Latest / A Quick Timeout / Coach, Build Better Your Players' Confidence and Mental Toughness

Transcript

Coach, Build Better Your Players' Confidence and Mental Toughness · A Quick Timeout

• 0:00
  Coach are you tired of scrolling through social media for hours
• 0:03
  just to find one
• 0:04
  drill that actually works with your team your time is too
• 0:07
  valuable to be wasting
• 0:08
  looking for things that fit with your program that's exactly
• 0:11
  why I created a quick
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: timeout newsletter it's your digital coaching assistant
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: To sign up for our Quick Timeout Newsletter
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: Today we are joined by someone who understands the intersection of elite
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: performance and the mental game.
• 0:54
  Coach BJ is a former college and pro player and one of the most
• 0:57
  insightful voices
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: today in athlete,
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: player and person development.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: Through her work with Mentality Solutions,
• 1:03
  she's moved beyond just the physical X's and O's to help
• 1:06
  coaches and players master
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: the psychology of the sport.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: Coach, thank you so much for jumping on the show today.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: Let's dive in.
• 1:15
  Can you start by giving off kind of a synopsis of what all you
• 1:18
  do now through
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Mentality Solutions and your speaking?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and so I'll start off by just kind of a common
• 1:27
  Confusion I think I get a lot of times on mental health and
• 1:30
  mental performance.
• 1:31
  And so just clarifying what I do is not mental health because I
• 1:34
  think that's a big
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: thing in the game now.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody's talking about mental health, but I actually don't do that.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm on the mental performance side.
• 1:40
  And the best way that I can explain that is think of mental
• 1:43
  performance like the
• 1:44
  weight room for your mind and mental health like the training
• 1:47
  room for your mind.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: Both are equally important, right?
• 1:50
  When you're hurt,
• 1:50
  you need the training room to get back out onto the court.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: But part of it too is understanding what I do with confidence,
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: performing under pressure,
• 1:58
  understanding certain mindset shifts to allow you to perform to
• 2:01
  your capability and
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: potential.
• 2:03
  My job is to make sure that your mental strength is ready for
• 2:07
  you in the moments
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: that matter most.
• 2:10
  Big parts of what we do as basketball coaches is simply
• 2:14
  building confidence in players.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: I know you talk a lot about that.
• 2:18
  I think sometimes that we act like a player either has
• 2:21
  confidence or doesn't have confidence.
• 2:24
  And that simply is just built up by them playing more games or
• 2:28
  getting more experience.
• 2:29
  How do you feel like are some practical ways that a coach can
• 2:33
  structure skill
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: development,
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: player development,
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: maybe even off the court stuff?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: to build up a player's self-belief.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so when you do, and you touched on it, self-belief, right?
• 2:44
  So when you're thinking about confidence and self-esteem,
• 2:47
  those are two sides to the same coin.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes as coaches,
• 2:50
  I think we just get so caught up in the confidence piece that
• 2:52
  we forget that the
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: other side of that is self-esteem.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: And so this is why,
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: and especially with this generation,
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: like you go back 20,
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: 30 years,
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: whatever it was,
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: like the Bobby Knights,
• 3:02
  like you could have a coach who is a little demeaning and
• 3:04
  demoralizing and athletes
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: would respond to that.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: This day and age,
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think as coaches,
• 3:09
  we can all see that that approach doesn't necessarily work so
• 3:13
  much anymore.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of that is the athlete today,
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: their self esteem is so much more fragile,
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: I guess is the best way to put it.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of that is like,
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: yes,
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: social media and yes,
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: comparison,
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: there's so much we're not going to dive into the why behind it.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: But we know as coaches,
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: the self esteem part that we're trying to coach now with these athletes,
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: it is fragile.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so if that's two sides of the same coin,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: it's coming from an understanding of that first and foremost is like,
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: yeah,
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_01: we can't break these kids down and like the whole,
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to break you down to build you up like,
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: okay,
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: you might have outliers and that'll certainly work with the few.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's not going to work with the average kid.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: So what I teach is,
• 3:49
  and everybody who's probably followed my social media probably
• 3:52
  knows these six
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: sources of confidence that I teach,
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: but I teach six sources of confidence,
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: three outer sources and three inner sources.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: So the outer sources, right?
