Have you ever played well with a team that you didn’t trust? What about not being able to trust a coach, a single player, or even yourself? Take a moment and think about it. We want to be able to do a drill with no mistakes, we want to be able to have the best technique on every move on the team, we want to have the prettiest 3 point shot in the conference. We try to perfect everything, which just isn’t realistic. What you are ending up doing is thinking too much about it and end up feeling overtrained.
Instead of thinking hard on a new move you want to master, let your body feel the movement and the smoothness of each step. There are going to be times where you might mess up, but you don’t need to restart each time you mess up. Pick up from where you left off and finish off strong! To be able to trust yourself, you must start practicing this in advance of a competition.
Remember: To reach 70% of your practice time on your “trusting” mindset, you will likely need to come in for extra practices dedicated almost entirely to trusting- feel, flow, and fluidity.
To get this trusting-feel, flow, and fluidity, come up with a physical cue. This should be something you do on a daily basis. This cue should remind you to trust yourself and others during practice time. Think of something that is around you at all times and especially during basketball.
Written by:
Sarah Grippi
Basketball Mindset