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Minding your "manner": Preparing mentally for tryouts
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Basketball practice.
So you’ve spent the offseason attending camps, playing in showcase tournaments, and hitting the weight room to take your game to the next level. Finally, the hours of work and effort come to a vital climax, where your skills and athleticism are put to the test. In the manner of only a couple weeks, the entirety of your progression is calculated and your placement and position for the next year is determined. It’s tryout time.
This is the experience of high school athletes around the country as they prepare for the upcoming basketball season. It is a time of great anticipation and stress for many. It is a time of elation, and a time of disappointment. Many careers, both high school and beyond, will be determined over the next month. Are you ready?
Considering tryout time has already arrived, there is not a lot you can do to develop skills and conditioning in such a short time, but there are several ways you can prepare mentally for the challenges ahead. Here are a few tips to catch your coach’s eye.
First, make a statement on the defensive end. Unless you’re a wizard with the ball or a downtown sharpshooter, this is the best way to buy yourself early minutes. If a coach can trust a player to not give up baskets and to gain possession on the defensive boards, you can count on your name being called with increasing consistency. This early playing time can also do wonders for your confidence offensively over the course of an extended season.
Second, take care of the ball and move with intention. Once again, unless you have a very vital or coveted offensive role off the bench, you need to make the most of your touches. This means catching and sweeping to see the floor while preventing turnovers. From this point, dribbles must be used to make a move directly to the basket or to cause a distinct defensive shift. Over dribbling can lead to turnovers and turnovers lead to bench time.
Finally, play hard, aggressive, and physical. Combinations of offensive rebounds, tipped passes, jump balls, saved possessions, and drawing offensive fouls can be the difference between two players and valuable minutes off the bench. Timid play or cautious play has its value, but when your fighting for minutes or spots on a team, a majority of coaches will take a player with confidence and aggression.
The time is quickly approaching and the butterflies are certainly fluttering for many athletes. Hopefully, these can tips can help calm some of the nerves associated with tryouts and the beginning of another season. Amidst the intensity, emotion, and busyness, don’t forget to love what you do. You’ll learn throughout the course of your life that things are always better when you love what you do. Love the game, love your team, and have fun playing this great sport. Good luck!
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