
Jonathan’s passion for basketball and teaching student-athletes is simply amazing. He is dedicated and committed to his craft and he is able to teach the skills for all skill levels. He works with some of the best talent in the country as well as with beginners and is still able to exercise the same patience and persistence to make both skill sets successful.
From a coaching perspective, Jon is able to get the most out of his players. He is big on skill development, but with that comes an expectation of hard work and commitment. Those are two things that all quality coaches find valuable to build a culture of success.
As an instructor, Jonathan is absolutely outstanding. He is able to break down drills, and create an environment of hard work and success. He has an overwhelming amount of tools and resources at his disposal, and he uses those to reach his athletes and to make them better people and better basketball players.
As a person, Jonathan is someone that I would want in front of my son or daughter. He is all about building the relationship and trust that you need to see the fruits of your labor. He’s a class act and is a man of character.
Jonathan is someone whom I respect immensely and I look forward to watching his clientele grow. He is the best kept secret in our area in the player development and shooting coach world.

Jon's approach to shooting is relationship based – he creates a level of trust with the player by asking him questions, finding the shooters comfort levels, soliciting feedback and approaching each session with an aura of positivity. The athlete simply feels like each shot is not being judged and in turn gets very comfortable working through the uncomfortable.
There is a real art and science balance to coaching shooting – you have to discipline the shooter on critical skills and have exceptional knowledge of form and technique, but you have to feel the shooters rhythm and realize that if you’re too intense you can unintentionally set the shooter back by taking away confidence and making the shooter too mechanical. Jon's balance is exceptional – he has creativity, patience, and a calming tone that allows the shooter to get to a stage of trust and comfort while displaying his vast knowledge of shooting form and corrections.
Jon also is very good about being totally honest. While there are some issues with technique that can be fixed quickly, rushing to the destination is never the answer. He flat out tells the shooter that this will take time and that good sessions will add up over time. He celebrates little victories, helps the shooter understand growth and then moves the shooter along just as he gets comfortable with a new challenge.

Jonathan is an integral part of our success at Westtown. He is our shooting coach and I recommend my players go to him for high level shooting instruction. I’ve seen players make really impressive improvements and adjustments to their technique in very short periods of time. His eye for shooting mechanics is unparalleled and I consider him the best at what he does in our area.

One of the first practices when I was at Westtown has stuck with me until this day. Coach Jonathan was walking me through a nothing-but-net drill. He made me realize that my shot was too flat as I couldn’t make any shots without touching the rim. From that point on we worked on my shooting technique with various drills that helped me create more arc on my shot. Jonathan was able to convert me from an only slash to the rim player to one that was able to stretch defenses with my shot. I appreciate all he did to help me become the player I am today.

Coach Jonathan turned our varsity basketball program around in just one year. His consistent work on player development enabled our program to go 41-7 in the two years he led it. His instruction and knowledge of the game is far superior than anyone I have seen. The growth and improvement I saw in our players was substantial. Hands-down, one of the best skill development instructors in Southeastern PA and the Philadelphia area.

Coach Jonathan is someone I look up to, someone who believed in me and has guided me to become the well-rounded college athlete I am today. We spent many extra hours in the gym at Collegium, developing my post game and jumpshot. He knew that the game is evolving to where the big players need to be able to stretch the floor with their jumper to open the lane for the guards. As a result, my shot has developed into one continuous motion and I now do a much better job of being down on the catch.

I worked with Jonathan for about 6 years. At the age of 11, he taught me all about shooting mechanics – the proper form and the proper footwork for the perfect shot. As I got older, he taught me how to move without the ball, how to create my own shot, how to get my shot off quickly, and, most importantly, what to do when my shot wasn’t falling. Jonathan pushed me both mentally and physically to become the best shooter, and player, I could be. We had hard days – most days I couldn’t stand him – but he is the reason why I am in the 1000 – point club and the all-time 3-point leader at the University of the Sciences.

My daughter Paige is in 10th grade at Villa Maria High School. With Jon’s help she has developed into a technically skilled and confident player. This past year she won MVP of the AACA in just her sophomore campaign! Jon has been a technician in refining Paige’s shot and her drives to the basket. He worked relentlessly with her, breaking down every movement and motion into steps that she was able to understand. Without Jon’s help, she would not be the player she is today.
My son Tyler is in 8th grade at Malvern Prep and has yet to grow into his 6ft frame. Tyler is easily frustrated when he cannot move as well as his friends. Jon has shown extreme patience with Tyler and taught him basic fundamentals to become a more skilled player and capitalize on his size.

Jonathan came highly recommended to me as an individual basketball skills instructor for my son, currently a freshman at Malvern Prep. As a parent of a son being coached by Jonathan, I couldn’t ask for a better coach. I find Jonathan’s knowledge of the game to be at the expert level, but yet he is able to transfer that knowledge to kids of all ages and abilities. I also believe that Jonathan possesses the necessary balance of knowing when to challenge individuals to push themselves, all the while remaining positive and encouraging players not to be afraid to make mistakes, as that is where the real progress happens. More importantly, Jonathan is a high character individual and someone I completely trust as a mentor for my son. I asked my son how we would describe Jonathan and he quickly responded that he is one of the best coaches he has ever had, and has described his coaching sessions as both challenging and fun. My son’s all-around performance has improved dramatically since working with Jonathan. In fact, this past season he was named captain of the freshman team at Malvern Prep and led the team in scoring. This was made possible with the countless hours of Jonathan’s instruction.

Jonathan’s greatest quality as a shooting coach is that he works with what you already have. He looks to make a series of adjustments rather than just start over. Jonathan transformed John’s shot over a very short period of time because he kept it simple which made it easy for John to practice. The consistency he’s gained over the past few months has been remarkable.

There are many skill development coaches but few have the ability to find the necessary teaching style that caters to a player’s comprehension. My son was a fan of Jonathan after the first session and his confidence has been instantly impacted by Coach Jonathan’s instruction. Players respond to coaches they have a relationship with and Coach Jonathan has established a great bond with my son. I am grateful we have him and he will be part of our team for many years to come.
JDG Basketball
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