Metacognition means thinking about thinking. Did school teach us to think? Pete Newell preached the coach's job is teaching players to "see the game." Coaches share new ways to think. How? A former medical trainee (from decades ago) reminded me that I told him, "learn five new things a day and pretty soon you know a lot."
Set positive expectations. Excellence demands commitment. What are you prepared to do (work) and not to do (sacrifice) to succeed? Higher expectation teachers get higher performing students.
Plan. Write down (pick) your plan to build athleticism, skill, and resilience. Track (stick) the plan with a calendar, graph, or spreadsheet. Follow-through (check) consistency and progress. PICK, STICK, and CHECK. This works for academics, too.
Focus. Crossing the red line (around the court) defines you as ready to go. Focus is a muscle trainable with mindfulness.
Study. Extra study allows you to play faster. Commit to listening better. Study the playbook, your notebook, and video. When a play works or a player succeeds, ask why? Was it individual skill, multiple actions, or defensive breakdown?
Here, we run the play incorrectly, but the excellent decoy of #24 sedates the defender and she cuts to score.
Breaks. Educators know that focus fatigues. Building in five minute breaks during each thirty minutes improves productivity. Mix free throws in during breaks.
Self-testing. After reading or study, summarize mentally or in your notebook. Writing itself reinforces information.
Pop quiz. Coach Bob Knight inserted a practice "timeout" explaining a play. He then distributed paper and pencil asking each player to reproduce the play. You know there was hell to pay for anyone not paying attention.
Upgrade hardware and software. Become a next level thinker. Mindfulness Improves brain hardware by increasing brain density in the learning and memory centers. It also improves software by increasing focus and reducing stress hormones.
Lagniappe: Do we know it or think we know it?
Lagniappe 2: Watch video daily to stimulate new ideas. This reminds me of 'corner rip' action.