By Coach Atwood
Courage is being afraid to do something, but still doing it.
~Knute Rockne
What kind of player are you? Do you allow fear to determine how you play the game? Or do you compete with courage? If you claim that you’re not afraid of anything, then I question your courage. Why? Because showing courage means that you recognize the situation as dangerous, or risky, or difficult, but you still do it in spite of your fear. That’s real courage- feeling the fear, and overcoming it; like riding a roller coaster even when you’re scared to try it.
Carrying fear onto the court can weaken an athlete’s courage and cause hesitation. This will often lead to exactly the mistakes the athlete was fearful of making in the first place. Fear can rob an athlete of her full potential and ability. Fear is like an invisible cancer that eats away from the inside, destroying an athlete’s performance. When individual players on a team play with fear instead of courage, that team’s full potential is weakened.
The obvious question is what is there to be afraid of in a basketball game? I will answer that with some specific real life observations. But collectively I believe these are all social fears; like fear of making mistakes in front of people, or the embarrassment associated with having your shot blocked.
If you’re a good shooter and you’ve missed three shots in a row, do you courageously take the next wide open shot? Or do you allow fear to make you stop shooting because you’re afraid of missing your fourth in a row?
If you have possession of the ball near half court, and the half time buzzer is seconds from going off, do you courageously make an attempt at the half court shot? Or do you just hold the ball, allowing the fear of being embarrassed by a possible “air ball” to keep you from even trying?
If you consider yourself a good on ball defender, do you show courage by guarding your opponent as close as possible right from the beginning; making them uncomfortable and forcing them to prove that they either can, or cannot beat you with the dribble? Or do you allow the fear of possibly getting beat of the dribble to cause you to play with a big gap between you and the ball? It’s meaningless to claim you never get beat off the dribble if you play so far away from the ball that it’s practically impossible to get beat.
Will you take a “charge?” Do you have the courage to allow an offensive player with or without the ball to run into you and knock you over? Have you ever been in good position to take an offensive foul, but allowed fear of contact to cause you to move out of the way at the last second? Or worse, do you not even put yourself in that position by never stepping in front of the offensive player even though you have enough experience to see opportunities to step in and take a charge?
When going full speed for a layup that is going to be contested by a defender just behind, or right next to you, do you courageously take the contact, or even lean in and create the contact, looking to draw a foul and putting up a strong shot? Or do you take an angle away from defensive contact, and away from the basket, allowing fear to cause you to make the shot even more difficult while also avoiding getting fouled?
In practice when coach has players match up with another player for one on one drills, do you courageously look to partner up with someone who will challenge you and help make you a better player? Or do you allow fear to motivate you into seeking out someone who you know won’t push you because you don’t want your dribble stolen, or your shot blocked? There is no better way to improve your skills in any athletic pursuit than by playing against someone who really challenges you because they are a little better than you. This is called, “playing up,” and the truly courageous athlete seeks out that kind of competition.
If you are a committed basketball player, do you have the courage to do what it takes to become the best player that you can? If your answer to that question is yes, then you should make the best use of the time you spend on the court to improve your game. Playing full court 5 on 5 games in open gym may be more fun than small sided (1 on 1, 2 on 2, 3 on 3) half court games, but it’s truthfully not the best use of your time to get better. More “touches” (how many times you have the ball) means more opportunity to work on your skills, and small sided half court games give every player more touches. In a 5 on 5 full court game, a player can literally “hide” from the ball if they allow fear to control them. But 1 on 1, and 2 on 2, and 3 on 3 games require you to both have to guard another player (not a zone), and to attack a defender when you have the ball. That takes courage, and the reward for showing courage is that you get better faster.
I believe that playing without fear is a skill that can be learned, practiced and improved. For some players, playing without fear comes more naturally than for others and this is probably associated with individual personality types. Generally as skill level improves, so does confidence, and confidence in your skills should always reduce fear. One thing is certain- when you play the game from a perspective of fear (afraid to shoot, afraid to handle the ball, afraid to make the pass, afraid to guard the opponent closely) you will often end up making the exact mistakes that you are afraid of making. Why is that? I’m not sure, but you can see it by watching a player who hesitates and looks unconfident. They make the exact mistakes they are so afraid of making and hoping to avoid.
So what kind of player are you? Will you take that last second shot if the ball is in your hands as the clock ticks off the last few seconds? Or do you want to get rid of the ball as fast as possible like it’s a hot potato? Remember- it’s only a game, you have nothing to lose by playing hard and playing without fear. When all the games are over and you’re old like your coach, be satisfied when you walk off the court that you didn’t allow fear to control your game.
