Now let’s look at the whole picture, the playoff push…

It’s that special time of year when teams are fighting for tournament seeding and or just trying to make it in. It’s why you work so hard in the off-season, pre-season and during the season. YOU PLAY FOR THE POSTSEASON! You must be able to thrive in February to get the opportunities that March presents.

This is the time of year where your best players, your leaders step up and take charge. Every game counts and every play is meaningful – this is the mindset each player should have this time of year.

I spoke with a few coaches and ex-players and here are some things you can do to make sure you secure a playoff seed:

1.) Focus in practice – Everyone brings a ton of energy and focus to practice, this helps with preparation and cohesiveness

2.) Stay fresh – It’s so important to get sleep and rest your body to stay fresh, make sure you have an extra gear come 4^th quarter.

3.) Eat right – This correlates with #2 but it deserves its own mention. Make sure you are eating the right kinds of foods and drinking lots of water to stay hydrated. Again, this can provide you the extra fuel come late 4^th quarter.

4.) Off Court Calmness – go to school, do your work and stay out of trouble. This is not the time of year to be messing around with your grades, fighting with your girlfriend, throwing paper airplanes in class and hanging out in the Burger King parking lot with your friends until 2am. Manage your off the court life and make sure you take care of all other business before practice and of course on game day.

5.) Awareness – make sure everyone on the team understands the importance of this time of year and are doing the above.

Remember…to reach March, you must survive February.

1) Strive to improve everyday

2) Drink more water

3) Stretch daily

4) Keep a basketball notebook

5) Read all the books you can about this game

6) Expect the best, prepare for the worst

7) Have a weekly plan

8) Consult with trustworthy experts

9) Get a mentor

10) Hire a personal basketball coach/trainer

11) Enjoy the small wins

12) Celebrate the big victories

13) Eat less junk food

14) Wake up before 6:00am

15) Always tell the truth to your coaches and teammates

16) Go to class

17) Think about your life beyond basketball

18) Put things in perspective

19) Don’t smoke marijuana

20) Smile and always be polite to your fans

21) Take the team out for fun ever so often

22) Schedule monthly 1 on 1 meetings with your head coach

23) Always be prepared for a game

24) Have a vision

25) Visualize daily

26) Make the extra pass

27) Dive on every loose ball

28) Always shake hands with the opponent after the game

29) Never get a technical

30) Have a short memory

31) Thank your parents often

32) Never think: “That can’t happen to me” because it can.

33) Know what your best asset is.

34) Have self-awareness

35) Push your body to be great

36) Speak less, listen more

37) Be mentally tough

38) Unplug your XBOX

39) Set tangible off season goals

40) Know your teammates inside and out

41) Mentor a younger player

42) Do community service

43) Seek knowledge daily

44) Never think you are too good

45) Study film

46) Watch basketball games on tv and take notes

47) Know the NCAA qualification guidelines (SAT/ACT qualifying scores) and get 200 points better than them.

48) Get to a summer camp with great teachers

49) Play less games in the off season and do more skill work

50) Lead by example not just by words.

This brings up an interesting topic, if you were able to give a 5 minute pre game talk to your teammates.

What would you say?

Here’s a good framework to start with.

A:) Remind them of doing their job. Everyone has a role and responsibility, if we maximize our individual jobs – we’ll put ourselves in a position to win the game.

B:) Talk about a few key points that win ball games, specifically the little things; (block out, minimize turnovers, pressure defense)

C.) Be authentic, bring lots of positive energy and remind them of how hard you have worked together, how far you have come and how close you are to accomplishing your team goals.

Here’s a great pre-game talk that can motivate anyone from the movie “miracle”

Please provide a link to your favorite pre game talk if you wish.

On a side note: We are close to announcing our dates and times for AAU registration and tryouts…if you are at all interested in playing for us, feel free to contact me.

Here are a few area’s around the country we will be holding tryouts.

-Pittsburgh, PA

-Cincinnati, OH

-Mesa, Arizona

-Charlotte, NC

Well here is a schedule of a college basketball players off-season.

6:30am: Wake up and breakfast

7:30-8:30am: Morning lift

8:30-9:00am: 2 mile run

10-2:00pm: Classes

3-5:00pm: Skill development

6-7:30pm: Free Play

“Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily”

Johann Friedrich von Schiller

Athletes are humans, we have everyday challenges that we must face just like everyone else. On game-day, it is vital to “let go” of any outside distraction you are currently facing.

How?

Well, it’s not easy but it’s a must if you want to play at your peak level.

You have to make the transition from life to sports and shelve everything that doesn’t inclue your current competition. You have 2 hours to focus soley on your passion, 2 hours to forget about your family issues, girlfriend problems and or academic struggles. Everything must be put on the back-burner in order for you to achieve total focus.

Too many of us bring our everyday issues on the court with us and it shows. Use those 2 hours of freedom as your sanctuary and realize there are not many people in the world that have this type of “escape” to their problems.

So 2 steps on how to fully enter the athlete role:

1) Let go of outside distractions and

2) Focus entirely on your competition

How many of you have brought your off the court issues on the court?

1) Always make your future better than your past

2) Always make your contribution bigger than your reward

3) Always make your learning greater than your experience

4) Always make your performance greater than your applause

5) Always make your gratitude greater than your success

6) Always make your enjoyment greater than your effort

7) Always make your confidence greater than your comfort.

This simple challenge creates a whole new dynamic in thinking and how his players now approach each practice and game.

I really think this speaks volumes of who you are as an athlete…sure, its easy to say I want to win. But having a burning desire to need a win is so much more powerful.

Which one are you: Want or Need?

If you watched the BCS National Championship Game you saw that Oregon didn’t play to the whistle on Auburn’s game-winning drive. They all “assumed” that the runner’s knee was down, it wasn’t and he kept running which eventually set-up the game-winning field goal.

Assuming in a championship game will get you beat and also a lifetime of wondering “what if”

Play to the whistle, don’t assume anything and you’ll have no regrets…

Crisis management will be key to your progress as a young athlete.

I would like to hear how you have handled a crisis in a game situation? Maybe your best player went down with a injury or your opponent went on a 10-0 run. How have you responded?