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: These are still sources of confidence,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: but I call them outer sources because we can't depend on these.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: And those are number one, it's validation.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: Number two is comparison.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_01: And number three is recent success.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: And when you stop and you look at those,
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: and if you were to write it down and you yourself as a coach,
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: we're not immune to this either,
• 4:19
  is sometimes we look at that and we have a confidence slump or
• 4:22
  we don't feel
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: necessarily as confident in ourselves.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it's probably because one of those three outer sources is
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_01: It were depending on those a little bit too much.
• 4:31
  Validation is a big piece for athletes,
• 4:33
  not necessarily so much for coaches,
• 4:35
  but validation.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's a huge piece.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: I traveled the country speaking,
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: working with athletes primarily,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: and I always ask that question.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, where do you get your confidence from across the board?
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: It was probably 98% of the time.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: the first answer you want to take a guess what it is,
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_01: these athletes,
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: where they say they get their confidence from 98% of the time.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: First answer.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: Coaches.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: Coaches.
• 4:59
  100% 98% it's a coach they'll say a coach sometimes they'll
• 5:03
  name a parent sometimes
• 5:04
  they'll name a teammate but 98% of the time what they do is
• 5:07
  they name another
• 5:08
  person and so what that tells me is that 98% of the athletes
• 5:14
  that we're coaching
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: depend on another human being for their confidence
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: Okay,
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: that's an outer,
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: like if you're dependent on another person for your confidence,
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: it's just a matter of time before it blows up in your face,
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 5:26
  So it's just understanding,
• 5:27
  being aware of number one,
• 5:29
  where do I get my confidence from?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: How do I build it?
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: And then how do I maintain and sustain it?
• 5:34
  So then we go into the inner sources of confidence and inner
• 5:37
  sources of confidence.
• 5:38
  And when I ask athletes,
• 5:39
  this is honestly probably the second and third answer that I
• 5:42
  get.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, where do you get your confidence from?
• 5:44
  number one is practice and preparation and athletes high
• 5:47
  performers strivers
• 5:48
  achievers whatever name you want to give it like you don't have
• 5:51
  to talk about that
• 5:52
  right anybody who I'm working with if you're attracted to me
• 5:55
  you're coming to me I
• 5:56
  already know you're putting in the time I already know you're
• 5:58
  putting in the work
• 5:58
  practice and preparation with the athletes most of the time
• 6:01
  that we're working with
• 6:02
  not all the time in high school but that's a different story
• 6:05
  college pro athletes
• 6:07
  are putting in the work they understand that you have to work
• 6:10
  in order to find any
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: type of competence which then drives confidence
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Second source of inner confidence,
• 6:16
  which I honestly believe is the most important source comes
• 6:19
  down to our mindset and
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_01: our self talk mindset and self talk.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And this is something that I teach all of my clients,
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: all of my athletes,
• 6:26
  if you allow it to your mindset and your self talk will negate
• 6:30
  the practice and
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: preparation you put into your game.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: and we see this happen all the time.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Just use free throws as a classic example, right?
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say that you're practicing free throws 10 in a row.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: You do the Steph Curry workout,
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: 10 swishes in a row,
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: whatever the case is,
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: you're putting in the work,
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: you're putting in the time.
• 6:45
  And then all of a sudden you go into a pressure situation and
• 6:47
  those words of poison
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: that I like to call them sometimes,
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: you start thinking about yourself or your performance negatively.
• 6:54
  And if everything is negative,
• 6:56
  it doesn't matter the amount of work you put in.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: If this is negative, your thought process is negative,
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: Likely your body language is going to follow suit, right?
