“Basketball, like all sports, is predicated on the execution of fundamentals. The coach is a teacher. His subject: fundamentals” – Dr. Jack Ramsay

Sport changes the world, and right at its beating heart is the Mental Game Coach.

High quality coaches influence the players experience and most importantly develop them as individuals. There are two kinds of basketball coaches: those who believe circumstances determine their chances to succeed and those who believe they create their circumstances and therefore their success.

In the first group, coaches who tend to go back to their past successes as if to prove they could have reached higher achievements but circumstances prevented it from them.

In the second group, these coaches are determined and much focused. They are ready to embrace their next challenge and are passionate about finding what would the coming circumstances provide them.

Among many of the habits successful basketball coaches have, it is exciting and amazing to watch them get their players in the zone of extreme focus.

So how do they actually do it?

They Seek help – They are encouraged by a mental game coach to put the focus on confidence, concentration, relaxation and imagery, Coaches believe that gaining insight into the needs of their team is a critical step to gain basketball mental toughness as a team and as an individual

They Trust and Empower Them. They Hear Them – Coaches understand that the players have a need to be heard and to know their opinion matters. Furthermore, they know that having the players view dismissed, or being interrupted, can destroy motivation and destroying motivation also destroy the mental game.

They Be ‘in it’ with them – Good coaches believe that hierarchy is key in any team to enable decisions to be made and vision to be set. Sharing vulnerability, being transparent and being ‘real’ will go a very long way to enabling motivation on the team. When player feel coaches are “all in” with them they will go the extra mile to perform beyond the call of duty.

They Expect the Best from the players – Coaches look for the best in the players and they often find it and have the expertise to bring it out. They are aware of the power of perception and how the players preconceived thoughts and judgments will impact their performance. Good Coaches are always giving the “right” pep talk and the “right time” using the “right words” for the team to build their confidence to keep going to win the game.

A successful coach knows the importance of developing a positive coaching environment.

A coach with a negative attitude will succeed only in creating a team of individuals with negative attitudes, and negative attitudes can only lead to negative outcomes.

Having a strong mental game in basketball will help you focus and concentrate on what matters most, at the right time. Focusing on what matters at the right time is how teams win championships.

*Download the free mental game assessment and get started on Improving your Mental Game in Basketball

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