Hey Guys,

Looking for collaboration to advance this thinking, lots of psychology involved but I tried to keep it simple.

So many players have big plans to really improve this off season, but in the past so many don’t make the strides they envisioned, why?

What are some of your ideas, I gave a few of mine with a concrete example, as it goes further then just working hard. Hoping we could add on to this . Looking forward to hearing from both coaches and players on this who have been through an off season where they both succeeded and didn't succeed.

Kids now a days have so many distractions with low attention spans, how can we help guide them even more so to achieving their basketball goals as we face these challenges. Is there one distinct solution image? or a variety?

http://iathletes.wordpress.com/

Thanks guys,

Dan

Dan,

I think a lot of this depends on the kid...... they have to do what they are comfortable with... no sense in making some goal they really cant make or aren't willing to put in the time that it is going to take to achieve it.

I will give you one example..... we had a junior who said he wanted to be the best free throw shooter on the team - he was an excellent shooter and had great range. He wanted to be in the high 80s percentage wise.

He shot 1,000 free throws a day all summer (Monday - Friday) before our camps. 10 at a time, took a QUICK breather and another 10. That took him approximately an hour with my assistant feeding him. He shot in the high 80s for the year..... but the amazing part of this is that in the 4th quarters, he as almost automatic.... high 90s. You know who had the ball in his hands late in the game when we knew we were going to get fouled.

I think the first things kids have to ask themselves is 1- How much time am I willing to spend on this? 2- Then they have to pick out several things that are the most important and make out a schedule of when they can and are willing to work on this. Make the goals achievable at first... they can always increase their sights as they achieve that goal. They can always get better at what they are trying to accomplish. JMO

I might add this... find someone to work out with.... that always makes things easier and more fun.

Coach,

Thanks for the reply and great advise. You're definitely correct with having them ask themselves these required questions, plus this makes them do a little self-assessment - which is always good.

I think once you have this type of interaction with a young kid, the only way they show us their willingness to reach their lofty goals is by actually showing us. action. Lots of kids create an image in their head about where they want to be in say 4 months and that gives them some sort of relief, like okay I have a goal it will magically appear.

These players need to understand that there are no secrets, no magical drills, no short cuts - anyone who knows anything about the game understands there is a set framework in basketball, we all do the same stuff, its how you do them, how you spend your time and how you maximize them for your own self by developing your own identity on the court which leads to comfort and confidence.

Sorry for the ramble...

Dan
www.innovativeathletes.com

No problem Dan....

And I might add to what you were saying...... its that way in LIFE too. We are teaching them life lessons at the same time.

Many times it depends on how passionate the kids is about the sport:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/blog/index.php/8-secrets-to-sucess-how-they-relate-to-youth-coaching-parenting/

Likes Coach Sars said, it depends on the kid. You'll find different levels and types of players:

- Passionate kids that love the game, are gym rats, and will do anything.
- Kids that like the game, enjoy it, but also have other priorities and don't love it enough to be in the gym all the time. They want some variety.
- Kids that don't really like to play, they are there because they are good, their parents want them there, or for some reason they feel like they should be there.

But if you asked these kids, all of the would say they want basketball want to be superstars. Who doesn't want to be the next MJ? But the players all have varying level of desire.

I think you need to approach each situation differently and each kid is motivated for different reasons. It's up to the coach to find out what makes the player tick and figure out what's best for that kid. Sometimes basketball isn't the best thing for the kid. Some kids are better off dedicating their focus and effort to school. School and family should always be ahead of basketball, but some kids are lucky just to make it through school and need to put most of their energy and efforts there.

But for those kids that really want to accomplish something, basketball is a great tool to learn what it takes.

Let's not forget that sometimes it good to fail. That's how we learn. I know that I heard my coach telling us that we don't know what it means to work hard. We haven't learned what it takes to be successful yet. If you want to be great, you need to work your butt off. I heard him but at the time I didn't truly get it.

Not until after I failed at reaching my basketball goals in high school, I slowly started to understand what he meant. I started to realize that if I truly wanted something, it was up to me to go get it and I had to put in the work. And I started to understand what work really meant and what I needed to do to really make strides. I learned a lot by not accomplishing my goals.

So I guess I'm saying that each situation is different and it's important for the coach to set a really good example so kids learn how to be successful in life. Even if they fail, that can be a good lesson.

Here's an article that might give you some ideas on motivation:
http://www.breakthroughbasketball.com/mental/motivate-players.html

Good topic.

Great reply Jeff!