Eagles incorporate the three-point shot in almost every situation—transitions, set plays, inbound plays, etc. So it was to Keller's excitement that Frankenmuth improved its three-point shooting to 27.5 percent on 412 attempts. The previous year, the Eagles shot 23.8 percent.
"We really benefitted from the extra shooting on Noah," Keller said. "The 5-6 points per game we improved from having Noah were a big difference in our season."
Rae Zink, a rising senior, was a career low-60 percent foul shooter. The center didn't play a fall sport last year and concentrated on basketball. She spent a solid two months on Noah working on her free throws.
What happened?
The first game of last season, Zink converted 11-12 free throws.
Another player, senior McCauley Mossner, shot 47 percent from behind the three-point line last year. As a junior, she finished at 28 percent. Mossner's terrific long-range shooting is helping her continue her basketball career at Adrian College in Michigan.
"Noah was a really great tool that assisted McCauley in achieving her goals," Keller said.
Keller admits coaching shooting is not his forte. He's best suited teaching defense and fundamentals. In this respect, Noah has helped Keller become a better shooting coach.
"Noah makes it easy to show them their arc plots," Keller said. "You don't have to convince them. You can show them if they are shooting really flat or rainbows or if they have good angles but inconsistent depth. Noah helps coaches like me who aren't shooting gurus."
After one season with Noah, Keller still tinkers with the best way to use the system. During last season, he had Noah set up for optional practices on weekends.
"Most players through a course of a season get into ruts or slumps and lose confidence," Keller said. "It's nice to have Noah, which allows players to work out of those ruts and slumps and gain their confidence back."
Frankenmuth looks to be a force again this season. The Eagles will feature six seniors, all of whom have played at least three varsity seasons. Keller said his team is not very tall with only one girl taller than 5-foot-10.
"We're not going to beat many teams in the paint," Keller said. "We have to rely on tools like Noah so we can beat teams with our shooting—three-pointers and free throws."