Many players, including myself, face periods in their basketball careers when they are low in confidence. I remember my senior year in high school playing in the McDonald's All Amercan game and fighting a battle deep within myself. How did I go from being an All American to a player with low confidence?
Well, up to my junior year in high school I just played. I never thought about college or awards. I played the game with my instincts. I played the game for fun. But success during that year brought on a realization that all eyes were on me and the expectations were high for a big senior year.
I started to " think " too much on the court. Where once I would shoot the ball because I was open, now I was passing up shots for fear of missing. Although painful in either case, not shooting was better than shooting and taking the chance that I would miss.
This carried over into my college days, both at Notre Dame and CAL. At Notre Dame I could have been successful and played to my potential. Instead, I feared every " possible " mistake. " Possible " mistake. I feared the " what if's ". I feared not being the perfect player. In other words, the only person holding me back was me.
It wasn't until after years of struggling inside that I was introduced to the concept of " so what ". " So what " if you make a mistake on the court. " So what " if not every ball goes in. " So what! " Basketball is a game of mistakes. Life is a game of mistakes ( believe me I'm still making plenty!! ) There is no use worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet ( ie; a missed shot ), or hanging on to a shot that you have already missed.
The more you can stay in the moment, enjoying every step, every pass, every shot, the more you will regain your confidence. The more you accept yourself as a player that makes mistakes, but does a lot of good things too, the better player you will be, and a lot happier.
Also, it's always nice to be able to talk to someone that was successful on the court and went through similar circumstances. That's why I'm writing this. If you need someone to talk to, visit my website at www.basketballwithcoachbeez.com and contact me.
Remember: Life's too short not to accept your own mistakes.
Coach Beez
Yo, what up fools?: It's me, " THE MAN " , Zac Ryan. Even though I'm a cartoon character, I can still ball chump! So if you like basketball, then come check me out and read all my comic strips at:
I'm out.
