Jun 1, 2020
Have you ever been frustrated, lost confidence, or feel that you’re not performing to your full potential?
If you answered YES, and you continue to do what you’ve always done than you will continue to be frustrated.
If you want different results next season than your off-season must look different.
Let’s look at your last high school season. It lasts for about 4 months, and for those 4 months you are “In-Season”. Your coaches primary job “In-Season” is to win basketball games. They are going to maximize the strengths of each individual to help their team win. And for most players, the role they start the season with, will be very similar to the role they end the season with.
When you are “In-Season” it’s very challenging to improve new skills. You simply don’t have the time to become a significantly better shooter, ball-handler, or defender. When you’re “In-Season” it’s very difficult to build confidence in new skills, when playing time, winning, and the pressures from coaches and parents are on the line.
Now, let’s go back to that 1 st question. How many of you were ever frustrated, lost confidence, or felt you weren’t performing to your full potential this past season?
Most players will answer YES. But what do most players do. They jump right into another season. Coaches, jerseys, locations, may change, but you’re still “In-Season”. And you will still face the same challenges to improve and build confidence when the pressures of being “In-Season” are on the line.
This is where a true “Off-Season” becomes critical. What so many players lack is the opportunity and the freedom to learn, to experiment, and to make mistakes, without the fear of consequence. Players need an environment where the pressures of being “In-Season” are removed. This is how you improve, develop, and build confidence in your skills.
To get a higher grade on a test. You don’t keep taking the test day after day. You study, you learn, and you rep the material over and over. Then after a certain period of time you take another test.
If the season is about the player you currently are, then the off-season is about the player you are becoming. And if you want different results next season, then your off-season must look different.
Written by Impact Hoops Owner/Head Director Jon Schmidt.
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