Overcoming Nervousness At the Beginnning of the Game by COACH TIM MARTIN

 How to overcome nervousness at the beginning of the game. 

- Golden rule to break the ice to get over that fear of being aggressive (offensively): ONE (OR TWO) of the first three times you touch the ball, ATTACK TO THE RIM. Just, get it over with. 

-Because when you are going back in back and forth FROM DEFENSE to OFFENSE and let's say after the fourth or fifth time down you are catching  and you are not really just being aggressive (offensively) and push forcing the issue you start to overthink and then, you want TO PLAY EVERYTHING SAFE and then you just become A BALL REVERSE GUY.

-But you guys work way too hard to not cash in. 

-YOU GOTTA BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND GIVE YOURSELF A CHANCE TO BREAK DOWN THOSE WALLS AND SHOWCASE WHAT YOU GUYS CAN DO.  

-It's just your mind that is holding you back so ONE OF THE FREE TIMES YOU CATCH THE BALL IN OFFENSE, JUST CATCH AND GO. BE SHOT READY TIME. JUST GO AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.

-Worst case, you are getting to a gap, you penetrate kick and you make a play. 

 Best case, you get into the gap like damn! I didn't know I can do that, and you lay the ball up and you  are running back defense happy and smiling. 

-ATTACK YOUR FEARS. All you guys are afraid to make mistakes. But you will never play a perfect game. Nobody does. Nobody did. 

-You win or lose the game before you even play the game. Like how you guys go in your warm up lines or what you guys are doing before the game or practice. THE MENTAL APPROACH IS EVERYTHING. 

-WHAT IS GOING TO SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM EVERYBODY ELSE YOUR MENTAL THOUGHT PROCESS: you have to see yourself having SUCCESS not failure before you have it. 

-GET YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SEE YOURSELF BEING EFFECTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL IN THE GAME. 

-There is a lot of fear or jitters you may have before or during the game, you have to learn how to control it. If you don't spend time, getting your mind right, you will always live in that side of fear THAT IS GOING TO HINDER YOUR GAME, NOT ALLOW YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL LIKE YOU SHOULD BE. 

-You all work so hard. You are putting so much work that you owe to yourself to TAKE CHANCES ON YOURSELF. I WILL CATCH AND GO. 

-YOU MUST PREPARE YOURSELF TO CASH IN. 

-YOU ATTACK THE FEAR BY JUST CATCHING THE BALL TO COMMITTING TO A DRIVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS: ONE (OR TWO) OVER THREE. 

-Once you do that the first time and see how you got success, you will feel like you can keep doing this and then, you will do it again, and you will keep doing it, so that eventually you will get confident and consistent during the game. 

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