I'd like to introduce you all to Jared, a nursing student and basketball enthusiast, who happens to have a wealth of knowledge about the mental side of the game. I feel that offering the perspectives of other people whose knowledge I trust is a win-win for all my readers and fans. Check it out, and let Jared know how you feel in the comments. If you yourself have something to offer, let me know. 

>>> Enter Jared <<<

Basketball Homework and Learning Psychology Part 1

What's up everyone. My name is Jared and I'm hoping to pass on just a little bit of my learning knowledge. I am attending nursing school and was recently selected to my state's all academic community college team. I spend some of my time training a couple kids in my town on basketball too. We work on a lot of skills, but we also spend time on understanding the brain and how it aids to your overall training. Hopefully my experience will give you some more tools to add to your learning processes. 

Although I think there is serious value in being on the court to "Work On Your Game," I also think there are many ways to maximize your basketball effectiveness by putting in extra work at home. John Wooden's first foundational concept for success was Industriousness. This is the art of enriching your time's value. Too many people devalue the one commodity they receive a finite amount of. Take time at home to plan your practice sessions to achieve their ultimate value. When on the court, stick to the clock and make it your partner. Start sessions and end sessions on time. This will give you incentive to get the most out of them. Plan a bigger percentage on the areas of your game you need to lean on in crunch time. Hoop Handbooks are a great way save time planning sessions which will free up time for other areas of study. Keep a log book of the assessment of your game. Note things that help and take tangible data points (vertical, shuttle times, shooting percentages...) for yourself to compare with. This will reinforce that you have improved when your mind tells you otherwise.

I also recommend getting 6 lb. medicine ball from any store. After watching a local player whip the ball around the court with little effort, I decided my daughter would need to put serious time in with a heavier ball. I got one shaped like a basketball for around $20, but they can be acquired for pretty cheap. There are so many muscles in your body and all these muscles have cells and fibers. The combinations of ways they can work together are staggering. The more rehearsal and strength you can provide the necessary muscle groups, the better they will react under pressure. Doing passing, shooting, jumping and core exercises with the medicine ball helps this a lot. The key to all this is to train your brain (computer) to operate the system of you. Putting more weight on the muscles as they perform movements seems to ingrain the muscle memory aspect leading to tighter operation.

Another key is to study the player's you identify with and learn what they do to elevate their game. You can find a couple highlight reels of almost anyone these days. Some of my favorite all-time players that I recommend you watch are Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan for post players. Shooters watch Ray Allen and Glen Rice. Point Guards watch Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Magic Johnson. There are also a ton of good high school players that you can watch and analyze. Break down the combinations of movements they use to achieve their basketball personality. The more you watch, the more your brain will start to figure out what it would take to achieve. This is like a musician who eventually can watch someone play something and they can repeat. Some people can do it with little effort and some may need many hours, but all people have this capacity in their brain. Are you willing to put in the time it takes to get it like that?

You can rehearse moves in your mind from the comfort of your own bed or with a medicine ball in hand. If you truly focus on the signals you would give your body to perform a move, the more practice your brain will get performing the sequence of commands for this move. The quicker the brain has memorized a certain procedure, the quicker it can be stored in the part of the brain that runs on autopilot. If you step on the court when you've already practiced a move three hundred times in your mind, the move will come easier.

Another great investment is to work on your leadership skills. There are tons of books that emphasize self-analysis and success concepts. I personally have found "Awaken The Giant Within" by Tony Robbins, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey and "Beyond Success" by Brian Biro to have the best content and concept explanations of these style of books. If you are going to be effective on the court, people need to feel a certain trust in your demeanor. They need someone who exudes confidence and a sense of vision. You may not have to be the ultimate overall leader of the team, but you still need to understand these skills and how they relate to you as a team member. No one wants the star player who doesn't know how to relate to his teammates and make them better. If you bring a nice skill set then motivating your teammates to find the best in them should be a higher calling to your game.

The last tip for this edition is learning to juggle. You can get 3 tennis balls almost anywhere. Juggling refines so many of your brain skills, it should almost be prescribed. It helps you process multiple inputs while developing depth perception, touch and coordination. Put in 10 or more minutes in a day and you will no doubt start seeing the court differently.

That's it for this edition. Stay tuned for more tips, drills, learning psychology information in the next lesson. Take care.