Preparing Mentally for Game Day

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Players | 0 comments

Game day preparation isn’t all stretches and drills. While a lot of people tend to focus on the physical aspects of the game, it is definitely worth your while as a player to focus on the mental aspects in your preparation routines. If you neglect it you can end up being distracted, and even if it doesn’t happen to affect you personally, it can affect your team, and when you affect your team in a negative fashion, it will end up affecting you individually and can lead to things like being benched, or even sent home for a game.

If you are going into a week pregame and you have some major events in your life, good or bad, get them off your chest. If you have it swirling in your head it will distract you in one way or another, or at the very least cause a delay in your reaction time. When you go into a game you need to clear your head and keep your mind on game related things only. This isn’t to say that you have to forget about things that are important to you, or that you are to forget about personal matters, it’s just best to temporarily put them on the back burner so that you can concentrate.

If you need some time to just clear your head, without any fancy breathing techniques or work out methods, just sit in a room, dark or light, and relax. This allows you to get these thoughts worked out, it allows you to clear your head, and allows you to just take a moment and be alone with your thoughts. Too often these days we don’t take enough “me” time because we are too busy and put it to the back burner for far too long.

If you find yourself tense, and have things bottled up inside, you could do one of a few things to release some of that pent up tension. You can drink some water and just sit and relax, this will allow you to gear down a bit and release some of the tension.

If you find that isn’t working, a quick work-out may assist you in burning off some of your bottled up feelings. If you just ignore your emotions and let them bottle up inside, you will reach a critical point in which you will just become mentally exhausted. Much like physical exhaustion you will just be worn right out, and will be playing at a fraction of your normal play. You will now be focused and you will not be in your grade A playing shape.

If you find yourself in a situation in your day to day life that just has you up in arms mentally to the point that you are losing sleep, or just need to take care of things before you get back to playing, make sure to let your coach know. Some people will try to just ignore it and play through thinking that it will go away or they can just forget about it. Bottling up problems and emotions is just like hiding injuries, it just gets worse.

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Improving your Skills on your own

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One thing that players occasionally forget is that improvement doesn’t stop once a practice or a game is over. Players need to maximize the time they spend working on their own time to improve their game. There is a lot of wasted time when players don’t work when the coach isn’t around.

There are many things that players can do on their own time, by themselves that will go a long way in assisting them in becoming the better players that they wish to become. Players need to take the initiative and take the drills, and suggestions that a coach makes during practice and games, and put them into play when they are alone. This allows the player on their own to figure things out, or allows them to see a different view of things that they otherwise would miss because they are busy with team activities.

While some people don’t learn the best on their own, it doesn’t hurt to get some alone time a few times a week, just to allow yourself to clear your mind, and to get out any potential pre-game day jitters. The alone time allows a player to sort out their head, and while some people think that it’s unnecessary, if a player goes into a game with doubts and fears that haven’t been addressed, they can wreck havoc and become more of a factor than they should be.

Mental preparation is something that needs to be factored into game preparation, and this preparation varies from player to player. Some players get themselves going by listening to music, some by doing some exercises, yoga, or even just simple meditation. Whatever works for them, may not work for you and is why you simply have to attempt to find out what works for you through the trial and error method. If you have something that calms you down and mellows you out in other aspects of your life, try to apply it to basketball.

Improving your game is simply finding a balance that works for you between the mental and physical aspects of the game. Working too hard on one or the other can cause you to throw one out of balance, and when one is out of balance, you will find your game completely out of whack. If you’ve tried some exercises to improve various aspects of your game and things just aren’t working, sit down with your coach. Don’t just assume that you are a failure; a coach is there to help you. They will help where they can, and sometimes just a quick brainstorming can go a long way when you have another head in the situation coming up with potential solutions.

There is never a short cut to becoming a great basketball player. It takes years of hard work and dedication to become good at the sport. You have to avoid all of these schemes and methods that guarantee you become a NBA calibre player over night and use the one thing that will ensure you will be the best that you can be, and that’s dedication!

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Sportsmanship On and Off the Court

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Parents, For Players | 0 comments

Good Sportsmanship is a lost art in some of the professional leagues, and occasionally rubs off on the minor league and recreational league players because they look up to these guys. If it were a perfect world people would be courteous and respectful through all aspects of a game, the problem is, this isn’t a perfect world, and that never happens. The key to becoming a better player in attitude is very simple, remembering that your opponent is the same as you on the court, as they are off the court. You are both there to play the game, and win or lose; you are both still there because you enjoy the game.

You never know who off the court is watching you and can assume a lot about a few of your actions. If you are acting like a sore loser or just being plain ignorant, your whole team may get painted with the same brush, and that is just unfair.

Something as simple as striking up conversations on and off the court between plays with opposing players, and even with your own teammates can go a long way in enhancing your image and that of your team. If you sulk in a corner, and disappear after losses immediately, you will look like a sore loser, and people will get on your case about it, no matter what level of skill or league you play at. You will need to realize that as much as the game is solely on the court, it is also a game of diplomacy. While winning is great, everyone that plays is a person in the end, and no matter if you win or lose, you need to treat your teammates and opponents as you would treat your friends, with dignity and respect. Winning while is great, is no reason to ever rub it in your opponents face, even if they deserve it for one reason or another.

