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email Brad Holland |
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It's
all about Confidence
 You can have a wealth of talent and you can practice
until it's become second nature, but winning can
still be elusive unless you have one key element --
Confidence.
It's something that you cannot work on in practice.
There are simulations that can really prepare for
you. It's something that is only acquired by actions
in the game. And it's often amazing how the entire
outlook of a season can change, once confidence is
gained.
Some players step onto the playing surface, for the
first time, with an abundance of confidence. No
matter the situation, no matter the circumstance,
that player will excel. There won't be any
hesitation or second-guessing because he or she has
that confidence. But those athletes are the
exception. For most it's a process.
On the basketball court, where everyone must work in
concert, everyone must also have that belief and
that confidence that they can close out an opponent.
Playing great basketball in stretches or for
thirty-five minutes is going to keep a lot of wins
just out of reach.
In his column,
Albany head coach Will Brown wrote
about the importance of leadership and how real
leaders speak their mind. That leader can help to
instill a confidence in his teammates, sometimes
leading by example and sometimes by putting that
player in a position to succeed.
It's important to have that influence, but it still
comes down to the individual. As a coach, you want
to be sure that all five guys on the floor recognize
and want to embrace their responsibility when the
game is on the line.
You often hear analysts say, "it's a war of
attrition," when describing the struggle between two
opponents. That can also apply to the struggle of
gaining confidence. It can be a grind. The longer
you are around the game the better understanding you
get that it's as much a part of the season as road
trips and injuries.
In my years as a coach I have seen it first hand,
having teams that I know had talent and a high
basketball IQ, but they were struggling to find that
level of confidence. More often then not, the entire
complexion of the season would change on one
possession, one pass, one shot -- One win.
How often, following a great comeback win, will you
hear players say that they are confident that they
are never out of a game? Where does that come from?
It comes from having experienced it and
understanding what it takes to repeat it.
We all remember the first time we rode a bike. There
were anxious moments before you took off down the
street for the first time. But there were never any
doubts from that day forward.
If it were only that easy.
Gaining confidence is the first step in the process.
But keeping it, as a team, is an ever- evolving
process. How often do you hear analysts suggest that
a team appears to have lost its' confidence?
If I had all the answers on this topic I could do
very well as an author. One thing is for sure the
most talented teams and the most hard working teams
win because they are also the most confident teams.
Brad Holland is a senior writer for collegeinsider.com.
EMAIL
BRAD |
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