Basics & Basketball

Basketball is a sport of individuals who have their own ideas, dreams, and goals. Basketball is a team sport and the team must come first. However this does not mean that individual players cannot find success.  An athlete's success in the team structure can come down to how well the athlete can incorporate what she wants into the team needs?  How well the individual athlete performs within the team structure can have an impact on the success of the team.  A key factor in marrying the individual athlete's success and the team's success it for athletes and coaches to define their purpose for being together and to work within that purpose, together. It is also important for athletes to define their own success and not succumb to the pressure of outside influences. Athletes need to live up to their own expectations.  As the athlete gains more skills and knowledge expectations should be shifted to reflect the new reality. An athlete can be successful within the construct of the team structure.

Basketball players spend hours in the gym working hard to become better players. However, some players experience frustration when their basketball skills are not getting better.  I cannot recount the number of times a basketball player has told me how hard she is working but is struggling with her basketball skills. After a initial assessment I find that the athlete is working hard but not Smart.  It is not just about working hard, it's about working hard doing the right things. Working Smarter requires discipline. It requires uncomfortableness. It requires openness to change and listening with your heart to the instruction being provided by coaches.  It also requires resting your body and allowing it to recover to avoid burn out. Sometimes the simple way is the best way to be successful.

Mastering basketball skills is a Process. I define Process as the Work an athlete needs to put in to master the skills of basketball. The Work requires that an athlete brings their whole self. It requires that an athlete's heart is in it. The athlete cannot be afraid to fail. Or afraid too make a mistake while learning. It means the athlete cannot give 50% of their energy when performing conditioning drills and 100% of their energy when scrimmaging in practice or playing a game. The athlete must surrender to the Process, the Work that it takes to master the skills of basketball in order to make and contribute to a basketball team if that is truly the goal. The athlete can find a way to make the unlikable drills likable in a fun and competitive way.

High Basketball IQ is a player's understanding of the game of basketball and how that player's understanding shapes decisions the player makes on the basketball court. Having a High Basketball IQ is as equally important as having a high basketball skill level. In my opinion, it is one of the most important factors when teams of equal skill and physical ability compete against one another. Basketball IQ can be developed and learned. It is a skill, that if mastered, can allow a player to play at a higher level (high school, college, professional).

At some point in your basketball journey you are going to face Adversity. How you deal with it is going to be important to your success. Not just on the basketball court but in life as you mature as a adult. You have the ability to control your attitude, your work ethic and your actions when faced with adversity.  Additionally your ability to be resilient by facing adversity and adapting effectively will contribute to your success.  Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. Michael Jordan.

Effective teamwork begins and end with communication- Mike Krzyzewski, Head Coach Duke University Men's Basketball .  Communicating on the basketball court is a choice. Coaches equate communication with energy. Coaches do not want to spend time coaching energy. For any number of reasons some players find it difficult to communicate. By choosing not to communicate a player is placing a self-imposed barrier on his/her opportunity to make a team or to obtain playing time.  Communicating is an action a player can control. By choosing to communicate you make the choice to succeed.  Communicating creates a stepping stone for you to achieve the goals that you have established.

Basketball Teams have a culture. That culture consist of how things are done and what is required of each member of the team.  It is not just  what you bring to the team in terms of your basketball skills. It is also about your attitude and energy and how that will contribute to the success of the team. This episode provides seven tips to help the athlete be successful on the basketball court and contribute to the culture of their basketball team in a positive manner. The tips are based on my own 20 years of coaching and are not all inclusive.

When faced with difficult and challenging times on the basketball court use Positive Self Talk. Be Self-Confident, and Be Comfortable/Relaxed performing the basketball skills learned to overcome the obstacles and to succeed.

We discuss the importance of planning the basketball workout.  A basketball plan helps the athlete put a process in place to track, monitor, and make changes if necessary for the development of their skills and knowledge. The episode also discusses the importance of having fun as well as four critical habits to include in an athletes basketball work out.

In this episode we discuss Intrinsic (Internal) and Extrinsic (External) Motivation. We discuss the differences in the motivators and how these differences impact an athletes approach to developing to improving their basketball skills and knowledge. We also discuss the importance of a Coach understanding an athlete's motivation for the purpose of building an effect relationships for team success.