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_01: Everything just kind of starts working against you.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: The likelihood of you making that shot goes down.
• 7:09
  I'm not saying you're going to miss every time,
• 7:12
  but the probability starts working against you.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: Third source of confidence we get into is courage and curiosity.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Courage and curiosity, right?
• 7:20
  Sometimes you just have to have a little bit of courage to put
• 7:22
  yourself in a position
• 7:24
  to go after the thing that you want to put yourself in a
• 7:26
  position to be that
• 7:27
  athlete with the ball at the end of the game to be in that
• 7:29
  position as a coach
• 7:31
  making the calls at the end of the game and then what you find
• 7:34
  is once you have a
• 7:35
  little bit of courage to put yourself in those positions it
• 7:37
  gets a little bit
• 7:38
  easier thereafter just kind of understanding the nuances of
• 7:43
  these sources of
• 7:44
  confidence and if you can understand for yourself as an athlete
• 7:47
  number one where do
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: I build it how do I build my confidence where do I depend on it
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: And if it's fluctuating, why is it?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: Which outer source of confidence am I depending on here?
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: The question I was going to ask you was one that you touched on it.
• 8:02
  The coaches are always asking me,
• 8:04
  how do I get my player out of a shooting slump?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's probably not as simple then as one thing, right?
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: It really isn't.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: And the hard part with the mental game, right?
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: So like as a shooting coach, you can just watch what the kid is doing.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: And based on their technique,
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_01: based on their form,
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: you can eye it as to what they need to do to work on.
• 8:24
  The mental game,
• 8:25
  it's not so simple because I can't read your mind,
• 8:28
  right?
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what's going on there.
• 8:30
  But here's another thing that I don't want to say is just
• 8:35
  completely opposite of what I teach.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: But once you get to the higher levels,
• 8:38
  I don't teach this to high school athletes because I don't
• 8:40
  think they're there yet.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: But once you get to the college and pro levels,
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: what I also teach is sometimes you got to forget your feelings.
• 8:47
  so when it comes to confidence right what I you got to learn
• 8:50
  how to win ugly you
• 8:51
  got to learn how to win ugly and so when it does come to
• 8:54
  confidence right you think
• 8:55
  about the talk about a shooting slump okay you talk Steph Curry
• 8:58
  you talk you want
• 8:59
  to go old school you talk Reggie Miller right whoever it is
• 9:04
  Caitlin Clark's of the
• 9:05
  world name a great shooter do they have the percentage every
• 9:10
  single game are they
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_01: 40 percent from the three every single game
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's an average, right?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: You can't get it every single game.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: But it's the mindset that you bring to the table as that shooter.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: And so what I mean by this is,
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: when I say win ugly,
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: when you're thinking confidence wise,
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: and I asked this to a lot of athletes,
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: has there been a time when you went into a game,
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: you were feeling really,
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: really confident,
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: you went into this game feeling really confident,
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: and you didn't play to your potential,
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: or you didn't play to your standard,
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: and you didn't get the outcome that you wanted?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: In the same way,
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: have you gone into a game where you didn't have a lot of confidence,
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: but you ended up playing well and you ended up getting the win?
• 9:51
  And when I asked this question,
• 9:52
  athletes say yes to both of those situations.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: And my comeback to that is,
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 9:56
  what that tells me is that confidence is not a great predictor
• 10:00
  to outcomes.
• 10:02
  And so this is a thing like,
• 10:03
  yes,
• 10:03
  we have to understand where confidence come from.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: We have to build our foundation, all of these things.
• 10:07
  But at the same time,
• 10:08
  understanding that at the end of the day,
• 10:10
  confidence is a feeling.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, confidence is also a skill that you can train, but it's a feeling.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: And we don't ever want to depend on feelings.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's great when you have confidence.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: You're not always going to have it though.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: And so once you get to these levels,
• 10:23
  you have to be able to work through it and perform even when
• 10:26
  you don't have it.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: You have to learn how to win ugly.
