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Basketball Tips - Mental Preparation and Focus
James Manguba
I was flipping through the channels the other day and found
the old and beloved movie, "Space Jam". For some, the
movie is a comical animated movie that anybody would enjoy,
especially for basketball lovers. But I noticed when I was
watching the movie, that it had a great message to basketball
players that actually improve their playing ability.
If you watch Space Jam again, there was this scene when the
Looney Tunes were in an intense basketball game against the
Monstars. It was a one-sided game that was being dominated
by the Monstars.
At half-time, none of the Looney Tunes believed that they
could come back and win the game. Bugs Bunny found a way to
turn his team's frowns upside down. He filled a water bottle
with water and told his teammates that it was "Michael's Special
Stuff". The Looney Tunes team wanted to play just like Michael
Jordan, so they each took a sip and went out playing, believing
that they would play just like him. It turned out that won
the game, because of Bugs Bunny's creative idea!
My point here is that if you are having problems with your
basketball skills, your problem might just be how you mentally
prepare for games and how you focus. I've got a couple of
tips how you can overcome your mental preparation problem
and bring up your confidence so you can improve as a player.
First, if you're one of those players who just think that
they can't play as well as others, you've got a confidence
issue. Most of the time, confidence issues can only be solved
by yourself. But if you tell yourself that you do have a confidence
problem and give your best effort to fix it, then it will
be no problem.
If you have no confidence in your skills, then your skills
won't be improved to the best they can be. When you step onto
the court, believe that you can hit those jumpers in your
favourite spot. Believe that you can play post against a bigger
guy. Believe that you can be the best you can be on the court.
Once you have that set in your mind, you'll have better confidence
and you'll actually notice that your skills will improve.
Second, do not be afraid of your competitors. I was playing
a community club game as a center and I was having a bad game.
My coach took a timeout and he told me that I was playing
afraid. I knew he was right because the other's team
center was at least half a foot taller than me and looked
like he was a rhinoceros. His appearance made me so afraid
that it affected how I played.
What I've noticed is that when players are afraid of the opponent,
they don't play as strong and they don't play as tough. Fear
somewhat relates with confidence, because to overcome your
fear, you have to believe that you can play as well as your
opponent.
Third, focusing on your goal. Everybody's goal is to win,
even though most coaches say the main goal is to have fun.
But everybody knows that in the player's mind, he or she wants
to win the game. Always keep that goal in mind when you are
playing. Most of the time, players lose their focus because
something is bothering them that happened at school or work,
or their girlfriend dumped him or whatever it is. Come game
time, you have to set aside these things in your mind, so
you can play with a clear mind.
As a last word the most important thing to be a better basketball
player mentally, is to always believe in yourself and believe
you will be a better basketball player, because it will happen
sooner or later.
James Manguba is a high school student who blogs
about basketball. For more great tips like these, go check
out JM NBA Source [http://www.jmnbasource.com]
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