I hear phrases all the time: “Work hard,” “Work hard,” “Get out of your comfort zone,” “You have to work out every day. I think you’ve seen and heard them too.
These are all useful and really important, but many people make training mistakes that don’t bring out the whole point. When the work isn’t effective, all that “work hard” is useless.
It’s important to me and Ball In that players develop, so at Ball In, we try to create an environment where everyone works efficiently and develops. In this article, I share popular mistakes that keep players from developing.
Read carefully, there are tips to help you get more out of your training.
- Lack of Purpose
It’s not about the big goal of “going pro,” it’s about the goal for practice. Kobe went to practice early in the morning and knew he had to hit his 800 shots. All the best players know their goal before they start practice. - lack of a plan.
When a player has already figured out the need to set a goal for a practice, the next mistake arises – lack of a plan. You walk into the gym and need to know not only the goal, but the specific actions for today.
Preparing for a workout – set a goal and write a detailed plan where you take into account time, your condition, equipment and other resources. - no accountability. The easiest way to increase consistency and accountability is to start reporting on your work. Tell your parents, friends, coach or in your journal about your workouts, but honestly. When you make a commitment and responsibility to score 500 shots a day, but you only scored 200 yesterday, you should do 800 today. That’s the mindset that separates the good from the great.
- Unlearned. Never assume you know everything. Listen and absorb what the coach gives you. I don’t understand players who come to a coach for a team, personal training or start online but think they are smarter and know better what to do.
- getting the ball on straight legs. It’s a habit. In the game you should always get the ball in the rack from where you can act, then why do so many people avoid it in practice? Get yourself used to getting the ball in the rack with your legs loaded. Such a small detail in a year can make the difference between a good player and an average player.
- working at a non-game rhythm. Let me tell you right off the bat: training can be off-game rhythm. This is especially true at the entry level, but once a player has a base, practice should approach a game rhythm. 200 throws from the point in a relaxed state is not a workout.
- Practice without an athletic stance. You’re not going to be on the court during a game with your legs straight. It’s not necessarily a low stance, but your legs are always on. Likewise in practice. You’re practicing dribbling – sit in a stance. When dribbling, remember your stance. Get used to being in that position.
- Fear of making a mistake. Some players are afraid to make mistakes: miss, lose on the dribble, run slow, etc. But it is normal to make mistakes, especially in practice. From the first time something is rarely perfect, mistakes – this is an integral part of development. If you want to develop – allow yourself to make mistakes.
- Don’t do warm-up throws. It’s impossible to watch players walk out onto the court, take the ball and immediately throw a three-pointer. The best players from around the world start practicing at the hoop. Kobe Bryant wrote about the same thing in his book. Start with shots from under the ring, activate your muscle memory, and be consistent.
- Practice things you don’t use in the game If you’re a 210 center playing under the basket, three-pointers are not going to be a mainstay of your training. If you’re a point guard who plays from the shot and quick pass, the post game is not likely to be necessary in your practice. It’s important to understand that the foundation of your practice should be the stuff you use in the game. The rest is on the back burner.
- Wasting time on trickshots and crazy lei’s. This all has nothing to do with the game, but basketball players keep repeating crazy throws in practice and wasting time on it. Why? This includes center shots, three-pointers from the spread or hooks. You can and should practice regular throws, completions and other things that will help improve the game.
- Focus on time in the gym, not quality of work. It doesn’t matter how much time you spent in the gym if you weren’t working. You can say, “I was on the court all day.” But in fact the training and work lasted a maximum of two hours. What matters is the quality of work and how many hours were actually spent on achieving the goal.
- Not Tracking Progress. How do you know if you’ve added to something if you’re not tracking changes? Match your workouts and goals to your progress and then track your progress. The progress you’ll notice will motivate you to work even harder.
- Lack of consistency. One workout a week is good, especially to start with. But if you’re talking about any big changes and goals, you need to work harder. Get better every day by only 1%, and you’ll be surprised at your progress in 3 months.
- Working hard just under someone else’s eyes. Many players only start working hard when a coach, a parent, a friend, an opponent looks at them… But the best don’t need that look, because they always give their best.
- Giving up when the going gets tough. There are days when nothing works out. You’re tired, you can’t throw, you can’t dribble. How are you going to change something if you give up in that situation? Basketball players who genuinely want to get better and win force themselves to pull themselves together and get stronger in such situations. They never give up.