Your Mentality is Key
One of the biggest problems players have is getting their minds into a place of concentration and hunger to improve. Most players need a coach to make them go hard or lock in on their workouts. As a self-made hooper, you have to bring your mind to a singular focus of getting better one drill at a time.
One Skill at a time
With or without a trainer, you shouldn’t be working on more than one to two skills in a workout.
The mind needs to be able to hone in on one task at a time and concentrate sharply on it.
Make challenging goals
If you do not push yourself when only you are around, you will not reach your goals. A lot of the time, the things that matter the most are the times spent alone in the gym. Your character is developed when you can set attainable goals that don’t come easily and hold yourself to a standard.
Push yourself as if a coach were there
The greatest athletes in the world have vivid imaginations. They can create stories and scenarios in their heads to give them a competitive advantage. Being creative is a big part of being a successful athlete.
5 Questions about your Effort
- Do I want to be great because I love the game or because of what the game can bring?
- If a coach from a school were here to watch me work out, what would they say about my effort?
- Is there a way for me to tap into another level?
- Am I working as hard a possible for 100% of the workout?
- When I leave the gym, do I feel accomplished or have a sense of joy because I did a hard thing and got better that day?
These are questions I asked myself, and every athlete asks themselves before and after they work on their craft. If you are being honest with yourself, you will find these answers easily and be able to use them as a measure to see if you are growing as an athlete.
The work should be harder than the game!
On the other side of Hard
A lot of times, creating the adversity isn’t about going above and beyond to create an extremely hard task.
Small doses of adversity are a good way to get better one step at a time.
NBA champion Kenny Smith called it, “doing the ordinary things EXTRA”. Do the things you normally do, but go a little longer when you’re tired. When you work out, wear a 5-pound weight Vest.
There are several ways to create adversity to get better and achieve your goals!
