The days leading up to postseason basketball can be equal parts exhilarating and nerve-wracking. "Win or go home" games are exciting for all involved, but the pressure can also lead to anxiety, worry, and angst... none of which are productive emotions and all of which can inhibit performance.

How does a coach create a healthy environment leading up to the playoffs where players can enjoy the ride while minimizing the negative emotions that undermine a team's potential?

For the past few years, we have anchored our approach around this quote from basketball player turned armchair philosopher Alyssa Jaeger:

Enjoy the moments while they're still there.

Often, this is easier said than done.

We use two activities in the days and weeks prior to the start of the postseason, to help players appreciate the journey to date and to encourage players to value the time they have left together.

Activity #1 - The Seniors Last Lecture

A number of years ago, a popular, energetic professor at Carnegie Mellon University was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His name was Randy Pausch.

Carnegie had a long tradition of retiring professors being granted one "Last Lecture" to deliver before their colleagues and students. It was a way to both honor their career in education and for them to share the important lessons they learned throughout their tenure.

Given Pausch's diagnosis, the university invited him to deliver one last lecture before stepping down. With his wife and children in the front row, Pausch delivered one of the most famous presentations in Carnegie's history called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". He conveyed a number of incredible life lessons as he reflected on his journey.

The speech was eventually captured in a book of the same title. He also gave a condensed version on the Oprah Winfrey Show which you can view HERE.

Some time ago, we stole this idea and asked our seniors to give the Last Lecture before the entire team (all 9th-12th graders attended). We typically did this in the week leading up to Senior Night as it gave our seniors a chance to reflect on their career and the opportunities the game afforded them.

We asked our seniors to structure their presentations around three perspectives beginning with their earliest basketball memories and finishing with their experience with this year's team. You can use the prompts below to help stimulate their thinking.

1. Consider your experience in the game from the beginning - what life experiences, lessons, and opportunities have you had solely because of your involvement in the game? This could include...
1. Your earliest memories / introduction to the game
2. What experiences / opportunities has the game afforded you?
3. What relationships have developed because of the game?
4. What lessons has the game taught you over the years?
2. Consider your experience in our program...
1. What has it meant to be part of this program for four years?
2. What has the program done for you - how have you served it in return?
3. What are you most proud of given your involvement in the program?
4. What have you learned from being part of the program?
3. Consider your experience on this year's team...
1. What has this team meant to you?
2. How would you describe your senior year experience to others?
3. What do you hope to experience with the time you have left with this team?
4. What would you want your teammates to know / what would you like to say to your teammates and coaches before your career comes to a close?

Players do not have to address every question above - but we use these to help them think through their journey, to reflect on the impact basketball has made on their life and character, and to encourage them to recognize the moments they will miss the most once the season comes to an inevitable conclusion, and to enjoy those moments while they are still there.

Additional Activity - We have also incorporated a Senior Appreciation Activity following the presentations. Each player is given a few notecards and asked to write about something they appreciate about one of the seniors. Some may write just a couple - others will write to each one. We then give the team the opportunity to read their cards to the seniors who are seated at the front of the room.

Example - Junior teammate stands up and reads, "Jenny - I've always appreciated how hard you work. There have been plenty of days over the years when I've come to practice tired, but every time I saw you going hard I knew I had to step it up because I knew you were tired too."

Not everyone is required to read their cards aloud. Once players are done sharing - we collect the cards and give them to the seniors to take with them.

Activity #2 - The Story Board

Another way to encourage the team to reflect on the journey they have experienced together is to challenge them to tell their story. This activity is most effective when used with one specific team (such as the varsity team) rather than program-wide.

We begin by providing a template of "The Hero's Journey" and explain that all great stories share the same basic structure. We write each of the following Acts on the whiteboard and explain what happens during each part of a story.

We then divide the team into smaller groups of 3-4 people. We ask them to use bullet points to write down key events that happened during their season under each Act. They are not actually writing the story in narrative form - they are simply identifying the key events and experiences that correspond to each part of their journey.

