Originally posted by Alan Stein on his Hardwood Hustle Blog (re-posted with permission)
11 Championship Killers
by Alan Stein
The wait is over! Basketball season is officially here. The NBA season kicks off tonight, college programs started practice earlier this month and most high schools will hold try-outs in November.
Man, this is my favorite time of year!
When the season first starts, every team is in the championship hunt. Every team sets their eyes on the final prize – winning a championship and being crowned #1
Legendary Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells once said, ‘In order to win, you have to figure out what makes you lose.’
That is a powerful concept.
So before you can win a championship, you need to figure out what will prevent that from happening.
Here are 11 Championship Killers:
- Entitlement: Players don’t feel they need to earn a championship. They think it will happen automatically based on tradition or last year’s success.
- Arrogance: Similar to entitlement, players don’t think losing is even possible. They lack respect for their opponent and for the game itself.
- Selfishness: Players think ‘me’ and not ‘we.’ They are more concerned with individual stats than with winning.
- Complacency: Players think ‘good enough’ is good enough. It isn’t.
- Lack of Confidence: Too much confidence (see #2) is a major problem. But so is a lack of confidence. You have to believe you can win it all.
- Lack of Effort: This one better be obvious.
- Lack of Trust: Players need to trust coaches. Coaches need to trust players. Lack of trust on either side will create dysfunction and dissention and cause the entire ball of yarn to unwind.
- Lack of Conditioning: It is a long season. If players run out of gas mid-way through, they can’t finish the race!
- Lack of Commitment: Winning a championship requires commitment on and off the court. Staying up late on your computer the night before a game or getting in academic trouble shows a severe lack of commitment.
- Lack of Leadership: Coaches can’t be the only leaders on the team. Period.
- Lack of Role Acceptance: Basketball is a team game. Every player on the team, from the leading scorer to the last player on the bench, has a specific role. To win a championship, every player on the team must know, accept and take pride in their role.
Keep Pushing
It is human nature to seek comfort. It’s in our DNA. We are programmed at birth to do everything we can to avoid discomfort… and to live in the ‘warm and fuzzy.’
But that is the exact opposite of what is required to make progress as a basketball player.
To maximize your potential for success on the court, you not only have to tolerate discomfort…
You have to pursue it.
You have to embrace it.
You have to crave it.
You have to fight against human nature and learn how to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
Intentionally leaving your comfort zone (mentally and physically) is how you make progress.
If you only do what you are currently capable of doing, you will never get better. You have to push beyond your own boundaries.
When you are doing lunges and your legs are on fire… keep pushing.
If you only do what you are currently capable of doing, you will never get better. You have to push beyond your own boundaries.
When you are doing lunges and your legs are on fire… keep pushing.
When you are running through shooting drills and you get winded… keep pushing.
When you have 10 minutes left in your workout and you are absolutely exhausted… keep pushing.
It will pay off, I promise you.
The best players on the planet, the LeBron’s – the KD’s – the CP3’s – all have an extremely high tolerance for discomfort. When most players quit; they are just getting started!
They fight against human nature every workout, every practice and every game.
Do you?
Alan has teamed up with Better Basketball to create a workout program for coaches called CoachFIT. Here is a link to an overview of the program:
http://betterbasketballtribe.com/coachfit/
CoachFIT is our way of helping coaches stay fit during the long, stressful season. Each workout…
- Can be done in 15 minutes
- Can be followed in real time on any smartphone, tablet or laptop
- Can be done right on the court before/after practice
- Can be done with minimal equipment
- Can be done with the entire staff
Alan Stein
Hardwood Hustle Blog
http://www.About.me/AlanStein
