I have seen a number of our players with a newfound motivation to get in the gym and work on their skills. While I am happy to see them with the desire to improve, their improvement will not be guaranteed by motivation. It’s easy to be motivated immediately after the season when your program had a little success for the first time since you began attending the school. The hard part is the process of improvement. Here are some tips as you head into the offseason. 1. Identify your weaknesses
Be honest in your critique of your own game. What skills do you need to improve on? If you are not a good ballhandler, find ways to improve. If you can’t use your weak hand, swallow your pride and work at it consistently. If you’re not able to do something, it can be hard to try that skill in practice because you are afraid to look bad. Take time to focus on your weaknesses and push past initial failure.
2. Take your coaches advice on what you NEED to give the team next season
As important as it is towards your individual development to work on your weaknesses, it might be more important for your team development to work on the things that fulfil your role on the team. Even though you want to shoot threes next season, your coach may want you to be able to attack the basket. Focus a majority of your time on your ability to penetrate and make plays, since it will benefit the team the most. But don’t neglect the other skills that help you become a complete player.
3. Play open gyms/spring leagues purposefully
One of the biggest frustrations about open gyms for coaches is the quality of play. As players becomes fatigued, the level of play decreases allowing for the development of bad habits. Focus on improving during open gyms. Take the input from your coaches about what you need to be able to do in order to increase your role and help the team, and apply that towards your effort in open gym.
4. Improve off the court
Every young athlete has something they can improve off the court. It might be your performance in the class, it might be your nutrition. Two things that most athletes can improve on in my experience are water intake and sleep patterns. (Click here for some quick tips you can try)
