“Remember physical is part of it and mental is the heart of it.”  Dr. Delice Coffey

Finding good strategies for staying in the zone when you are on the court can be challenging.

Part of building basketball mental toughness is understanding the concept of being ‘in the zone’ and how you can build on that.

In sports psychology for basketball terms, the concept of being ‘in the zone is often referred to as ‘the flow.’

Flow is a mental state that is achieved through focused motivation. This results in an athlete who is fully immersed in a state of energized focus while playing the game. Sometimes, even more, challenging for an athlete is staying in the zone once they are there.

How do I achieve this?

The ability to get in the zone and stay there longer is achieved by understanding the power of focus and how to deal with distractions.

Staying in the zone is accomplished by harnessing the emotions and energy of the game, becoming focused only on the game one play at a time in the moment.

One of the most challenging skills for a player to master is the ability to block out all negative thoughts and distractions and stay entirely focused on the task at hand in the moment. This includes being able to block out personal feelings and emotions.

Finally, taking all of these essential components and focusing them energized and positive is what every athlete strives to achieve.

Any athlete will attest that when you get “in the zone,” you experience that full-out, spontaneous euphoria that can only come from the satisfaction of being fully immersed in the plays and being 100% on your mental game.

When they are “in the zone,” basketball players report they are free of anxiety, stress, and worry. They are relaxed and find true joy and ecstasy from the plays they are focusing on.

Part of building that skill is learning to Let It Go.

A player cannot allow agitation, anxiety, depression, fear, or other negative emotions to get in the way of achieving that flow and zone-like focus. Those emotions interfere, essentially blocking any chance for the brain to get and stay focus, as these thoughts will impede the flow that a player needs to achieve optimum performance.

The concept of ‘let it go’ is vital.

The commonality to all of this is three simple steps:
1. Clearing your mind and body of all negative thoughts and aggravations
2. Learning to let go, not worry, or become concerned about things you cannot change.
3. Lastly, making sure to dedicate just as much mental training as you do physical training.

For more information about how to enhance your performance and Elevate Your Game, check out my online course at www.dcmentaltrainingu.com.