• 10:29
  One of the challenges that I find with my players is helping
• 10:33
  them take the step of
• 10:35
  being primarily focused on their own performance and how they
• 10:40
  fit and their overall
• 10:42
  confidence and move to leading others instilling confidence in
• 10:47
  others a lot of
• 10:48
  times I feel like it's just well they're just not there yet
• 10:51
  like they'll be but
• 10:52
  they'll be there by the time they get to like their junior year
• 10:54
  their senior year
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: but
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think especially nowadays and how college basketball works,
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: like you might have them for seven months,
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: not necessarily four years.
• 11:03
  So I guess any tips or suggestions for how do I kind of
• 11:07
  accelerate that process?
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: One of my favorite things to teach,
• 11:11
  and this is part of my mistake response that I teach basketball
• 11:15
  players primarily
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: or mostly just for team sports.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: And again,
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: like when you think about a confidence slump,
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_01: just think about slumps in general or just confidence plateaus,
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: You're a plateau or you dip a little bit.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Most of the time when an athlete is doubting,
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: frustrating,
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: or in any kind of confidence lump,
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: what happens is they're primarily inward.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Their focus is wholeheartedly just on themselves.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: They're almost in that woe is me mindset, right?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so one of the things that I teach is I call it the spotlight effect.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_01: What I teach is like, just imagine I have a spotlight.
• 11:47
  And when I'm confident,
• 11:49
  when things are working in my favor,
• 11:51
  when everything is good and dandy,
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: This spotlight is not only illuminating my path,
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: but all my teammates,
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_01: all my coaches,
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: everybody I come in contact with,
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: this light touches them too.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I'm on, my light is also on for everybody else.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: But the moment that my confidence starts to waver,
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: the moment that I become doubtful,
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: the moment that frustration tends to take over,
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: what happens is I go from outward and I turn inward.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: Now this light is still on, but it disappears.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: Now I can't see it.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: Can you?
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's gone.
• 12:23
  it's still on though but that's what happens when we turn
• 12:25
  inward that's what
• 12:26
  happens when we allow doubt and frustration to take over and so
• 12:29
  the spotlight
• 12:30
  effect is a reminder in these situations yes maybe my
• 12:33
  confidence is down yes maybe
• 12:35
  I made a couple of mistakes yes maybe I missed three shots in a
• 12:38
  row maybe I blew a
• 12:39
  wide open layup and what society teaches us is that we wait for
• 12:43
  a coach or a
• 12:44
  teammate to come pat us on the back slap us on the butt and say
• 12:47
  you're good that
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: doesn't ever work
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: And so the teams that I work with and the athletes that I work with,
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: this is my biggest thing with them.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Body language, if you work with Coach BJ, better be on.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Also,
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: the spotlight effect,
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: after you make a mistake,
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: my biggest challenge to you is to go from inward back to outward.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_01: I have found that when you are stuck in that tunnel of negativity,
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: let's just call it,
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: it's so hard to go outward.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's so hard to do that.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_01: And the best way that I found to pull yourself out of that in the moment,
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: because once you're in the suck in the moment in the game,
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: it's so hard to come out of that.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: The best way is to shine this light onto somebody else.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: Can you give a reminder?
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: Can you speak words of power into your teammate?
• 13:27
  Can you look your coach in the eye and nod to hear what he's
• 13:29
  saying and be coachable?
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when you turn your spotlight to focus on somebody else,
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: whether that be a teammate,
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_01: whether that be a coach,
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: whoever that is,
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: now this light is back on and illuminating your path once again.
• 13:41
  and so I take that a little bit deeper that's the teaching I
• 13:44
  give the spotlight
• 13:44
  effect and then we go into TNT talk and touch this is what I
• 13:49
  call it talk and touch
• 13:50
  and I got this you've probably heard of this before the Steve
• 13:52
  Nash study done a
• 13:54
  while back right on the high fives doing all that and so I got
• 13:58
  this from this study
• 13:59
  and so for me after a mistake is made or anytime you find
• 14:02
  yourself turning inward
• 14:03
  as a basketball player you have to give a minimum of two high
• 14:07
  fives on the next
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: dead ball you have to seek them out
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: You're not waiting for anybody to come up to you.
