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Monday, September 22, 2025

Basketball - Ask Yourself One Question Daily

"September is the new preseason." - Steve Young

"Make it challenging. Make it interesting." - Ernie Adams

"Don't ever let players go on 'cruise control' in practice." - Bill Walsh

As a coach, player, or anyone who believes in putting the team first, ask one question: "what can I do today to help this team win?" 

*Digression: What's expertise? Belichick's Belichick, Ernie Adams, says "know and explain what's actually happening on the field." He uses the example of a receiver running an 'option route'. 

An option route in football is when a receiver doesn’t run a predetermined route but instead chooses from multiple possibilities based on the defense’s coverage.

  • Concept: The quarterback and receiver agree beforehand on a “menu” of possible routes (e.g., slant, out, curl, go). The receiver then “reads” the defender’s leverage or the defensive coverage and adjusts.

  • Example:

    • If the defender is playing inside leverage, the receiver might break outside.

    • If the defender is off and soft, the receiver might run a quick hitch.

    • Against a blitz look, the receiver might run a quick slant to give the QB a fast outlet.

  • Requirement: QB and receiver must see the defense the same way in real time — otherwise it leads to miscommunication and turnovers.

"Structural Possibilities"

Skill

  • Principle: Practice matters. As Ernie Adams said, “This practice stuff actually works.”

  • Impact Input: Shot selection. The fastest way to improve is taking better shots, not just more shots. The best players should take the best shots. Bob Knight: “Just because I want you on the floor doesn’t mean I want you to shoot.” Corollary—do more of what works, less of what doesn’t.

Strategy

  • Principle: Become good at what we do a lot.

  • Impact Input: Define our edge and exploit weaknesses. Sun Tzu wrote, “Avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak.” Know our advantage and protect our soft spot. Example—don’t challenge Patrick Ewing at the rim; attack elsewhere.

Physicality

  • Principle: Sport rewards athletic explosiveness. If you’re not gifted, catch up; if you are, get further ahead.

  • Impact Input: In-season strength training. It’s no longer optional—every high school player in America lifts. Sustained development separates those who stay strong in November from those who fade.

Psychology

  • Principle: Focus, toughness, resilience. The “mental game” is underrated.

  • Impact Input: Daily mental reps. Ten to fifteen minutes a day on visualization, breathing, or reflection pays dividends. If the mental is to the physical in a 4:1 ratio (Bob Knight), why ignore the four?

🧠 Mechanisms: Why Mindfulness Might Help Athletes

  • Attention control: Mindfulness trains focus on the present moment, reducing “chatter” about past mistakes or future worries.

  • Emotional regulation: Improves ability to manage stress, frustration, and anxiety during competition.

  • Reduced rumination: Helps athletes move on after errors (“next play” mindset).

  • Mind–body awareness: Heightens awareness of tension, breathing, and posture, useful in high-pressure moments.

📊 Objective Research Findings

1. Meta-Analyses

  • Baltzell & Akhtar (2014): Systematic review found mindfulness interventions linked to better concentration, reduced anxiety, and greater psychological flexibility in athletes.

  • Noetel et al. (2019, Perspectives on Psychological Science): Across sports and performance domains, mindfulness-based interventions improved attention regulation and emotional resilience, with moderate effect sizes.

2. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs)

  • John et al. (2011, Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology): Collegiate athletes who completed a 6-week mindfulness program showed significant improvements in flow states (being “in the zone”) compared to controls.

  • Dehghani et al. (2018, Frontiers in Psychology): Soccer players practicing mindfulness had lower pre-competition anxiety and better performance consistency.

  • Harris et al. (2021, Psychology of Sport and Exercise): Mindfulness training reduced burnout symptoms in elite athletes.

3. Brain and Physiology Evidence

  • fMRI studies (Tang et al., 2015; Chiesa et al., 2011) show mindfulness alters activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal cortex, regions tied to focus and emotion regulation.

  • Heart rate variability (HRV) — a marker of stress resilience — often improves after mindfulness training in athletes (Ivarsson et al., 2018).

⚖️ Limitations and Nuance

  • Benefits are usually moderate, not miraculous — mindfulness helps but doesn’t replace technical skill or fitness.

  • Consistency matters: Gains require regular practice (like strength training).

  • Works best for attention-demanding and high-pressure sports (e.g., volleyball, basketball, golf, archery).

✅ Objective takeaway:

There is solid evidence (from RCTs, meta-analyses, and physiological measures) that mindfulness improves focus, stress regulation, flow, and resilience in athletes. It doesn’t guarantee peak performance every time, but it measurably strengthens the mental side of sport. 

1a. Get eight hours of sleep a night. Sleep improves athletic performance. It's not open to debate. 

Summary: Make a difference with the obvious. 
  • Take better shots.
  • Press your edge. Avoid opponent strengths, attack weaknesses.
  • Physical training in-season is not optional.
  • Develop your mental game. Mindfulness works.
  • Get eight hours of sleep.
Lagniappe. One enduring sentence, "It takes what it takes." There's no wiggle room.

Lagniappe 2. Great sets create multiple options. 

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