Basketball: The Mortar of Belief

"Do you believe in what you do? Every day? It turns out that belief happens to be a brilliant strategy.” - Seth Godin, in Tribes

We can only be as good as our self-belief. We need reasons to believe, a track record of getting things done. Belief finds balance between doubt and arrogance. 

The Wooden Pyramid of Success has FAITH and PATIENCE flanking the top of Competitive Greatness. Substituting BELIEF and TIME works for some people. 

Pete Carril writes in The Smart Take from the Strong, "When you teach basketball, it has its technical parts and its life parts." Mastery of the technical part is always incomplete; fill the gaps with the mortar of belief. 

Belief is always under construction. Build belief with preparation, practice, and endless repetitions. Earn belief through work and performance under pressure. 

Great athletes have insecurities, too. That's why they use advanced techniques like mindfulness and sports psychology for empowerment. Derek Jeter relied on coaching from Performance Psychologist Dr. Tom Hanson. Hanson counsels clients to focus on one pitch at a time. Belief lives here and now. 

Belief changes behavior. Patients are more likely to take their medication when believing in its effectiveness. Players do the work when they see measurable results...making tracking (from weight benched to free throw percent) important. 

Belief has limits. Belief in our power doesn't make us Superman. Cancer patients may not live longer because of a positive attitude, but they live better. 

During the "life parts" of coaching, we develop or destroy belief. Invest time in raising confidence that players have in themselves and each other. When players and teams earn it, remind them, "I believe in you." 

Lagniappe: 

"I'm going to believe in our coaching. I'm gonna believe in our process." - Les Miles confidence in face of losses https://t.co/OZhtqCuptw

— Chris Oliver (@Chris__Oliver) November 20, 2015

Bill Parcells reminds us, "confidence comes from proven success." 

Lagniappe 2: via Coach Liam Flynn

Coaches, do you have a Side Out Of Bounds set for a catch & shoot 3pt in your playbook? Here's a nifty play from French @LNBofficiel team, @sUJAPQuimper29; a wrinkle on a play that Fenerbahce and the Boston Celtics have used the past few years. pic.twitter.com/4irM21dvDA

— Coach Liam Flynn (@coachliamflynn) March 13, 2019

We couldn't execute the first pass, so we'd have to modify it. But the concept is good with
screen-the-screener action after ball reversal.