PLAYING YOUR BEST AT CRUNCH TIME PART 8: TIME TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE

Time to Step Up to the Plate

A post player who had a 10 year career after first playing several years in Europe worked his way up to a starting spot at the peak of his career, and later on became a reserve player with limited minutes. In his final year in the league I asked him how he handled being relegated to a reserve role.  He replied, “My job is to be ready when I am needed.” A player that I have been working with found himself in that situation when his team’s starting center went out with an injury, and despite limited minutes to that point, found himself in the starting line-up. The night before his first game as a starter I offered him some things to help him play at this best.

David was a redshirt sophomore who had been playing limited minutes. He spent his first year at the college getting stronger and learning the team’s style of play, and didn’t play much the following year because the program still had a number of veteran bigs on the roster.

He came into his sophomore year with high expectations, but his hopes turned to frustration as he got limited playing time

His playing time was limited in November and December, He was told that the coach would trust him more if he was working more in the gym, so he started working more with one of the assistant coaches. Then conference play started and his minutes disappeared altogether. He was told that the team was going with a smaller line-up to spread the floor out more.

When he got into a game for six minutes he thought he did a good job but he was pulled out.

“I was frustrated,” David explained, “because I thought I could have helped our team more. With me out of the game we weren’t getting any rebounds. And I was confused about being taken out, because several teammates told me that thought I had been playing well.”

It was with this background that David told me he was going to be starting the next game because the team’s starting center was out with an injury.

David’s chance had come – he had to make it count.  Yes… this was crunch time.

“There are two things you HAVE to let go of,” I said to David.  “First, you have to forget about trying to get logical responses from your coach. You said his response to your play in the last game left your feeling confused.  You have to put all that out of your mind. You are expending energy on something about which you may never get; you may NEVER know the real reason for his pulling you – and the fact is that it MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT have anything to do with you.  You are spending time worrying about something that maybe can’t even be figured out. When you step onto the court, there is NO place for this if you want to play well.”

“And second, you have to forget about trying to show anything to your coach – trying to prove anything at all.  The best goal you can have out there on the court is not related to proving anything – it IS about being in the game and playing your best.”

“Tell me,” I continued, “What was your mindset when you were playing those six minutes you felt so good about?”

“I was thinking to go out and play as hard as I can,” he replied.

I continued, “You previously told me that the one thing that more than anything else drives you and motivates you this season is the idea of being someone who helps the team win games. Couple that with the mindset of going out and playing as hard as you can…. and every time you step out onto the court in the next 24 hours, during the morning shoot around – during the pre-game warm-up, and during the game – every single time your feet cross the line onto the court – the one thought that dominates your mindset should be: I AM GOING TO GO OUT AND PLAY AS HARD AS A I CAN BECAUSE I  AM HERE TO HELP MY TEAM WIN

“Do you remember the scene towards the end in the movie Field of Dreams where the baseball player steps across the line and off the field and suddenly he turns into the elderly physician?  Think of that kind of line – every time you step on to the court you will become the player whose mindset is “I AM GOING TO GO OUT AND PLAY AS HARD AS I CAN BECAUSE I AM HERE TO HELP MY TEAM WIN.”

“The other thing you need to mentally prepare for your best possible game is to consider what things during the game could get you flustered?”

David gave this some thought, and then he told me, “For one thing - if I get called for a cheap foul on defense when I am playing physical – or if I get my fingertips on a rebound but then the ball goes to the other team. When those things happen I get frustrated.”

“I understand that you get angry off when those things happen… BUT during the game itself is NOT the time to let those things bother you  – because it takes you out of the moment – and chances are you are still going to be thinking of this a few seconds later – or at the other end of the court.”

“So you missed a rebound or got a bad call.  Think of it like the Home Shopping Network on TV. They offer a product and if you don’t buy it – you missed the moment – well… there is another product coming up right away.  If you missed a shot there is another one and if you aren’t ready for it because your mind is still back in the previous mistake then you are going to miss the PRESENT opportunity because you were thinking about a PREVIOUS mistake.”

I then shared with David what Thomas, a player I have been working with who is playing professionally in Europe recently wrote about being in a game where he was having some difficulty finding his rhythm. He wrote:

“I missed a lot of easy shots in the first half – my coach was yelling at me, my head was going crazy. But at half time I took a few moments and listened to my body. It was tight.  I took some deep breaths and relaxed, trying to let everything go.  I then went out and finished two shots around the rim and hit a three in the third quarter.  It was cool the way I was able to turn things around like that.” 

Thomas player ended up with 25 points and 10 rebounds.

I continued to tell David, “If you anticipate some of those things that can go badly – and see yourself staying focused and energized (rather than frustrated) when they happen you will be better equipped to play at your best.  When they DO happen – if you have a strategy to get quickly back on track you will also be better prepared to stay competitive.”

Thomas used the idea of checking to see if there was any unnecessary tension or stress in his body, then taking a couple of deep breaths to rid himself of that tension, re-energize and regroup. By going INSIDE himself when he needed to because of distractions  – he made the changes he needed to in order to go back OUTSIDE to the game and be in his best mindset to get himself back in the zone.

By (1) keeping his focus on his mission (“play hard to help my team get the win”) –rather than get de-railed by worrying about the coach – and by (2) anticipating any things that could go badly and get him flustered, and coming up with a positive response if it happened – David was able to improve the chances of his playing at his best when he needed to.

© 2016 by Dr. Mitchell Smith.  All Rights Reserved.