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Pat Freeman, Founder of Midwest Basketball Training, started basketball training 18 years ago on a concrete slab in his parents' backyard. With his passion for volunteering and teaching young players about the game, Pat began working part-time with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx. After graduating high school, he transitioned to directing their basketball camps, player clinics, and training full-time.
Pat later accepted a full-time position with Midwest 3 on 3. Shortly after, in 2019, a new opportunity presented itself. While cleaning out a family member’s warehouse, Pat had a vision for a training facility of his own for players in the community to utilize. Without a business plan, he took a leap of faith and opened his first Midwest basketball Training location in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota with just a few hoops and staff members.
Wanting a more formal business plan, Pat partnered with Dr. Dish and created the MBT model and training curriculum they have today, utilizing the Dr. Dish FCLTY shooting machine. When asked “Why Dr. Dish”, Pat responded with, “They are always adding something new. Our kids that train with us love the new updates that keep coming out each year. And from a facility standpoint, it’s super efficient. So to come in and get 300-500 shots up, work in our skills area, develop their off-hand and work on their weaknesses, we can fit a 2-hour workout into an hour. That’s been huge for the kids we work with.”
With the combination of new technology and efficiencies of the shooting machines, as well as the people and staff supporting Pat’s vision, MBT has been able to expand their training efforts across the Twin Cities with Pat recently opening his fourth MBT facility in Rogers, MN.
“A huge part of our growth has been our staff, our team, and our people. Our group of coaches and staff that we have are fantastic. I really believe in them, I believe in our curriculum, and a lot of players have come in here and improved their shot… and then their teammates come in and work with us as well so that process has been a lot of fun.”
Each MBT location across the Twin Cities offers facility memberships where a custom training plan, with measurable goals, is developed for each player that comes in and then they are matched with a MBT Coach to guide them through their progressive skill development and shooting plan.
At each stage of the player's customized plan, coaches work in using the facility’s Dr. Dish shooting machines to ensure players can get a high volume of shots up, can create a repeatable, consistent jump shot, and can maximize time during each session for a personalized, effective training experience.
Outside of the training sessions themselves, Pat’s main focus with Midwest Basketball Training is building relationships through the game of basketball. And with those relationships, instilling confidence in the players they work with. And providing them with the opportunity to improve every aspect of their game from shooting and footwork to defense and decision-making. Pat’s relationship-first mindset is what led him to developing MBT’s core values: Positivity, Community, Impact, and Accountability.
Every player that comes into the gym will experience Positivity through high energy and enthusiastic teaching. “Everything is positive, doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it’s a really fun environment to thrive in and make mistakes.” MBT also aims to provide positive mentors for every athlete that tell them what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear.
Pat’s Impact and Community pillars reflect the importance of strong relationships between the coaches and players training at his facilities. “It’s all about asking the right questions. It’s not necessarily about what we know, but how we can help the players that are struggling or having a lot of ups and downs during their season, and continue to build that confidence back up.”
And the biggest MBT core value? Accountability. Starting with Pat himself and trickling down to his entire full-time and part-time staff, MBT holds players accountable during training while focusing on the importance of accountability from the player to see the results they’re looking for. A number of the players training at MBT have high goals, so it’s crucial for Pat and his team to help them find the joy of going through the process and the details, because the details matter.
One of the ways Pat brings an extra element of joy and competition into his facilities while holding players accountable is through Dr. Dish’s Custom Instant Leaderboards.
With Instant Leaderboards, every shot taken in your facility will automatically be tracked on one public leaderboard, regardless of how many machines you have. Leaderboards also allow you to group players by nearly any measure of shooting statistics. We custom developed Instant Leaderboards so all you have to do is load a webpage on a smart TV and players can see where they stack up in real-time.
Not only are there accountability pieces during training sessions, players are also being held accountable at home with the recently launched Midwest Basketball Training App. Trainers and coaches are able to stay in touch with MBT members and help them capitalize on the things they work on in the gym with different challenges, gamified training, and digital support.
In the years after initially partnering with Dr. Dish, Pat has not only been able to take advantage of innovative features and efficiency capabilities, but also Dr. Dish’s FCLTY Leasing Model that helps to get new machines into each facility without having to pay the total costs upfront. “We just got to our 4 millionth make, so we put a ton of reps on the machines. And every 2 years we’ve gotten our machines replaced, which have the new technology and new updates, so that’s been a huge blessing for our kids to wear them out and get a ton of reps at them. And then they come in to see the new machines.”
Not to mention the responsiveness of the Dr. Dish Support+ Team to help with any questions when swapping out machines along the way. “The customer service side of things has been fantastic. We don’t have many issues, but when we do they pick up the phone and get our machines fixed right away.”
Pat's biggest piece of advice to others looking to build or expand their basketball training business is pour into the players you are working with. While most coaches and trainers enjoy the game, it's important that the players know that you're there to help them get better, making them more responsive to feedback and motivated throughout the entire process. And sometimes, you really do just have to go for it. It’s a grind and a lot of sacrifice, but if you want to serve and help the players in your community, it will be worth it.