Act I - Setting the Scene

In the beginning of every story, the reader is introduced to the context of the hero's journey. We meet the main characters. We learn when and where the story takes place. Perhaps most importantly, we identify the hero's quest. What are they striving for? What are they pursuing?

Players may choose different starting points for when this particular team came to exist. They might pick up the story immediately after last season's banquet, or the beginning of summer workouts. Because rosters are often in flux during the off-season, some groups may begin the story with fall workouts or the first official day of practice.

The important part of Act I is not the context as much as the quest. There may be some disagreement about what this team was trying to accomplish, and that may depend on their point of view.

For example, in 2015 our team finished runner-up at the state tournament. The following year, we brought the majority of our nucleus back and were ranked preseason number one. The narrative in the media quickly became - could we make it back and win a championship?

Certainly, that was something we could not ignore, but it was not what defined us that season. Instead, our quest was to keep doing what we were doing but do it a little bit better. We wanted to create a great experience for one another regardless of how the season ended.

Act II - Conflict / Challenge / Obstacles

In the second act, we learn what challenges the hero had to overcome. As a team, we ask players to brainstorm a list of obstacles they encountered during the season to get to this point.

• What adversity did they face?
• What disappointments or conflicts did they overcome?
• What difficulties did they endure?
• Were there unexpected challenges that emerged during the season?
• Who stood in our way?

In Act II we want the team to recognize all they have overcome. Every team faces some kind of adversity - injuries, unexpected losses, sickness, conflict, criticism, disappointments, etc. These incidents can pull teams apart, or bond them together. They can become a source of collective pride. Discussing these obstacles strengthens the team's commitment to one another, and develops a collective appreciation for their journey together.

This process should help them recognize the uniqueness of their struggle, and how much they value one another. This is an important realization as their attention begins to shift from their postseason goals to playing for one another.

Act III - Resolution

The third act in any story will resolve the hero's quest, but great stories will include an important twist... they will reveal how the character has been transformed by the journey.

This can be a powerful conversation when done before the postseason begins because the rest of the story has not been written yet. They recognize that they still have the ability to impact how the story ends. This produces a strong sense of hope.

However, the most important question to wrestle with in Act III is...

Who have we become?

This may not resolve the initial quest, but the character's transformation often leaves an emotional residue with the reader that makes the story meaningful and memorable.

For example, at the beginning of Star Wars Luke Skywalker's quest was to leave his home planet and join the rebellion. By the end of his adventure three movies later - he became a Jedi Knight. We watched as he faced his fears, overcame his doubts, mourned the loss of his mentors, discovered his family heritage, and rose to become something more.

Luke Skywalker experienced a triumph of character, and that is why his journey is memorable.

The Discussion

Once groups have created their bulleted lists for each of the three Acts - we compile them on a whiteboard. The goal is to gain a sense of where we began - the challenges that shaped us - and who we have become as a team.

The key understanding is this... During the course of a season, your team has evolved. They have grown closer together. They have formed an identity that did not exist when they first entered the gym on the first day of practice. They may be tougher, more mature, less selfish, and more committed to a common goal and to one another. They have learned from their mistakes, and overcome failure. Every one of those things should be celebrated.

The challenges of Act II have hardened them into a group they are proud to be part of. Recognizing all the ways they have grown is a powerful motivator that encourages them to do their best in the postseason, not simply to accomplish a particular goal, but because they don't want this team experience to end. If they are proud of who they have become, they will want this group to stay together for as long as possible.

By telling their story from beginning to end, they will realize that there are still moments in front of them to be enjoyed. It will provide a perspective and appreciation for how far they have come, and an awareness that part of their story is yet to be finished.

When players focus on playing for one another to keep this team together for as long as possible - they can push their performance goals into the background and freeing them to play their very best when it matters most.

And most importantly, they can enjoy the moments while they're still there.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Bill Detweiler says: 2/13/2020 at 9:26:36 AM These are great ideas. Thanks for sharing!! Like     login   register

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