Expert: David Kenward - 11/11/2007

Question
How can i become more confident and theefoe more aggressive? I can play but a lot of times i will ony take 1-4 shots a game

Answer
Hello Sam and thank you for asking this question.

I work with a lot of athletes who do great in practice but have trouble pulling it out under pressure.  Mental training works great to perform great under pressure.

Here's a mental training tool that can help. Get relaxed, close your eyes, and take five slow deep breaths.  Then, picture or imagine a time when you played well in practice, you took and made shots easily.  Really focus on that, everything you saw, heard, felt and experienced.  Notice how focused you are.  Notice how the ball even seems to be pulled toward the basket when you shoot it.  Now change to another practice when you did great, shooting smoothly.  Notice again how you feel - confident and focused.  And do it again, the same thing.  This helps you get in the mind set of doing well.  

Now, go through those scenes again, but this time picture or imagine a round switch, like the knob of an oven.  Imagine a mark on that switch that is:  10 Percent.  When you turn that knob to  10 Percent, that ramps up your aggressiveness to help you take more successful shots under pressure.  Mentally practice those same practices, but with your new position.  Notice how you feel even more confident, more aggressive, knowing that you take any shot you want, they belong to you.

Now imagine playing a game, and when you want that boost of confidence and aggressiveness, turn on your  10 Percent switch and feel that confidence and aggressiveness flow through you.  See or imagine yourself smoothly taking those shots, and watch them drop right in.

What this does is program yourself to hit that confidence that's always been inside of you.  When you've got that down, then you are ready to use it on the court, and you'll notice it works just as well.  Practice this a lot, the more you practice the better it will work for you.  I've helped many players improve using this tool - it works!

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

David

David Kenward, The Mental Coach
Sacramento, California
http://www.thementalcoach.com