Training and participating in games season in and season out, can be very grueling. With all the off-season individual workouts, weight training, conditioning, individual expectations, team expectations, and adhering to specific roles within a team structure, its extremely strenuous on the mind and body! Yeah, basketball is fun and it’s what most of us love, none-the-less, its still a hell of a ride every year.
Mental toughness, the ability to minimize distractions, and being absolutely secure with your role in the team are key aspects in making it through each season. I’ve had several experiences dealing with each of the above aspects.
Mental toughness is related to two key parts of basketball (sure there’s more, but I find these most important): In-game situations and role definition. In games, the ability to be tough mentally is more related to your competitiveness and your will to work through mistakes and unfavorable situations. For example, if you’re playing against a bigger, more physical team, you must know how to play through uncalled fouls, pushing and shoving, and be able to mentally rebound from mistakes that could cost you the game. I consider in-game mental toughness the easiest to conquer. That’s just will and perseverance. What’s more difficult to conquer however, is the accepting of a particular role on a team in which you find unfavorable. I actually started to realize this affect once I started my collegiate career. I was signed as the only freshman in a 5 player recruiting class that was ranked amongst the best in the country. Not only that, I would be competing against a Senior All-Conference guard for playing time! So, from Day 1, I had to learn to be mentally tough.
My role on this team was to be a back up point guard to this upperclassman and to be a defensive pest to the opposing guard and to set up the offense for our other upperclassman wing players to score. Mind you, I just graduated from a highly successful High School program in which I was one-half of a dynamic scoring backcourt. So this sudden change in role was stunning to say the least.
Physically, I was more talented than this player, but obviously through his previous experiences he was a better player at the time. He was a better decision maker and could lead the team better than myself. These mental aspects of the game I hadn’t quite developed, but I had come to realize that those were the things that separated us as players. In practice, I would compete so hard against this guy. I’d do extra before and after practice to prove that I was better than him. Still, I didn’t get the playing time. You have to humble yourself, acknowledge that a player that is playing before you is better (or at least playing better) and seek advice from that particular player. We are on the same team and in the long run it made us a phenomenal team!
The hardest thing you have to go through as a young player is when you’re working your butt off and you’re not being rewarded with the playing time you feel that you deserve. But, as I was told several times from the coaching staff and fellow teammates “Be patient, keep that work ethic and your time will come.” Getting through situations like that took a lot of encouragement from family, friends, the coaching staff, and fellow teammates. I’ve since learned that consulting my family and close friends is a therapeutic way to get through tough times. As much as I am a self-motivator, there are always times you need that extra inspiration, support and encouragement from somewhere else.
I would suggest that each season you make yourself a list of realistic goals that are relative to your own personal situation and recite or give a written copy to your closest family and/or friends. Therefore, they can hold you accountable in the event that you’re not making the proper progress towards your recorded goals. Hopefully, these people that you’ve chosen will motivate you to work through any obstacles that you encounter along the way.
The other element of mental toughness is capability of minimizing distractions. An easy way I steer clear of distractions is by seeing the bigger picture. I know it sounds cliché, but it coincides with the goals that you’ve previously set for yourself – both short and long term. For instance, I have goals for each particular season, but I also have goals that I set for the future of my career. In order to reach these goals, certain sacrifices have to be made. For me, it means limiting social activities in-season, logging extra time in the gym, and most importantly with me playing in Europe is the time that I’m away from my family. You have to constantly remind yourself of the benefits of making sacrifices to obtain your goals and like I stated above, seek support from the important people in your life.
Lastly in my relation to mental toughness is the security of knowing one’s role within the team. Coaches select players for different purposes in order to complete a puzzle that they envision will be successful. So, if you’re a lock-down defender that can’t score, accept that role and excel in it! Don’t be affected by outsiders that say you should be more of a scorer because you’re obviously exactly what your coach wants. Sure, continue to work to expand your game, but remember to stay true to your strengths. Everyone in a team has a specific role and to be successful everyone has to stick to their particular roles. Just ask the San Antonio Spurs’ Bruce Bowen or Chicago Bulls’ Ben Wallace! Each of them have won NBA Championships playing their role!
