Hoop Mechanic School of Basketball - School of Basketball

Biography

Dwayne Washington is the Hoop Mechanic. A former European professional basketball player and UCLA track and field athlete, the Hoop Mechanic has over 15 years of experience as a fitness and basketball trainer.

The Hoop Mechanic attended R.A. Millikan High School in Long Beach, California, where he lettered as a senior in basketball and track and field. He was a dominant point guard with excellent defensive skills and tremendous jumping ability. His senior year he was named to the All Moore League Second Team averaging 12 points a game. As a member of the track and field team, we broke the school record in the triple jump with a distance of 48 feet 11 1/2 inches, took second in the Moore League Championship meet and was named to the All Moore League Team. His school record still stands today. Upon graduation, the Hoop Mechanic received a track and field scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles.

As a collegiate at UCLA, the Hoop Mechanic was the premiere triple jumper from 1984 to 1987. As a sophomore, he placed 9th in the Triple Jump at the 1985 NCAA Track and Field Championship meet. In 1987, he placed third in the Pac 10 Track and Field Championship meet and was a member of the 1987 NCAA Track and Field Championship team. He is listed as the tenth all-time triple jumper at UCLA with a distance of 53 feet 3 1/4 inches. Training with World Record holder Mike Powell and former World Record holder Milan Tiff helped the Hoop Mechanic to develop a jump strength training program and understand the implementation of biomechanics in athletics.

In 1990, the Hoop Mechanic was invited to provide basketball instruction at several basketball camps in Europe. While there, he was spotted by local team owners and asked to play for the local team in Zofingen, Switzerland. In his first season as a point guard in the FIBA league, the Hoop Mechanic averaged 29.9 points per game and was named "Most Valuable Player" for the 2nd league championship team. His 40 inch vertical leap often brought excitement to the crowd. After one season in Switzerland, the Hoop Mechanic moved to Paris, France to play for Poissy-Chateau Basket where a chronic groin injury ended his basketball career.

After returning from Europe in 1995, the Hoop Mechanic started a high school basketball fitness program for Thaddeus McGrew of the Independent All-stars Athletic Association. He also coached several age group travel teams. The Hoop Mechanic combined his basketball and track and field experience to develop the ultimate sports conditioning and jump strength development program. Using this program, Washington trained some notable high school players including Baron Davis currently with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Currently, the Hoop Mechanic is a UCLA Recreation, as well as a private, fitness and basketball instructor. He provides personal training to collegiate and high school players and works with players of all ages. He also teaches basketball classes for UCLA students. Through his training experience, the Hoop Mechanics has developed Basketball Agility Mechanics (BAM). BAM is a series of warm-up exercises that combine static and dynamic stretching, fundamental dribbling, shooting and defensive footwork and running technique exercises to improve balance, rhythm, spatial orientation and the ability to react to both auditory and visual stimuli - the elements of coordination and athleticism. His workouts help players improve footwork, quickness, speed, leaping ability, court vision, ball handling and shooting. The Hoop Mechanic also has the unique ability to analyze the needs of individual players and create custom workouts that fix flaws in technique and ensure improvement. The Hoop Mechanic has worked a number of basketball camps in the United States and abroad including the Michael Jordan Flight School.

Resume

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