Here's an article about how the SHOTMAN scores points with local youth at his camp. This particular section is another, but more in depth testimonial from an article in the Courier News. This was an article that started even well before the SHOTMAN web site was first made, and the popularity of his camps took off. From this you will see not only the strong testament of others in his behalf, but most importantly, how success has not changed him.

Part One: South Plainfield's Mike Lanza teaches area basketball players how to improve their shooting.

He's known as the shotman. he lectures, he demonstrates, but mostly, he shoots the basketball very, very well. "About 90 percent of the time, but I'm better from the line," said lifelong South Plainfield native Mike Lanza who's Shotman Basketball Camp ended Friday at South Plainfield high. "And it's important that you demonstrate. if the kids see you making 'em, they'll respect you more."

Friday was a sad day, the 1975 South Plainfield high grad said. Because it was the last day of his camp where 45 high school and elementary schools students between 8 and 17 honed their shooting skills. "It's like waiting for a wedding, you plan, you wait, the it's there and it's gone," Lanza, a printer, said.

Lanza, 37, has been instructing kids on the way to improve their shooting skills for 10 years. his camp is three years old. "We're lucky if we make three figures on it," said Lanza, who dreams of becoming a shooting instructor for an NBA team. He played varsity basketball at South Plainfield, then at Middlesex County College in Edison.

As a kid, Lanza lived near Sacred Heart School in South Plainfield. In fact, his backyard pretty much bordered it. Lanza and his brother, who had a basket of their own in their backyard, fixed one of Sacred Heart's rims. They also painted the court at Sacred Heart.

Part Two: He's still willing to help kids!

"I'm still willing to help kids," Lanza said. "If they want help and come to me I'll meet them anywhere." He's always been a shooter. So he's somewhat insulted when a kid tells him about going to the hole and breaking his opponent down.

"Kids everywhere, they want to take the ball to the hole," Lanza said. "It's a macho thing; it's not enough to take the guy to the hole, but then you have to trash talk in addition.

"I was at Spring lake Park recently and poppin' from the outside and some kid says, 'bring that stuff inside.' I told him, 'No, you come outside and get me.'" At the camp, Lanza and his assistants, Gene Mosley (Bound Brook) and Jeff Lubreski (South Plainfield) had a penalty box. Any player who trash talked, swore or played selfish ball had to sit for a few minutes.

"Motivation, respect, discipline, that's what we're showing," Lanza said. "It's all part of being a player." Lanza's camp relies on working with kids one-on-one. He challenges kids -- "Do you want to be a CYO superstar? Or do you want to be the best in your school?" His theories aren't rocket science; the kids follow the idea.

"The problem with kids is that they follow the ball with their eyes," Lanza said. "There's no concentration and when they miss, it's like the end of the world. "I tell them, 'Never shoot a shot to make it. Shoot it because the shot is there. And always act the same whether you make it or miss it.'"

Bound Brook High's Jason Micklos, who'll be a senior in the fall, said he learned a lot. "They stress offensive skills here, so you can concentrate on your individual skills and don't worry about team play," Micklos said. "It's definitely helped my shot."

This article was written in July, 1995
By Harry Frezza Jr.-Courier News
Bridgewater, New Jersey

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