At our best, we are Learning Machines. But as creatures of habit, we battle to beat bad ones. Our biases, beliefs, and hubris betray us. Benjamin Franklin said of humility, that if he could obtain it, he would surely be proud to have done so. Become a learn-it-all not a know-it-all.
In basketball as in life, we make mistakes. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott writes, "perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend." Creativity reveals our flaws; balance imagination with performance.
Take inventory of errors. Are our mistakes mental, effort-related, inability, inexperience, or fragility?
Mental mistakes have many origins. Sometimes we don't think. Natural selfishness overlooks better opportunity. Personal goals take priority over team goals. We lose focus, we have personal, family, or health stress. Money (numbers over letters), recognition, or ego become distractions. A combination of factors can go into a bad shot (selfishness, unawareness of time and situation, thoughtlessness).
Dean Smith said, "I don't coach effort; I coach execution." We don't have Coach Smith's players. Encouraging players to play harder doesn't always make it so. We have minutes and roles as our carrots and sticks. If a player seems not to care, we have to find out why and fix it. If we don't care, use that 'moment of clarity' and leave. We all lose our fastball.
Some mistakes come from lack of skill. Someone told Lefty Grove that he wasn't throwing as hard anymore. He answered, "I'm throwing just as hard but the ball doesn't go as fast." In the developmental setting, skill deficiency in ball-handling, passing, shooting, executing 'basketball plays', defending, and simply catching the ball frustrate players and coaches.
"Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment." If something sounds too good to be true, it almost surely is. Players will emerge from the recent NBA draft as stars. Others will live the life and not the craft, and fall by the wayside. Judgment extends beyond the court. Thinking just about the Celtics, we recall Len Bias, Antoine Walker, Glenn Davis, and Vin Baker where the whole package failed.
"The game honors toughness." Soft players don't block out, get the ball ripped away, have 'alligator arm' rebounding, don't dive for loose balls, won't take charges, bail out on layups to avoid contact, won't engage. It's not always about size and strength. But it's mental toughness, resilience, and having the will to confront adversity. Comebacks blend resilience, skill, persistence, and toughness. Young players grow into those domains...or not.
What if? Are we ready when our chance comes? Prepare as though opportunity will come. Unless we leave our comfort zones, we won't grow. Mistakes in practice are learning opportunities. Watching others fail and their response can show us better ways.
Pet peeves. We all have pet peeves, mistakes that drive us to the antacid cabinet. Don't double down on mistakes. If you turn the ball over, fouling doubles down. Bad body language reflects your state of mind. Wear the jersey, don't eat it.
Respect the game. Hand the ball to the closest official. Don't turn your frustration into a cheap shot, bad shot, or bad transition.
How can we reduce mistakes?
TRACK. Winners are trackers. Keep track of the number and types of mistakes. Applying the right solutions reduce the mistakes.
GIVE and GET FEEDBACK. Get Readback...about one in eight communications is misunderstood. "Explain what I just said."
FOCUS. Emphasize focus. A few possessions decide many outcomes.
STUDY FILM. I sent the players (via their parents) the 'short video lessons' spreadsheet and some have watched. Short Video Lessons
EXPAND MENTAL MODELS. Decision-making is a skill. Learn about it. Occam's Razor - "Never multiply things beyond necessity."
Make reducing error a priority. "Take care of your tools." I always sharpen the knife before cooking. I have total focus sharpening and cleaning the knife. If I lose a finger, then the knife becomes a useless tool.
Lagniappe:
I emphasize to players that you need two moves to pass a player with the dribble on your dominant side (e.g. speed, hesitation, double crossover, in-and-out dribble) and nondominant side (crossover, through-the-legs, behind-the-back, spin). Choose your tools.One of the dribble moves I like to focus on with players is the behind the back dribble when you initial drive is stopped by the defender. A simple move, but can be difficult to execute when in close confines with defender. Shown here by @RMBaloncesto's @FCauseur1 @EuroLeague pic.twitter.com/SmUjcuDc2C— Coach Liam Flynn (@coachliamflynn) June 23, 2018
