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Do you suffer from a lack of confidence in your basketball game? Do

you wonder why you just can't seem to do anything right, feeling

like the worst basketball player on the court?

Confident athletes perform better than un-confident

athletes...thats a fact. But the real question is, what separates

the confident athletes from the insecure ones? Are they born with

this special gift or is it something that can be developed?

First of all, you should NEVER believe that confidence is something

people are born with. This is just an excuse to run away from your

problems. The first step is to know, with certainty, that you can

and will become a confident athlete...that you have everything it

takes to be a great basketball player...and that you have

tremendous potential inside.

As you were reading the above paragraph, did you feel a shift of

change in your confidence? Did these words of encouragement affect

you positively? If you were affected positively, then there's good

news for you, because you are open-minded enough to develop

confidence from deep inside yourself.

Okay, so the 1st step is to put yourself in a positive, encouraging

environment. Take yourself out of places where you feel

intimidated. Look for practice grounds and friends that speak words

of encouragement, helping you move forward rather than criticizing

you...

Although criticism can be helpful, it should always be

constructive. It should never be aimed to put someone down or to

make them feel bad. If your environment is making you feel this

way, take yourself out of it.

The 2nd step is to set small goals for yourself on a daily basis,

and write them down clearly. This is very important, you must WRITE

your goals. Don't just think of them. These goals should be very

small and achievable. Don't aim too high right away...

For example, lets say you struggle from the free-throw line and

from consistently hitting layups. In this case, you can set a goal

that tomorrow you'll make 5 free-throws in a row and 10 layups in a

row. This is a small, achievable goal, and completing it will make

you feel better.

Everytime a person sets a goal, no matter how small it is, and

achieves this goal, it increases the person's confidence. This is

known fact...infact research studies have proven that there is

direct link between goals and confidence.

Famous psychologist Albert Bandura has identified the following 4

factors that influence self-confidence:

1) Performance Accomplishments: How you've performed in the past

can shape your confidence in the future. Your memory of past

performances plays a key role.

2) Vicarious Experiences: This refers to watching other successful

people with similar physical ability and talent as you. If you

see someone that you identify as being on "your level" overcome a

difficulty and perform well, it will build your confidence.

3) Verbal Persuasion: Having others, such as coaches and players,

tell you that you are a good player and that you can achieve your

goals. Eventually, you'll start believing what they're telling you.

4) Emotional Arousal: This refers to having an overall positive

attitude and perceiving emotions such as nervousness and fear as

positive signs rather than negative ones. The more you "perceive"

changes in your body, the environment, and the circumstances as

positive, the more confidence you'll gain. Think of every negative

as a positive.

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How do you stop a shooting slump? Your in the basketball game and your shot is not dropping. What do you do?Take shots closer to the basket? Stop shooting all together and involve your team mates more? Ask the coach to pull you out of the game? What should you do as a player? What should you do as a coach?

• Your gonna make one eventually and get your rhythm back. Just keep shooting, it happens to everyone even the best.

• Taking smarter shots is the key. Studies have shown that NBA start players tend to shoot a LOWER percentage on the shot after they make a shot than if they miss one. Same thing for making several consecutive shots. The next is LESS likely to go in. This is because they become over confident and, as the data shows, they take tougher shots. takes them out of any "hot streak" (if one even exists).

• Just take better shots and shoot confidently on the shots you are supposed to take. Don't worry about your accuracy, just try to find the right level of focus and relaxation and react to the defense. No one can shoot 100% because no one has perfect perception and muscle memory,so luck will always play a factor, it will even out if you play long enough. Of course, the better you are and the more you practice training your muscle memory and perception, the quicker you can starts coring again.

• It has been said that a lot of professionals take time away to play a pickup game with friends or the b squad. Most of the time they find that because most slumps are with general fundamentals and mental breakdowns, alleviating game time pressure by playing a game with nothing at stake but fun and pride is the best recipe. When players are in the zone they are typically having the most fun and feel little pressure to perform at all. (The head coach for the woman's DI team Imanaged had his stars do that on occasion)
  

Just keep shooting. The only way to make a shot is to try. Relax, play for fun and don't pressure yourself.

When a player consistently gets nervous in front

of a crowd or gets psyched out after making a mistake,

a contingency plan routed in sports psychology can help

them get back on track and forget the earlier problem.

Learn how to motivate your athletes by walking them

through this exercise.

Each athlete should have a contingency plan that

includes the following:

    * Pregame preparation

    * Plan for errors during the competition

    * Avoiding competitive stress

Pregame preparation should be a routine that the

player chooses that helps them focus and calm

themselves before the game. For some players,

this includes listening to music or meditating.

For some, it involves warm-up drills or visualization.

Help your players identify what gets them prepared,

focused, and confident, and work with them to create

a routine that prepares them for the game.

Errors are going to occur during competition, but the

players that have a plan for getting back on track are

more likely to bounce back and succeed. Sit down with

players to find out what motivates them after they make

a mistake.

With that knowledge, help them devise a strategy for

dealing mentally with errors that happen during the game.

Perhaps they should take a few seconds to say silent

affirmations, such as "I am good, I am worthy, I can

do this," or maybe they should visualize making their

next play perfect. Whatever works for players is the

right contingency plan.

Finally, help players avoid competitive stress by

taking steps to eliminate the unknown. Explain what

players should expect during every game. Work with

them to channel their nerves into power.

Nerves are a natural part of competition, but those

players who learn to control those butterflies in the

stomach are the ones who come out as winners.