Your actions directly or indirectly will ALWAYS affect your team, and will always affect the image of your team. If you are gracious in winning and losing, and are a great person on and off the court, and really go that extra mile with your opponent to ensure that you gave it your all but you leave the emotions on the court, you will be rewarded in ways that no money could ever touch. You will become respected, and your team will become respected. Winning teams, while they may win games, conferences, and championships, will not win over the crowd. While crowds may not seem important to some people, it is in fact a crucial aspect of a game. No matter what ranking in a league you are, and no matter the skill level of that league, the crowd can make your day easy, or can make it a living hell.

Practicing good sportsmanlike tendencies on and off the court is easy so long as you don’t let the emotions rule you, but you make sure that you are in control of your emotions!

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To Pass or to Shoot, that is the Question

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A lot of players go through many stages of development as they hone their skills on the court. One of the earliest problems that they encounter is the old to pass, or to shoot issue. There simply is no easy answer to this question. Every situation on the court differs, and cannot be remedied by any simple answer.

As a player, part of your development is instinct based. Part of it is skill driven. You will learn over time that together skill and instinct will blend to become a well oiled playing machine, but until you’ve had years of practice in both the mental and physical aspects of the game, you will make mistakes. The best players learn from their mistakes and simply move on. While no one is perfect, and no one can ever make the perfect call 100% of the time, eventually you as a player will realize you will make mistakes.

Passing can come down to a few factors, and these factors, and while to some people it comes easy, others it doesn’t. You will have to get to know your team, and know your teammates strengths and weaknesses. In learning and knowing these things, you will be able to better evaluate on the fly if a pass would be best, if a shot is possible, or if holding onto the ball for a few more moments is smarter.

One thing that players need to beware of is their patterns. If an opposing coach or player is paying enough attention, they may be able to learn and watch for your tendencies in certain situations, and respond accordingly. Sometimes if you find yourself unsure of what is the best response, the best response is just going with your gut, and if your gut is a bit predictable, than just throw a pass around. Make sure it can be a good pass, don’t just go throwing the ball randomly around, and costing your team the ball. Just be spontaneous on occasion and keep the opposition guessing. The moment that you become predictable and easy to read is the very moment that you can end up handing the opposing team the win without even realizing you are doing it.

One way to work with your team on spur of the moment passing drills is to meet after practice or outside of practice with 2 or 3 other players and just work on your passing. Just getting out there and working on something this simple will go a long way in helping the in game aspects just come to you by instinct. When you have to second guess yourself and think about what to do, you end up costing yourself a precious few seconds that can allow the other team to get the upper hand.

Once you spend enough time on the court, you will learn when it is best to pass, when it is best to attempt a shot, and when it is just best to do something spur of the moment to throw the other team off!

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Motivating yourself for an upcoming Basketball Game

Posted by Eitel in For Coaches, For Players | 0 comments

When you are playing a competitive sport sometimes you need to have something to motivate yourself before a game. It is important to have a positive mental state during the game because that will help to make you successful and cope with the stress created during competition. When an athlete has a positive attitude it manifests itself to the world as self-confidence. The athlete who is self-confident and has a winning attitude will then be more motivated for their upcoming games.

Self visualization of success before games can help the athlete be more motivated. Visualization of winning then makes the athlete a winner not only in their own minds but also becomes an actuality in their life by creating self-esteem. Self motivation may seem to be a little difficult especially if you find yourself in a mental slump. Here are a few ways for you to motivate yourself before you play your basketball game:

• Focus on the reason you play basketball. Think about the things that you enjoy about playing.
• Think about the best games you have played and feel the passion and drive from the memories.
• Make sure that you create some type of pregame warm-up that helps direct your drive to succeed. A good pre-game warm-up will not only prepare your body to play but get your hormones pumping to get you excited to play. Try things like Tai’chi, Pilates, stretching/toning exercises, yoga, or moderate aerobic exercises like jogging or bicycling.
• You can also center your mind by meditating before a game.
• You can review your favorite sports DVDs of great games that inspire you.
• You can read the philosophies of great sports authorities through books and sports literature. Read things from people like Michael Jordan, Red Auerbach, Bobby Knight, and other great players and coaches.
• Create a mantra for yourself that you recite that makes you feel passion to attain your goals. You can repeat the mantra to yourself when you are warming up for your game and anytime you feel the need to motivate yourself. Think of a phrase that sums up how you want to feel or what you want to accomplish. For example: I am a winner. I am successful. I love to play the game of basketball. Then repeat these positive words to yourself as your mantra.
• Talk to people who are positive and help to motivate you and your passion for the game.
• Keep a journal of positive quotes and stories that you can look at when you need motivation.
• Think about all of your wins and great plays that you made during games. Think about your best memories while playing basketball.
• Talk to your coach and teammates about how you feel and what you want to achieve. Have positive discussions about your passion for the game and your accomplishments.
• Think about what you want to do with your basketball career or efforts. Focus on your goals and anything you have earned in the way of trophies and tournaments won.

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