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How to Improve My Basketball Game Mentally

Apr 10, 2011 | By Beverlee Brick
How to Improve My Basketball Game Mentally
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Much of what goes into a winning or losing performance happens before the game begins, during hours of practice and training both individually and with your team. Visualizing success is one method of improving performance. Although to some this might seem like pseudo-scientific wishful thinking, this practice has been proven by researchers throughout North America and Europe. It is now a standard subject taught in sports psychology programs worldwide.

Step 1

Choose a single, simple action you want to improve in your game, such as shooting free throws better, becoming a better rebounder or being able to execute the pick-and-roll drill.

Step 2

Take a moment to look at the court where you practice or play to give your visualization context.

Step 3

Imagine yourself successfully performing the task you chose in step one. Make this visualization as vivid and real as possible, focusing on the sights, sounds, feel and even smell of the action. The more vivid and colorful you make your visualization, the more effective it might be.

Step 4

Continue your visualization exercise for 20 to 50 successful repetitions.

Step 5

Physically practice the skill you chose for 20 to 50 repetitions.

Step 6

Repeat from step two, cycling through the visualization and actualization steps for as much as one hour at a time.

Tips and Warnings

  • Visualization can be especially powerful for skills you feel you are poor at. When you imagine tasks that make you nervous, your most common reflex is to imagine doing it wrong. If you counter that reflex with intense and intentional visualization of success, you open yourself to rapid improvement of that skill.

References

Article reviewed by Kirk Ericson Last updated on: Apr 10, 2011

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