Big news for the SAVI community

Tyler Coston

3d (edited) • 📢 Announcements

@Mike Carlson

is joining SAVI as our Director of Player Development. This is huge.

As you know, we're committed to revolutionizing the way the game is taught and played.

A NEW way to teach players how to see, think and play the game!

The SAVI way.

Here's why this matters.

20 years ago, players didn't have instant access to their own film. They had to trust what a coach told them. Now it's different. Film study is the most revolutionary tool in coaching and player development today — and most coaches and most players are not yet using it well or using it enough.

We're going to change that.

Want to develop IQ? Film.

Want to learn reads? Film.Want to improve your shot? Film.

Want to score more points? Film.Want more playing time? Film.

Larry Bird said it best:

"Film don't lie."

Mike has been living this for the last six years — and the results, the pro players he's working with have produced! This is why I asked him to lead Player Development at SAVI.

A NEW way to teach players how to see, think and play the game!

The SAVI way.

In his own words, here's the journey.

The Mike Carlson Basketball Journey - in his own words

I was never recruited. Didn't score 1,000 points in high school. Cut as a freshman from Division 3 Hope College.

Walked on at Truman State (D2), redshirted, and earned a scholarship during the redshirt year. Then a coaching change happened, and the new coach told me to find a new school.

Through tears at the thought of losing my scholarship, I told coach to put me through workouts and I'd show him what I could do. A week later, coach apologized and said he wanted me on the team.

Three years later we won 21 games (we'd only won 7 when I redshirted), and I was named a Division 2 All-American (2014).

I played the next ten years professionally. Won 2 championships (2017, 2022), and helped the clubs I played for exceed their goals — wins, playoff appearances, and one Final Four (2023). The single proudest moment of my career was hitting a game-winning three in my first game in the ACB (Spain's top league). There's a lot of meaning behind that shot — a story for another day.

In 2019, one of my friends was struggling as a rookie overseas. He was worried about being cut, so we started watching film together. He started performing better. Not just a little — a lot better.

He connected me with another friend in the same situation, struggling and trying to find his way as a pro. We went over his game film. He made a giant leap in his career (think NAIA to D1 type jump).

That grew into a personal obsession of developing a way to use film to help players perform in games. The successes players kept having led me to found the Study of Hoops.

Since 2019, I've helped many players have breakout years and reach similar levels of success.

A few weeks ago, two of my players in Switzerland made the U20 national team. The basketball habits we built throughout the season helped them in the cutthroat tryout environment — no scouting, no halftime speech, no real guidance, just straight hoops. They showed the evaluating coaches they can be trusted on the floor. That's how they earned those spots. Something I'm proud to have influenced, and happy the lessons learned through the Study of Hoops stuck.

Both those guys wanted to get better. They asked questions. They sent me their games. They gradually improved. And they reaped the rewards.

That's what's possible.

I'm excited to join SAVI to help as many players as we possibly can.

— Mike

Welcome him in.

Drop a comment below — say hi, welcome Mike to the community, or ask him a question. He's here. He's in. He's ready to work with you and your players. That's what we're building in our player development community. It's not a bunch of workouts, it's the complete athlete journey for anyone who want's to play at the next level. Film study, personalized planning, mentorship and accountability.

We're going to change how the game is taught and how it's played, starting now.

Film don't lie.

Stay SAVI,— Tyler

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Big news for the SAVI community