Ajinkya Mane- Raising Their Game: 3rd UBA US Pro Performance Camp

Originally posted on Dec 9, 2017 on UBA India.

"You feel like you can carry back a year's worth of experience from training here." Ajinkya Mane, Pune Peshwas on training in the UBA USA Pro Performance Camp. The fictional Hyperbolic Time chamber in Dragonball Z saw the characters train in a room in which time would pass slow, allowing them to cram in a year's worth of training in just a few days. The UBA USA Pro Performance Camp gives the players much the same experience.

Ajinkya Mane has played for Pune Peshwas in all four UBA Seasons. He has seen the game in UBA evolve from Season 1 all the way to where it is now, from games with double-digit scores to teams cracking the 100-point barrier with regularity. Mane has correspondingly raised his game every season, keeping pace with the competition, getting stronger and faster. He has averaged double digits in scoring in three of the four seasons, and now he is working hard at the 3rd UBA USA Pro Performance Camp to raise his game even higher when UBA Season 5 tips off.

Mane has attended the UBA USA Pro Performance Camp in 2016 as well. “I've been to a UBA USA Pro Performance Camp before, so I had some idea about the training up there. I'm looking forward to gaining more this time with advanced training," said Mane. Having already experienced the benefits one can gain from the camp, Mane is more determined than ever to make the absolute most of his time at the camp.

"I want to put in, even more, effort this time than the last time." The speed of the game in the UBA had picked up to a blur in Season 4, and the speed in Season 5 will blow that out of the water with the addition of Indian origin players from abroad and more international talent from the US. One can count on the players to be able to raise their game higher when they return from the camp.

"We get so much better competition in the USA. After training and playing here, one feels much more comfortable on the court."

In UBA Season 4, Mane played alongside Pierre Newton, who is also returning in UBA Season 5. Newton averaged 27.5 points and 9.5 rebounds, helping the Peshwas make itto the UBA Season 4 semifinals series.

"Playing along with the players from USA and NRI players is really good. I'm really enjoying the scrimmages here. Competing over here, we feel that there are a lot of chances for us to grow and improve."

Mane spoke about how the experience of playing alongside players from the USA is something he looks forward to.

"It's like, if I'm playing in the Deccan Gymkhana in Pune, I'm a good player there so it is beneficial for players over there to compete with and against me. The same thing happens to me here in the USA, if I'm playing with the players here, it is very beneficial for me."

The UBA USA Pro Performance Camp is notable for helping the players take their fitness levels up another notch, and Mane has seen that happen.

"We get to learn so much in this two-week camp, fitness level 'to matlab bolne ki baat hi nahi hai, bahut alag level pe pahuch jata hai' (what can one even say, fitness levels go up to a whole another level). There is a high standard of professionalism here."

The players are training with UBA Director of Coaching Jody Basye, UBA League Assistant Coach Jon Kimberlin and Pro Advantage Systems' owner Keith Wilson at Ability 360 Sports and Fitness Center, Phoenix. Everything is geared towards helping the players take their skills as a basketball player to another level, and that reflects in what the players experience.

"The facilities here are so perfect, it helps to create an environment where one can play and grow as a player. They pay so much attention to the small things about the game, that one feels that one has to learn more, improve more, work more."

While UBA coaches Jody and Jon also held a training camp in Bengaluru recently, the players get to avail of the expertise of Keith Wilson only during the UBA USA Pro Performance Camps.

"He is totally professional, under him a lot of players have recovered, rehabbed and got back to performing at a high level again. From American Football players to players from Phoenix Suns' players, he has worked with top professional athletes. Our physical training sessions would involve 1 hour outdoors and 1 hour in the weight room. They were really helpful and fun, injury concerns would also be alleviated.”

You can count on Ajinkya Mane to come back faster, fitter and stronger. Look for him in UBA Season 5.

The 3rd Annual UBA US Pro Performance Camp is seeing some of the top UBA players and others from around the world participating in an intense, two-week camp designed to maximize their skills as a basketball player, increase their overall strength as an athlete and learn to train in ways which they can maintain when returning home.

Stay tuned to read more about the top UBA players going to train abroad in the UBA US Pro Performance Camp.