I have this conversation almost DAILY with athletes asking about their confidence while shooting. This is how the convo goes:
Me: “Where does your confidence come from typically in game: before the shot is taken or after the shot and you see if it’s a miss or make?”
Athlete: “After the shot and seeing results.”
Me: “Can you control your results?”
Athlete: “No.”
Me: “But you just said you’re placing your confidence on the result of each shot.”
What’s happening is that the athlete, like many of us as humans, we’re placing our confidence on results and outcomes. But we cannot control the results and outcomes in our lives. Which makes total sense as to why you, myself, the athlete are having very inconsistent confidence as they shoot the basketball in game.
Our confidence is like a rollercoaster. If shots go in, we’re confident. If we miss the shots, we’re not confident. And up and down the rollercoaster of confidence goes as we’re playing our game.
What the best understand is that we should not place our confidence on things we cannot control. What the best shooters do is they place their confidence in THIS shot, this present moment. They’re not focusing, dwelling, or even thinking about the past shot. They’re solely focusing and generating the confidence they need for this shot, and this shot only.
The best are generating confidence BEFORE the shot. They do this with the physical preparation of: hips down and hands ready prior to catching the ball. They’re body language is showing they’re ready to shoot the ball. They also generate confidence with their mindset by: creating the self-talk needed to shoot this shot with confidence. They’re creating the trust and belief that is needed to perform this one shot with confidence.
To be the most confident you can be, focus on 1 shot at a time with extreme physical and mental preparation BEFORE you ever catch the ball.
Own your outcome!
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