Its Also a Mental Game

Posted on 10. Sep, 2009 by admin in Blog

The game of basketball is not just physical, its also mental.  There are many players who get discouraged or scared when they are on the court.  With a lack of mental toughness, you will not be able to fulfill your potential…it will hold you back.  There are players who cave under pressure, not because they aren’t good enough but because they are mentally defeated.  Do you feel like you aren’t good enough? Do you fold under pressure?  Are you scared of your opponents?  Here are some tips to overcome the feeling of “I’m not good enough.”

Do You - Concentrate on yourself and don’t pay attention to others.  There will always be better players out there, don’t get discouraged because you can’t shoot 3′s as good as your teammate.  There’s only one person that can determine an outcome…and that’s you.

Failures OK – Let’s face it, no one likes to fail, but everyone does.  Failing at something can be a good thing as long as you learn from it.  For example, let’s say Joe makes a great rebound and his outlet pass gets intercepted.  He gets yelled at and learns.  The next trip, he gets another rebound, pivots, looks ahead and finds the open man.  At first, Joe failed at making the correct pass but he corrected it by squaring up to his teammate and looking to where he was passing it to.  Joe didn’t hang his head because his coach yelled at him, he succeeded in his next attempt.

Know its just a game – When your on the free throw line with .05 seconds left and your down by 1, please don’t think its life or death.  If you get both shots in, great you won the game for your team and you’re the hero!  If you miss them, no worries…there’s another day, another game the next day.  Don’t be too hard on yourself, its just a game.  Plus, your teammates won’t care the next week, they’ll get over it.  There’s more to life than getting depressed over a missed basket.

Know You Can Save the World – Hold your head high and believe in yourself that you can do whatever.  Your six inches shorter than all of your teammates?  Fine, go show them how fast you are and how you can take it to the paint and not get blocked.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it…because nothings impossible.

Excuses Are For the Weak – If something doesn’t go the way you want it to, don’t make excuses just move on.  Excuses don’t get you anywhere but to the bench.  A coach doesn’t want to hear why you didn’t do something, he wants to hear that you’ll do it right the next time.

Tags: basketball, mental, toughness