Building the Fight ON! Mentality
PREPARING for games, practices, & competitions
It is normal for players to get anxious before a game. Everyone has gone through that phase at one point or the other. What matters is how we react to it. The pre game routines for an anxious player can be divided into the following;
PHYSICAL
- Breathing - Most of us rarely pay attention to how we breathe. However, when you're in a high pressure situation, pay attention to your breathing. When you tense up, you begin to take short, shallow breaths. Some players even hold their breath without realizing it. This makes the tension worse. In order to relax, deep breathing is the key. It will help you loosen up. It is important to feel your breath go all the way down, deep into your abdomen, fill up and out slowly through your nose. This skill is easy to develop and it works.
- Deep muscle relaxation - When you feel yourself tighten up, this can help bring you down and keep you loose. It will also help you be more aware of tension in your body. This skill involves the progressive tightening and relaxing of all muscle groups throughout your body. This helps you feel the difference between tense and relaxed muscle groups, and allows you to loosen up in any situation.
- Centering - Combine this with deep breathing. This involves standing in a position of strength, as if trying to keep someone from pushing you over. You focus on your center of gravity and your feet against the floor. You use deep breathing by taking in fresh air, exhaling with a key word and relaxing.
THINKING AND FEELING
- Guided Imagery - This involves the ability to visualize a peaceful scene, such as the beach or the mountains and really get into the details of it. For some people, music can be used with imagery if it helps you settle down.
- Thinking Skills - Two important thinking skills are reappraising and key words. Reappraising refers to the consequences and meaning we attach to certain games or situations. When you evaluate things in a negative or exaggerated fashion your intensity level tends to shoot up. It is important to carefully evaluate your situation and your performance skills accurately.
- Key words - Certain words can be used as triggers or cues to help modify your intensity. The first set of words are for bringing down your
- Acceptance - Lets get real. There are times when we all get nervous before a game. A well known basketball coach used to ask her players who got nervous before the game, she found that the players who admitted to nerves actually played better. The coach also said she got nervous about the players who said they were never nervous. Keep in mind that nerves are a part of the game and are one way that your body gets pumped and prepared to play well. These skills are excellent ways to use this energy and channel it to improve your performance.
CONTROL
Satchel Paige once said "If it's outside your control, ain't no use worrying, cause it's outside your control. And if it's under your control, ain't no use worrying, cause it's under your control".
Just worry about what you can control. Make a list of those things you can control, such as your conditioning, dribbling the ball, how you handle the press, etc. On the other side, list what is outside your control, the opposing players, the noise, the lighting , the starting lineup, etc. Focus on the control side of the list.
Unexpected events and unfamiliarity are also outside of your control. It is useful to identify the things that can go wrong prior to or during the game and develop strategies for handling them. For example, a traffic jam gets the team to the arena late. How can you shorten your precompetitve routine while remaining sharp for the game? It may be useful to make a list of unfamiliar events that could occur and effective strategies for handling them.
Use the Fight ON! Mentality to prepare for upcoming practices, big games, and competitions.
PHYSICAL
- Breathing - Most of us rarely pay attention to how we breathe. However, when you're in a high pressure situation, pay attention to your breathing. When you tense up, you begin to take short, shallow breaths. Some players even hold their breath without realizing it. This makes the tension worse. In order to relax, deep breathing is the key. It will help you loosen up. It is important to feel your breath go all the way down, deep into your abdomen, fill up and out slowly through your nose. This skill is easy to develop and it works.
- Deep muscle relaxation - When you feel yourself tighten up, this can help bring you down and keep you loose. It will also help you be more aware of tension in your body. This skill involves the progressive tightening and relaxing of all muscle groups throughout your body. This helps you feel the difference between tense and relaxed muscle groups, and allows you to loosen up in any situation.
- Centering - Combine this with deep breathing. This involves standing in a position of strength, as if trying to keep someone from pushing you over. You focus on your center of gravity and your feet against the floor. You use deep breathing by taking in fresh air, exhaling with a key word and relaxing.
THINKING AND FEELING
- Guided Imagery - This involves the ability to visualize a peaceful scene, such as the beach or the mountains and really get into the details of it. For some people, music can be used with imagery if it helps you settle down.
- Thinking Skills - Two important thinking skills are reappraising and key words. Reappraising refers to the consequences and meaning we attach to certain games or situations. When you evaluate things in a negative or exaggerated fashion your intensity level tends to shoot up. It is important to carefully evaluate your situation and your performance skills accurately.
- Key words - Certain words can be used as triggers or cues to help modify your intensity. The first set of words are for bringing down your
- Acceptance - Lets get real. There are times when we all get nervous before a game. A well known basketball coach used to ask her players who got nervous before the game, she found that the players who admitted to nerves actually played better. The coach also said she got nervous about the players who said they were never nervous. Keep in mind that nerves are a part of the game and are one way that your body gets pumped and prepared to play well. These skills are excellent ways to use this energy and channel it to improve your performance.
CONTROL
Satchel Paige once said "If it's outside your control, ain't no use worrying, cause it's outside your control. And if it's under your control, ain't no use worrying, cause it's under your control".
Just worry about what you can control. Make a list of those things you can control, such as your conditioning, dribbling the ball, how you handle the press, etc. On the other side, list what is outside your control, the opposing players, the noise, the lighting , the starting lineup, etc. Focus on the control side of the list.
Unexpected events and unfamiliarity are also outside of your control. It is useful to identify the things that can go wrong prior to or during the game and develop strategies for handling them. For example, a traffic jam gets the team to the arena late. How can you shorten your precompetitve routine while remaining sharp for the game? It may be useful to make a list of unfamiliar events that could occur and effective strategies for handling them.
Use the Fight ON! Mentality to prepare for upcoming practices, big games, and competitions.