Teach players to take deep breaths, focus on one thing

at a time, and believe in themselves. With that plan,

competitive stress becomes an asset, not a liability.

Don't forget to check out the BBall360 Store for all your basketball needs

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Your mental game is often the most important aspect of becoming a complete basketball player and should not be overlooked. Do you play with confidence? You can have all the talent in the world as a basketball player and be broken down mentaly by your opponent if you don't have the confidence and mental toughness! Here are some tips that will help you develop your mental game in basketball...

1) Always believe in yourself. If you think you can`t do it, you

aren`t going to . When shooting, believe its going in and it will

have a better a chance.

2) A shooter needs to have confidence. One good way to give

yourself confidence is to remember that two balls will fit through

the hoop at a time. This gives you a large margin of error to work

with.

3) Strive to improve everyday... both physically and mentally. Play

against players that are better than you... that愀 how you get

better. Get your hands of whatever learning material you can.

Never stop learning!

4) When playing against teams or players who are not quite as

talented, it is important to play at YOUR best. Do not drop your

level of play simply to defeat the opponent. Compete against your

own personal best every time out, and try to achieve that.

5) Mental Rehearsal: This is almost as important as practicing the

action itself. The brain patterns during mental rehearsal of an

action are the same as those when preparing for the action before

the motor skill is selected, so the more you mentally rehearse a

shot, the quicker and easier it will be to prepare to carry out the

shot.

The above tips will help you strengthen the mental focus and

confidence of your game...

This is what will truly set you apart from everyone

else...as an elite player.

Don't forget to check out the BBall360 Store for all your basketball needs

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Basketball Dribbling Aids

Basketball Jumping Aids & Equipment

Basketball Agility Aids & Equipment

Basketball Goals & Equipment

Basketball Training DVD's

Coaching Supplies

Free Basketball Videos

Free Basketball Drills, Tips and Plays

Free Basketball Glossary from A to Z

Free Basketball Coaching Tools

Join the free Basketball 360 Community

It's really a shame, but time and time

again, we've seen quality basketball

players get taken out of their game.

Not by the opponents quickness, strength,

or physical talents...but by the opponents

mouth.

If you want to be a top "go to" basketball player,

you can't let the trash talk get to you.

And you gotta have a lot of confidence to play well.

To make sure that you never fall victim

to "trash talk", let's take a

sneak peek at one of the TIPS from the Elite

Basketball Improvement System...

Key: Understand that you control your own

actions.

=> Realize that no one can enter into your

head unless you let them.

=> TIP: Remove self-consciousness from

your emotions and have the confidence to

concentrate on your game.

=> TIP: Don't let the need for recognition

ruin your game. Understand that all trash

talking and psychological tactics are

based on this principle.

Don't forget to check out the BBall360 Store for all your basketball needs

Basketball Shooting Aids

Basketball Dribbling Aids

Basketball Jumping Aids & Equipment

Basketball Agility Aids & Equipment

Basketball Goals & Equipment

Basketball Training DVD's

Coaching Supplies

Free Basketball Videos

Free Basketball Drills, Tips and Plays

Free Basketball Glossary from A to Z

Free Basketball Coaching Tools

Join the free Basketball 360 Community

Every basketball player knows when they have reached the zone! That magical place when you become unstoppable on the court. When your shot can do nothing but fall in the net from any where on the floor. You're in the zone! See below to read a good article on helping your self prepare mentaly for the game of basketball and ultimately reaching basketball heaven as a player! Check it out....

Basketballis part physical and part mental.  Not only do you need to be a greatathlete and have great basketball skill, but you also need to masterthe mental part of the game.  Great players have confidence, focus,court sense, and have the ability to build on successes, and get pastmistakes and missed plays.

Before we can start working on getting in the zone, we have to understand what it is. I break down "the zone" into several key areas:

High performance level

At its most basic, the zone is a level of very high performance.  Thismeans that you're playing great basketball.  Your shot if falling. Your passes are on target and seem to lead to a score.  And the rest ofyour game (dribbling, rebounding, and defense) are all at extrememlyhigh levels.

Sustained performance at high levels

The next important aspect of the zone is that your high level of play issustained for a long period of time.  It's not just one good shot orone good play.  It's good shot, after good shot, after good shot.  Itsmaking good play after good play.  Now whether it lasts for 5 mintuesor 25 minutes depends on a lot of factors.  But in short, the zone isabout playing a at a high level for an extended period of time.

Intense focus

But the zone is more than just playing well, and doing so for a longperiod of time.  Playing good basketball is, well, playing good ball. But being in the "zone" is more than just playing good basketball. It's marked by a feeling that the action has slowed, an increasedawareness of the other players on the court, and a hightened awareness(and even anticipation) of what is going to happen next.  I categorizethese feelings as "focus".  It is an intese focus that puts you at alevel above everyone else on the court.

Extreme confidence

And finally, the zone is about extreme confidence.  You're playing well, it seems to continue for an extended period of time, and you'reincredibly focused. Pretty soon all of these factors start to feed oneach other, they build, and your positive momentum keeps going, andyour play keeps improving.  This snowball effect keeps building, andkeeps infusing you with more and more confidence.  And this extremefeeling of confidence, which I also call a feeling on invincibility,acts to keep you playing at a high level.

In breaking down what the "zone" really is, we've taken some of the mystery out of it.  And by taking the mystery out of it, we can identify the things you can do to increase your level of play, and get yourself into the zone.

Basketballinthezone.com