Confidence- Part 1

It was Stan Kellner's "Yes I Can" Basketball Camp, Basketball Cybernetics. I was talented and hungry to improve yet I lacked a lot of the parental backing, positive reinforcements, and at the time did not realize how my own self confidence was holding me back from becoming the player I wanted to be. That week of training, skill work and evening games was typical of any camp. The difference was the words that he spoke.I would listen to him speak and his words carried weight, it seemed like he was speaking directly to me in a gym full of hundreds. He would only talk of the mental side of the game; how to train the mind to think. He would say if your shot checks all the boxes (form, feet, rhythm, technique) and you are not at a high percentage, shooter confidence would be to blame. 

I bought into the philosophy completely, and began working like I had never worked before. As I look back, I realize a lot of the confidence I have now came from the one week. It served as a singular motivator that still drives me today. I wanna be more like Stan Kellner and make it seem as if I'm speaking only to you and improve all aspects of your game including the mental part.

Positive affirmation or having someone telling you how good you are, showing how supportive they are of you or your effort never goes unnoticed;  it's incredible and will go a long way in building up a young athlete. But very few get what they need in the way of "attaboys". I only have one full proof way of improving your confidence- OUT WORK! Like I discuss in my vlog (below). There is no substitute for putting in the work. Be confident in your craft because you know what you have done daily to improve whether on the court or in life. When you #dowork , watch how your confidence soars!

There is no better feeling than being prepared or the feeling of obtaining something for the first time from hardwork. You will be amazed how confidently you can perform a task after you have done it once before or believing you are completely prepared to do it the first time. My personal opinion is this is how confidence is built when you lack the artificial confidence of someone's words. This is called self-motivation and I will discuss this vs. external motivation in a later blog, but self motivation is hugely important if you want to be a more confident kid. 

Put in the work and your confidence will soar!

Enjoy the Grind!

Anthony

A special thank you for contributing to this topic:

David Adams, South Point Girls  Head Varsity Coach, 

Bill Bradley, Varsity Head Coach Ashland Troy Lee Thomas, Morgan County Varsity Girls

#confidence #basketball #workethic #thenextlevelathlete