Coach provides players with ‘perspective’

By David Mullen

On August 2, dozens of kids ages 6 to 17 headed to the Mark Cuban Heroes Basketball Center for a free, one-day co-ed basketball clinic led by celebrity trainer Tim Martin. 

While focused on improving basketball fundamentals like dribbling, shooting and passing, the young athletes enjoyed live music and a planned Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter landing. As an added bonus, the kids received a life lesson from Martin on how the road ahead probably won’t lead to the NBA.

 “I think [it is important] to give players or just some of these kids perspective,” said Martin, as we sat near an empty basketball court about to be flooded by a charge of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wannabes. “Perspective is one of the most optimal or sacred things that you can have in life.”

Martin should know. His amateur basketball career was cut short by injury; he was homeless after being evicted from Dallas apartments multiple times and was living in a car that was eventually repossessed.

 “I just fell on some bad luck,” Martin said. “We all have a story. For me, I was homeless for three years and living in the backseat in my car. But I knew early that I had to get into this coaching business. There was no Plan B. I didn’t care how bad it got as long as I was breathing, and I had two arms and two legs. I figure that If I just don’t quit, something has got to pan out. Just having that optimism and belief.” 

Today, Martin is an Emmy Award-winner, a TEDx Talk speaker and coaches and mentors a team of superstar athletes. 

In adding perspective, Martin relies on the basics. “I just think, from a morality standpoint and as a country, we value the wrong things in this world. I was raised from the old school. It was ‘my way or the highway.’ You respected your elders,” Martin said. 

“The way you’re raised today has changed, not just with the school systems, but in the neighborhoods and with new technology. Everything around a kid nowadays is completely different.”

How he reaches out to players depends upon their stage in life. “For me, it depends on where the level of the player is at in their career,” Martin said. 

“If I’m dealing with a high school player, I talk a lot about my testimony, the things that I’ve had to go through and, to make it more relatable, I come from a place of empathy. 

“For some of these younger kids,” Martin said, “they just want to have fun. They don’t want to hear about the hardships and the grind. It’s more so about challenging them not to just think in different ways, but also to feel in different ways. 

“It’s a process. It’s not a cookie cutter and I try to customize to each player individually. It’s about bringing the right energy and having fun. That’s why we got the live band here. I want the kids to have more of an experience than just attending the camp. 

“For a lot of these kids, some of them haven’t even been on the other side of town or been exposed to certain things. I’ve been very fortunate and blessed to travel a lot in my childhood and be able to see a lot of things. You’re dealing with different cultures or different types of people from all different walks of life.” Martin grew up not knowing his father.  

Raised by his mother and relocating often, Martin lived in 11 different places in a dozen years as a youth. He met his father for the first time at his high school graduation. 

He finished his high school playing career in Rio Rancho, N.M., but the scouts never came calling except for Pepperdine University. 

He botched the ACT, his potential scholarship fell through and, while playing for a New Mexico Junior College, Martin suffered a career ending ankle injury. But he had a dream of training athletes, specifically basketball players, on the court and in life.

Martin has coached NBA stars like 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame member Dwayne Wade, Mavericks forward P.J. Washington, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Tyrese Maxey and the future face of the NBA, San Antonio Spurs 7-foot, 3-inch 21-year-old French superstar Victor Wembanyama. 

“I’ve known Victor since he was 15 going on 16 years old,” said Martin, who would travel to France often to meet with Wembanyama before anyone could imagine that a skinny kid from Le Chesnay, France would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. 

“We talk about his approach and talk about things that will keep him mentally engaged to play at the highest level,” Martin said. As part of his support, Martin played chess with Wembanyama and even took him to an opera in France. 

“I just want to continue to expose his palate to worldly things while trying to get him to understand the American culture,” Martin said. “Just getting him privy to how the NBA works, off the court and on the court. Victor just turned 21, but he’s going on 50. He is easily one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met, but also, he’s easy. He acts like he’s been here before.” 

For Martin, as he continues to shape lives, he remains an advocate of his guiding principle. “I think it creates a perspective to know when to get out of your own way. Perspective helps you to grow not just as a player, but as an individual.”

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