• 14:12
  You either got to seek out two high fives or you got to go give
• 14:15
  that great eye
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: contact and seek out coaching.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's your choice.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: But why this works so well,
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: okay,
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: is because when you have a team that this is the standard,
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: this is the standard that we set where it's body language,
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Body language with spotlight effect.
• 14:30
  You can't have negative body language and be giving those talk
• 14:34
  and touch reminders,
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: words of power,
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_01: all that kind of stuff.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: So when you have a whole team doing this,
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_01: We never dip.
• 14:41
  Our body language is either plateaued or it's steadily rising
• 14:43
  throughout the entire game.
• 14:44
  And then think about when this becomes the identity and the
• 14:47
  standard that we have as a team.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, the other team goes on a 10-0 run.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: We call a timeout and typically what happens in those situations?
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: What's the body language like?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: What's the energy like?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: What's the communication like?
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: They're all down, they're all dead.
• 15:02
  And then the other team,
• 15:03
  yeah,
• 15:03
  it's all high five and yeah,
• 15:04
  we're good,
• 15:05
  we're good.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: But when this becomes the norm, when this becomes a standard,
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's no big deal.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Body language never wavers.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_01: Energy never wavers.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Communication never wavers because this is who we say we are.
• 15:17
  High volume shooting is great,
• 15:19
  but quality reps are what win championships.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I'm thrilled to talk about the all new Dr.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Dish Arc 1.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_00: This machine introduces arc tracking technology,
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: giving your players real-time audio and visual feedback on every shot.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's about more than just makes and misses.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's about building the perfect shot arc.
• 15:36
  With the Arc 1's shooters formula,
• 15:38
  you combine high-volume repetitions with deep focus.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Plus,
• 15:42
  you get access to over 250 drills from pro trainers and D1
• 15:45
  coaches with no
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: membership fees.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: Visit drdishbasketball.com today to see the Arc 1 in action.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: Dr.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Dish, the ultimate tool for building better shooters.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Learn more at huddle.com slash aquicktimeout
• 16:17
  We've started down this path of resiliency and toughness,
• 16:20
  so I'll just keep going.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: You kind of already alluded to some of these,
• 16:24
  but other ways that a coach can coach mental resilience and
• 16:30
  maybe they're put it
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: into a practice plan,
• 16:32
  maybe something outside of the practice court that they can do
• 16:36
  something other than
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: just demanding it during a game.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this is where I start with coaches, because a lot of times
• 16:44
  We love to talk about as coaches we all love to talk about and
• 16:47
  harp on mental
• 16:48
  strength and mental toughness right and so the first thing that
• 16:51
  I would tell a
• 16:51
  coach is have you defined what mental strength or mental
• 16:55
  toughness looks like to
• 16:56
  you because it's one thing to say well you got to be mentally
• 16:59
  tough but I mean
• 17:01
  there's millions of definitions of it and every coach likely
• 17:04
  defines it a little
• 17:05
  bit differently and so as a coach for you when you're saying I
• 17:09
  need you to be
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: mentally tough can you define what that means for you
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Does that mean diving on the ball for loose balls?
• 17:16
  Does that mean after you make a mistake,
• 17:18
  you own up to it and you give me eye contact?
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_01: Does that mean great body language, right?
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's just, can we define it first as a team?
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: Then once that's been defined,
• 17:27
  then I know that the expectation for the athletes is to follow
• 17:31
  that definition.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's kind of where I would start is like,
• 17:36
  how do you define mental toughness to then hold the line and
• 17:39
  that expectation and
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_01: the standard for the team to then follow?
• 17:42
  For those who have maybe a player who doesn't handle losing
• 17:47
  well and then tells
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: you,
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just competitive.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Anything for that?
