My Coach is Picking on Me!

Have you ever had the notion that your coach was picking on you, yelled at you more than your other teammates, had to run extra for no apparent reason or picked you out of the bunch to demonstrate but it makes you feel like they are attacking you? Well I have a secret, they aren't.

If a coach is paying extra attention to you, it is highly likely that they see something in you that you don't. They also want to make you a coachable player, meaning you most likely have a certain type of attitude towards the team, coach or even yourself that reflects that you don't have the time or capacity to listen  to or believe in anyone. Most coaches used to be players and they know what it takes to make it to the next level. They generally want to push you to your maximum limit and train you to be prepared for the best. 

I remember a time when I despised my coach. I felt like she always want to make an example out of me, or make me feel like I was being punished for not being as good as my teammates. After time, alot more ups and downs with not only my coaching staff, teammates but myself as well, I began to understand that my coach was only trying to get me to stop being so negative, clear my head and focus on basketball, especially when I am on the court.

A poor attitude will definitely get you extra attention and often times its not going to be good attention. If you focus that negative attitude into positive and keep your head up after a missed shot, or run the extra suicide because your coach knows you CAN! Never limit yourself, always know that you WILL get better, especially after lots and lots of practice. Here are a few things to remember.

• Your attitude = your attention - a positive attitude will bring positive attention
• Everyone misses shots- Never get down on yourself for that ever!
• Hustle changes your game-  Every coach appreciates a player who hustles. 
• Focus on listening and learning-  Trust me, YOU DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING. Listen and learn. 

How to Handle a Loss

Throughout my career as a basketball player there was one thing that I totally hated. LOSING. At one point in time I focused more on losing than having fun, playing hard and enjoying the game of basketball. I would cry and scream and be angry with my parents, teachers, coaches, teammates and even my young siblings. I would say it runs in the family, this hating to lose thing, because my mother is one to tell you " Don't lose to night or you wont eat". Sure she was joking, slightly, but that mentality can really make your game pretty sour.
Look, BASKETBALL IS A GAME.
DEFINITION OF GAME:

game/gām/

Noun:

A form of play or sport, esp. a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.

And it should be played as such, especially at high school levels. I do understand that winning maybe spoken about often during practice and in the locker room before a game, but winning or losing is not the most important thing in the world, or even in basketball. Having fun and enjoying yourself is most important. Learning new skills, meeting new people, and of course crossing someone over so clean, because you, YES YOU have been working on your game!

Remember, there will always be a winning team, and a losing team. GUARANTEED. And the most talented teams don't ALWAYS win games, but when you look at those teams that do usually win often, they have a different mind frame as a unit. They all want to reach a certain goal, eg. winning more games than losing, winning the league championship or even TAKING IT ALL HOME! The more you play, the better you will get and the better you get at losing, learning from it, and understanding how and why it happened, of course without ever pointing a finger, you will notice that the winner inside you was already there!

great quotes from quotationbooks.com

"Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss."

Riley, Pat

"You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again."

Riley, Pat

"The minute you start talking about what your going to do if you lose, you have lost."

Shultz, George