About the Author

Alan Stein is the owner of Stronger Team and the Head Strength & Conditioning coach for the nationally renowned, Nike Elite DeMatha Catholic High School boys basketball program. He spent 7 years serving a similar position with the Montrose Christian basketball program. Alan brings a wealth of valuable experience to his training arsenal after years of extensive work with elite high school, college, and NBA players.

 

Play In The Zone

by Alan Stein 13. January 2011 23:03

“In the game of basketball, the mental aspect is to the physical aspect as four is to one.”

Bob Knight

Affirming the following 20 statements is how you ‘get in the zone’ and maximize your performance on the basketball court:

1)   I play to play well, not to avoid mistakes.

2)   I focus on the process of my development and let the results take care of themselves.

3)   I ‘Play Present’, one play at a time, and focus on the task at hand.

4)   I act confident even when I don’t feel confident.

5)   I focus on the ‘Next Play’ after a mistake or a bad call.

6)   I use positive self-talk to coach myself through challenging situations.

7)   I focus on what I can control and let go of what I can’t control.

8)   I trust my abilities and my talents on the court at all times.

9)   I think positively toward adversity.

10)  I am not afraid to fail, I just go for it.

11)  I know that how I think will affect how I feel and what actions I take.

12)  I consistently use a pre-game mental routine to get myself focused.

13)  I visualize myself being successful during the game.

14)  I listen to (and trust) my coaches and I am a great teammate.

15)  I welcome pressure because I know I am prepared.

16)  I practice (and workout) with the same intensity and focus of a big game.

17)  I think calm and act calm when things seem chaotic.

18)  I don’t let physical fatigue cause mental fatigue.

19)  I am comfortable being uncomfortable.

20)  I learn from a loss and focus on the next game.

I adopted this list from a program called “Be a Pro: A Mental Skills Training Guide for Competitive Athletes,” which was created by my friend and colleague, Graham Betchart. 

Graham is the founder of GB Performance Coaching and is an expert at teaching players how to maximize their potential.  For more info on how he can help you or your team, email Graham@GBPerformanceCoaching.com.

If you haven’t already done so, please read my previous post, ‘Play Present.’ Click here to read: http://Blog.StrongerTeam.com/post/2011/01/12/Play-Present.aspx

Train hard, train smart.

 

Alan Stein

www.StrongerTeam.com

www.Twitter.com/AlanStein

www.Facebook.com/StrongerTeam

 

PS: I am turning 35 years old on January 20th. I will be offering a 35% discount on all PDF downloads and will be selling DVDs for $35 each (with free shipping)!  This sale will only last for 24 hours - from 12:01am to 11:59pm on January 20th.

 

Visit http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com to start putting together your wish list!

 

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Thoughts From Alan