In order to gain more confidence in your craft. You need to prepare yourself by adding meaningful reps on a consistent basis. The more you work on an area of your game, the more comfortable you will feel utilizing the skill during live play.
WHAT IS CONFIDENCE?
Confidence: is the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
I have had the opportunity to work with many players. I have found that the majority of players struggle with confidence at some point in their basketball careers. This is due mainly because of lack of preparation.
Some ways that you can prepare yourself better in order to gain more confidence is to:
Practice the way that you want to play. You will get out of games what you put in during practice. Your practices should be more intense and difficult than the games. The goal is to create a practice plan where you have controlled failure. You should be able to challenge yourself and get out of your comfort zone in order to improve. The idea is to continue to challenge yourself by raising the difficulty level of your training as comfort increases.
Work on the skills that will translate into your level of play and role on your current team. Understanding what your role is, and working on the opportunities that you will get during games is vidal to your success on the court. If you are getting catch and shoot opportunities in games then those are the shots you need to focus on during practice and training. For example, Working on step backs and pull up shots will rarely be a necessary skill, if your role on the team is to spot up and score the open jump-shot.
Incantations is a use of spells or verbal charms spoken or sung as a part of a ritual of magic. As the old saying goes “Words have power”. One form of incantation during games is to speak positive words to yourself. Words such as “this shot is going in” and “It’s ok the next one is guaranteed“, can have it’s benefits.
Maximize your reps. Repetition is something that happens in the same way as something that happened before (Cambridge dictionary). Put in the time and keep your practice simple. Master a specific skill, and then work on the counters. If you do this for each skill that you want to improve your body will respond during games naturally due to Muscle memory which is the ability to repeat a specific muscular movement with improved efficiency and accuracy that is acquired through practice. . Preparation is key. If you are already ready, you don’t have to get ready.
CONCLUSION
Remember to have FUN! Basketball is competitive, but it is still a game. Learn to let go of fear by becoming present. Surrender to the moment and enjoy the beauty of the game. The game of Basketball is an art and too many players take it for granted. Fear is very much real in the world, but in basketball the most you have to fear is the pressure of your opponent on defense. Learn to embrace the challenge, and let go of the negative habitual thoughts that arise. At the end of the day the goal is to have fun. The more you prepare yourself, the less doubt you will have which will ultimately turn into success and great memories on the floor.
Remember that with patience and perseverance It’s Possible!
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Coach Pedro Rios