As a high school varsity girls’ basketball coach and a skill development trainer, I’ve had the chance to coach and work with some pretty good players. Many of those players have gone on to EARN full scholarships to Division I institutions. And there is one common characteristic amongst all of these players – a tremendous work ethic. These players believe there is no such thing as an off-season. It is this quality that has made them stand out from the rest.
My educational background is in Exercise Science so I firmly believe that athletes must take some much needed time off and give their bodies a chance to recover from a tough season. However, that doesn’t mean sit around, eat bon-bons, and watch TV all day (as my wife would say). It’s okay to step away from basketball for a little bit but the great ones don’t stop training. They challenge themselves in new arenas. It’s widely publicized that many professional athletes have taken up yoga or boxing in the off-season. These things aren’t just a hobby to pass the time. These are things that are strategically done to prepare for the next season. We like to call it “active rest.” You are resting from your current sport by staying active in another.
Challenge yourself during the off-season. That may mean hiring a strength and conditioning coach to work on your basketball-specific strength, speed, agility, and quickness. My guy, Alan Stein (www.strongerteam.com) is a great resource for that. Take advantage of an active rest period. But once you step back into that gym with a basketball, have a goal in mind. As a player, my goal each summer was to add something new to my game. Whether it was to refine my mid-range game or to add post up moves, I had to add something new. I HAD to become a better player. I knew that the teams I would play in the regular season had a scouting report on me. I had to counter that report by bringing something new to the table – something they hadn’t been expecting.
This leads me back to the point of this blog. There is no off-season. Great players know that. They work all summer to refine aspects of their games. They work to add something new. They learn a new skill or they find a new way to challenge their bodies and make themselves better prepared for a new season. So, ask yourself…do you want to be great? Do you want to earn a scholarship to play basketball at the next level? If you do, then you must realize that there is no off-season. You have to make it a point to get better each summer. In my next blog, I’ll discuss how you can do that in a smart, efficient manner. Until then… WORK HARD, GET BETTER!
