Inspiring Conversations with Lance Maney of REAL Basketball

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lance Maney

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I started training basketball players while I was a player in college. Once I finished my playing career and had a little experience coaching, I quickly realized how much I enjoyed it. I made a decision to devote myself to becoming the best basketball coach that I could be. I put all of my energy into learning as much as I could, from other coaches and trainers, studying, and working as many camps and clinics as I could. After graduating with my Masters degree in Sports Administration from Central Michigan University, I moved to South Florida to take my first varsity boys high school coaching job, and waited tables as a day time gig. I coached travel teams for different programs, and worked camps for Handlelife, and Ball by design. I moved up to coach at some larger private high schools in Florida, coaching boys and girls varsity basketball. I continued to study and grow, and started training more players and hosting small workout groups.

Eventually I worked my way up into a nice position as the girls varsity coach at North Broward Prep, where they provided me with a free dorm room on campus. I now didn’t have to work a day time job and could really pursue going full time into basketball training and coaching. At the same time I had friends in the Mid-Michigan area interested in having a travel basketball team. I started ‘REAL Basketball’ and in 2019 hosted 1 team in Florida, and 3 teams in my hometown of Mt. Pleasant. We were set to expand in 2020 with more teams and a partnership with a local Rec center in Michigan when Covid shut down the world. When life resumed there were no sports going on and I stayed in Michigan with my family. I was doing individual trainings outside, and online zoom workouts from the basement. When gyms opened back up I was doing individual trainings 5-6 hours every day. We were able to resume teams and sports and in 2021 had 11 travel teams expanding to hosting middle school and girls teams. In 2022 we had 17 teams, in 2023 20 teams, and in 2024 22 teams based in Mt. Pleasant.

My company REAL – Results Earned, Always Learning – was started as a way for me to put my passion into helping players, and guiding them in their basketball journey. It has grown into a program with hundreds of players, some who play on our travel teams, some who come to our summer camps, and some that come for individual instruction. We have 25+ coaches in the program who are just looking to grow their knowledge of the game and share their passion with players. We have seen coaches go from no experience to becoming high school varsity and college coaches. We’ve helped players go from middle school to high school standout, and some to have the opportunity to play college basketball.

When I moved back to Michigan I was hired to coach varsity boys at my alma mater Shepherd High School, and was a volunteer assistant coach for player development with Mid-Michigan’s Men’s team. The next year the head women’s coaching job opened up at Mid-Michigan College, I took the job and am now entering my 3rd season. In my first 2 seasons our record is 58-9 with 2 conference championships, 2 MCCAA State championships, and 2 appearances in the national tournament sweet 16.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My dream was always to be a full time professional basketball coach, and there have been plenty of challenges, and plenty of opportunities to give up. I was paycheck to paycheck and always working a day time job to support my dream of making it in basketball. I’ll never forget being 25 years old and sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag, of an apartment I had to share with 2 strangers just to afford rent in South Florida. My now wife’s job had taken her to Dallas and I was now doing long distance and couldn’t even afford to fly to see her.
Or my parents telling me it was time to get a real job and stop playing basketball.
Or when Covid broke and I was stuck back at home with no basketball. I found a way to do online zoom workouts for players across the country.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about REAL Basketball?
We are known for basketball training in the Mid-Michigan area. We have players that travel from every direction to be involved with the program. We have players that come back year after year, we really pride ourselves in working to develop our players, and not just replacing them with new players every year. We create a family culture within our program and invest in our players on and off the court. The growth that we see over time is the most rewarding part of basketball player development. When we have players for 3, 4, 5 years in a row the relationships become really special.
As a private basketball trainer I specialize in helping each individual player improve their basketball game, specific to what that player needs to succeed. On the court I enjoy teaching the details and art of shooting, ball handling and creating offense, and how to move as a basketball player. With training I use a holistic approach to mentor players and help give them the mental tools and processes to succeed on and off the court.

What are your plans for the future?
I would like to use my experiences in basketball training experience – to travel and host camps and clinics in different parts of the country and world. I also will mentor other coaches and trainers from these experiences. I’m expanding my reach to include online training to help more players improve their game and reach more than I can in person. I could also see myself in the future doing motivational speaking, and doing sports psychology and mental performance work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.real-basketball.com
• Instagram: @LanceManey
• Twitter: @Lancemaney1