• 17:51
  So that would be a challenge for me on I'm challenging your
• 17:54
  mental strength right now,
• 17:56
  right?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: You're completely inward.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: You're completely focused on yourself.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_01: All you're thinking about is you.
• 18:01
  And so my challenge to an athlete in that situation would be,
• 18:06
  what can this teach you?
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Failure is an event, not an identity.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Failure is something that happens to you.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's not who you are.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Failure is meant to refine you, not define you.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: And so when you're thinking about this failure,
• 18:16
  I would challenge this athlete because I would assume that
• 18:20
  they're allowing this
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: failure to just totally encompass their entire being.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: This is just one game.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it hurts.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, you should absolutely despise losing.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great thing.
• 18:31
  But when I see the mental toughness and your lack of resilience
• 18:34
  and the way that
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: you respond to that,
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: that's another thing altogether.
• 18:38
  right then you can give the E plus R equals O explanation are
• 18:41
  you allowing this
• 18:43
  mindless reaction to take over or can you choose to have a
• 18:46
  mindful response one of
• 18:48
  my favorite definitions of mental strength I actually got this
• 18:52
  from Nick Saban
• 18:53
  Coach Saban has a phenomenal story out there it was after a
• 18:57
  hurricane and he's
• 18:58
  talking you know windows are smashed in his house you've
• 19:00
  probably seen this clip
• 19:01
  too and he goes and he asks his team you know I've understood
• 19:04
  that I've never
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: actually defined what I think mental toughness is
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: And to me, Coach Saban says, mental toughness comes down to a question.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_01: What does it take to break you?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: What does it take to break you?
• 19:17
  And so if I'm working with this athlete one on one,
• 19:20
  I would ask him or her that question.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: What does it take to break you?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's all it takes one loss.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's all it takes to break you.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's all it takes five shots in a row.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: That's all it takes to break you.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_01: And so if I'm your opponent or if I'm a coach studying you and yeah,
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: like you're the man,
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: you're the woman,
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_01: you're it.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: But I already know like this is all I need to do to break you.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Who do you think is going to win that battle?
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: So we want to build a team not only of competitors,
• 19:47
  but also a team who understands the definition of mental
• 19:50
  strength collectively and
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_01: individually.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: And the more you can build that individual,
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_01: but also collective as a team,
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: as a standard,
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: as an identity,
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: as the line that we hold,
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: the harder we become collectively to break.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right think about as a team we're hard to break.
• 20:07
  Part of it too is like that TNT that spotlight effect like yeah
• 20:11
  individually we
• 20:11
  might break every so often but that's the beauty of a team
• 20:14
  sport is that we do have
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: teammates to bring us back up and pull us up above the line.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: That's the beauty of playing in a team sport.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of what I talk about on the podcast and through my social,
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: it involves decision making and the decision making process on the court.
• 20:30
  What's the connection between that aspect and what we've
• 20:34
  already talked about in
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: regards to confidence and resiliency?
• 20:41
  yeah so once you get to let's just paint a picture pressure
• 20:44
  situation right these
• 20:45
  are a lot of times when decisions just kind of go haywire even
• 20:48
  first thing that
• 20:48
  comes to mind is that a Duke basketball game against oh geez
• 20:53
  who are they playing
• 20:53
  who was the opponent UConn yes yes okay so just classic
• 20:57
  situation so in these
• 20:59
  situations and you've probably heard this I mean any sports
• 21:02
  psychologist mental
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: performance coach is going to talk about challenge or threat okay
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: And anytime we're in a situation where you get the body buzz,
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_01: I call it the body buzz,
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_01: your heart is racing,
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: your adrenaline levels are spiking,
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_01: your cortisol levels are up a little bit,
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: right?
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: You're in a situation that's meaningful, it matters, the pressure is on.
• 21:20
  And what happens in those situations is you start to look at
• 21:24
  what you need to do,
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: what you need to accomplish,
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_01: and you look at the skill you have to accomplish those things.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Do I have what it takes?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Is this a challenge that I can accomplish?
