There is a difference from you going 100% and feeling at your 100%. During a game or practice, it’s nearly impossible to feel energetic the whole entire time. If you think it is possible, that means you sprinted every long stretch, stayed low in a defense stance every second on your opponent, never took a water break, never sat down on the bench, took a shot every time you had the opportunity, rebounded every ball, etc. Did I change your time? That’s okay and here is why.
Competition is going to exhaust you. That is the point of competition. Yes, all coaches want you to play at your full potential. Yes, all coaches understand that their players need to take a breather every so often. Feeling fatigue is going to happen. What coaches are worried about is that they don’t want their players to be afraid of getting tired while the competition is going on.
If you are worried about becoming tired, you will never go at your full potential. You have trained countless hours in one day, sacrificed fun activities with friends to travel for tournaments, coniditioned your body and mind for THIS EXACT MOMENT. Your confidence should be skyrocketed due to everything you have put into your basketball training.
If that doesn’t convince you, here are some ways to refresh your memory:
- Think back when you succeeded even when exhausted.
- Overtime? Long Holiday Tournaments? Two a days? Writing a paper after a game?
- Think of a past bball possession that ended up being extremely long.
- What did you do in each different position?
- Defense: Kept eye on opponent
- Offense: Got open for teammates
- Hustle Play: Drove for the ball
- What did you do in each different position?
- Always be there for yourself and teammates.
- Pump each other up! Get others confidence. You did it once, you can do it again. You can, and you will!
Written by:
Sarah Grippi
Basketball Mindset