Kyle Travis is a basketball trainer who runs ICAN Basketball Player Development in Santa Clara. My 7th grade son did a trial group session with Coach Kyle in March 2022 after seeing him on Instagram a few months before, and then later "randomly" seeing him in a winter basketball camp video on my son’s friend's basketball coach's Instagram account! When my son's school basketball season ended at the end of February 2022, my son was looking for some group training since the pandemic had slowed down his level of play & intensity. We called ICAN Bball and set up a trial session, not really knowing what to expect. (A little background: my son first picked up a basketball in Kindergarten, played many years of NJB, and played a few seasons of AAU. He has always had decent skills, but he's mostly been a quiet, background, support-level player--not a shiny, nor a super confident player, yet still competent.
Despite playing basketball for nearly seven years, my son has always felt that there were better players on his teams, and as a result, he has felt more comfortable yielding to them and letting them direct play. It wasn't until last summer, after attending a few summer local basketball camps and receiving some genuine interest & encouragement from a successful high school basketball coach, that he started feeling & looking more comfortable and confident with the ball in his hands and shooting instead of only rebounding and passing the ball.
Not surprisingly, my son found the first ICAN group session to be a bit challenging & intimidating since he was new to the group and it had also been more than two years since he had last participated in an advanced workout. But, Coach Kyle has the ability to clearly demonstrate and articulate each drill in a step-by-step manner while also explaining its function, pointing out the details, so that it makes sense to the player. By the third group training session, my son had gained a lot of confidence, which is greatly owing to Coach Kyle's calm & encouraging attitude—he gives any player at any level the comfort to try to do the moves over and over until it comes together. If he notices that a player isn't quite getting the move, he kindly motions to them and offers assistance. For the most advanced players, for the same drill, he always offers additional modifications or fine-tuning. Now, after nearly two months (10 workouts) with Coach Kyle and his ICAN program, my son has greatly improved his mindset, and at the same time, he has new moves and a much better command of his footwork, handles, shooting, and approach to the basket. His confidence in himself and his ability have increased immensely.
While Coach Kyle is very patient, kind, and encouraging, he is also highly skilled & serious with an understated intensity. His added observant & thoughtful qualities make him an effective trainer, who is naturally compatible with kids. In all, he has the unique combination of technical, teaching, and interpersonal talents to offer a player of any level to learn quickly, see & feel results, and reach their goals. We are grateful to have crossed paths with Coach Kyle.