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: Or is this something that's going to threaten my character,
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_01: my ego,
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: who everybody thinks that I am,
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: my reputation,
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: all those things.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: And if we see that or perceive it, perception is a huge thing here.
• 21:43
  If we perceive that to be a threat,
• 21:44
  we're likely going to perform in accordance to.
• 21:47
  And most of the time,
• 21:48
  and not saying that Caden had this threat response,
• 21:52
  right?
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: But
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we speed up in these situations.
• 21:57
  The body just,
• 21:58
  when we get this body buzz,
• 21:59
  everything becomes a little bit too fast.
• 22:01
  And so training your body to kind of come down a level or two
• 22:07
  in these situations,
• 22:08
  right?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: When you're speeding up,
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_01: when everything is going a little bit faster,
• 22:13
  you likely make those decisions that you would never make in
• 22:16
  another situation.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so the first thing that I teach to my athletes in these situations,
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_01: once you feel the body buzz,
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: is you've got to bring your body back to baseline.
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_01: Got to bring your body back to baseline.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_01: Because if your body is freaking out, your mind is freaking out.
• 22:30
  So as an example,
• 22:32
  coach,
• 22:32
  let's just say how long can you hold your breath for?
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Probably a little over a minute.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_01: That that long?
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, man, I'm like 20 seconds.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that's pretty good.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's actually very impressive.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say that I have your head and I'm holding you underwater.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_01: Let's say 60 seconds goes by.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_01: 64, 65, 66.
• 22:52
  You don't have any like Navy SEALs training or anything like
• 22:54
  that,
• 22:54
  do you?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: No, just got to swim to stay in shape.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: So 68 seconds, 69, 70.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_01: At that point in time, it's 10 seconds over what you're comfortable with.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 23:06
  You're probably feeling those same sensations that I talked
• 23:08
  about with the body buzz.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Your heart rate is probably going up a little bit.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Your adrenaline levels are definitely high.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Cortisol level, absolutely.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: 72, 73, 74 seconds.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: In that situation, I'm holding your head under the water.
• 23:20
  Do you think that you're going to have the ability to tell
• 23:23
  yourself,
• 23:23
  I'm good.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: I've got this.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: Stay calm.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think you're going to listen to anybody else?
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_01: 80 seconds goes by 81, 82.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm talking to you, trying to coach you up.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: Do you think you're going to even hear me when I tell you you're good,
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: you're calm,
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: stay composed?
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: You're not even hearing anything.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: So in that situation, right, this is what I talk about body to baseline.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: If your body is freaking out, your mind doesn't stand a chance.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously nobody's going to be holding,
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: you're not going to be doing this on the basketball court,
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: but understanding in these pressure situations,
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: if you don't train it,
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: the first thing to go is your breath.
• 23:59
  This is why breathing has become such a cliche and any sports
• 24:03
  psychologist or
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: mental performance coach,
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: this will be one of the very first techniques that they train.
• 24:07
  And the reason things become a cliche is because there's some
• 24:10
  type of truth behind it.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: If something's a cliche, there's something that works behind it.
• 24:15
  The reason it's a cliche is that people just don't explain the
• 24:18
  why or the how efficiently.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_01: So understanding in these situations,
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_01: pressure comes when it doesn't matter,
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_01: even like challenge or threat,
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_01: you're feeling it.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: We tend to take short and shallow breaths in these moments.
• 24:31
  So the first thing that I would tell any athlete to do prior to
• 24:33
  obviously it's hard
• 24:34
  to do this in real time right dead ball situation just be aware
• 24:37
  of your breath.
• 24:38
  My favorite one is the physiological side because you can use
• 24:41
  it in real time.
• 24:42
  We don't always have time for equal breathing or all these
• 24:44
  other things right maybe
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: still breathing physiological side you can do it right then and there.
