What do, top-level athletes, all have in common? They have mastered the skill of mental toughness. An often-asked question is how does mental toughness relate to basketball?
Firstly, it is important to know that mental toughness is a learned skill, that it is a necessity for all athletes to master and needs to be trained as frequently and seriously as you would train your body physically. This skill allows athletes to remain calm under pressure, not be affected by an opponent’s size, reputation or team, to be able to stay focused in chaos, make the right choices during strenuous situations, persevere through adversity and continue playing despite being in pain.
In the mental game of basketball, mental toughness encompasses resiliency. In order to be resilient you need to have certain skills:
• Be able to channel both positive and negative energies to your benefit.
• Have both self-confidence and self-motivation.
• Be able to have excellent self-control, in several areas including, attitude and emotional control as well as cognitive areas, such as visual and attention control.
The combination of these desirable traits produces a calm, focused, alert athlete that is positive, in control of their actions and is prepared to play their best on and off the court.
Having the best physical skills when playing basketball is not enough on its own, What truly separates an average or good player, from an elite top-level player, is how well the player’s mental game is developed.
These are the players that strive to improve their game everyday, not just certain skills, or become content with the skills they have. They aim to improve their entire game, each day and excel to make their minds work with them instead of against them.
Many exercises are available that can help athletes develop the skills they need in order to achieve mental toughness for basketball. For a very physically demanding sport that is visually intense and often emotionally charged, athletes need to set aside, time daily as part of their regular training regime, to develop this skill.
Hi,
I am the toughest judge I know to myself in everything I do. School, and basketball. My mom says I’m to hard on my self. I am not the “strongest” player on my team mentally and skillfully, but at one point I actually did step up and my coach really saw my true abilities and believed in me. I even earned a starting position. Recently I was playing horrible and I couldn’t get it out of my head. i don’t know whats wrong with me, but I just break down if I miss my shots, then the whole game spirals downwards. I feel like I can’t do anything (I can’t dribble, pass, shoot, play defense. nothing) and then I go to the cry place because of my frustation. I have so much trouble of flushing it and letting it go because I am too hard on myself. Is there like exercises that I can do during the game that will help me improve my mental toughness and prevent me from embarrassing myself by crying and breaking down? my mom says that If I think I’m gonna do bad then I will do bad and thats when I break down. Right now I am trying to rebuild confidence as I left a bad last impression on my coach as the season ended. Thank you.
Lindsey Takahashi
Building your confidence will help a great deal and learning how to maintain composure. Also having a pregame routine will help. Let me know if you need any additional help.
Hi There,
I am currently a senior on my college team and this season I’ve been experiencing more mental difficulties than in the past. I feel like I’m not reaching my full potential in some games, and in others I feel fine with my defensive performance over my offensive performance. I have yet to have one game where I feel completely satisfied with how I’ve done on a personal level. My coach can tell me that I’ve done a few things well, but that’s about it. I’m the type of player who can and will spend hours on hours in the gym outside of practice perfecting my shots and working on skills. I have a regular habit of watching game film on my own after games to see how I’ve performed, what I did well and what I need to continue to work on…How can I get all of the nerves/lack of confidence/self-doubt out of my head and be able to play to my full potential like I know I should be able to…could you email me some tips and/or any resources that would be greatly appreciated as I am approaching the last half of my final collegiate season.
Thanks!
Hi!
Dealing with nerves, lack of confidence and self doubt are different areas that has to be worked on separately. Giving you everything you need in an email is very difficult and close to impossible; however I will point you in a starting direction. My first suggestion is to take the free assessment on my site so we can get a better understanding of what the issues are, then I can recommend a program that’s tailored to meet your needs based on the specific information from the assessment. Next, there are products on my site that will help you with the areas you mention. The books are by Patrick Cohn and are useful tools to help you improve. The best quick tip I can give you is to learn how to relax. Learning how to relax and control your mental game is a process within itself, however it is the foundation to just about anything you will do. Hope this helps. Contact me again if you need more assistance.
All the Best!
Delice