• 24:48
  I wanted to ask you about your writing you've put a lot of
• 24:52
  these philosophies into
• 24:53
  your book can you share the core message behind that and maybe
• 24:57
  what you hope the
• 24:59
  reader the coach walks away with after reading it yeah so my
• 25:03
  current book that's
• 25:04
  out there I'm working on book number two it should be coming
• 25:07
  here pretty soon still
• 25:08
  don't have a working title yet so TBA on that guy but A Mindful
• 25:12
  Journey that one is
• 25:13
  out there and that is about my experience playing professional
• 25:16
  basketball in Greece
• 25:17
  and so it kind of reads like a journal if you would it goes day
• 25:21
  by day and it just
• 25:22
  takes the reader on an honest and vulnerable journey and
• 25:26
  anybody who's an athlete
• 25:28
  can understand the journey that this feels like and so what it
• 25:31
  is it's honest it's
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: raw it's vulnerable and it teaches a little bit of the mental performance
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: techniques that I used to get over and go through some of these
• 25:41
  situations that you deal with as an athlete and I don't want to
• 25:44
  spoil the book but
• 25:45
  there was a lot of losing when I played professional basketball
• 25:48
  in Greece so it was
• 25:49
  you know getting over some of that too some of the failures
• 25:51
  some of the identity
• 25:53
  struggles and stuff like that best place for people to pick up
• 25:56
  a copy of that
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon I'll be sure to link that down in the description as well I really
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: appreciate you working with me to make this happen
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm not gonna let you go so quick, though, coach.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm always curious for other coaches,
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: because hey,
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_01: if you're a basketball coach,
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: you understand some sort of the mental game.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm just curious,
• 26:14
  do you utilize anything with the things that you teach or
• 26:18
  anything that some of
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: your favorite strategies,
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: tips,
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: techniques when it comes to the mental game that you use?
• 26:24
  We do classroom sessions just away from the court and one of
• 26:28
  the things that I have
• 26:29
  tried to be very intentional about is connecting my core values
• 26:34
  to how we actually
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_00: play in everything that we do.
• 26:39
  I have talked about guys going through certain routines that
• 26:43
  they practice with me
• 26:44
  on a practice court and carrying that same routine to a free
• 26:47
  throw line putting
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: them in as many tough situations as possible and
• 27:04
  And practicing those things beforehand and even from the
• 27:07
  beginning of the year.
• 27:09
  I think even some of the stuff that you mentioned,
• 27:11
  I maybe inadvertently have done.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know that I had a name for them or intentionally done them.
• 27:17
  And that's another thing where I think that probably coaches a
• 27:20
  lot of times I get,
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: even through some of these conversations,
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: they'll listen to somebody like you and they're like,
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: well,
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: yeah,
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: I do that.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: A Quick Time Out
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: A Quick Time Out
• 28:04
  yeah that's good and one of the things that comes to my mind is
• 28:06
  when you're talking
• 28:07
  about you give it a name and you kind of normalize it I think a
• 28:11
  lot that I work
• 28:11
  with maybe this is just the type of person that's comes to me
• 28:15
  for help or whatever
• 28:16
  it is I call it the achievers mindset and you won't find it on
• 28:19
  Google or anything
• 28:20
  like that this is a term that I made up but the achievers
• 28:22
  mindset states that you
• 28:23
  only feel worthy whenever you're achieving succeeding or
• 28:27
  accomplishing something
• 28:28
  and this is a lot of times athletes right and the achievers
• 28:32
  mindset is a great
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: thing because it
• 28:34
  makes you want to continue achieving and chasing excellence and
• 28:37
  being that great
• 28:38
  person or whatever it is that you do being great basketball
• 28:41
  being the best to play
• 28:42
  to leave legacies all these kinds of things and while that gets
• 28:45
  you to a certain
• 28:46
  level the ugly side of it it's a double-edged sword is that if
• 28:50
  you're not aware of
• 28:51
  it it will eat you alive because the minute that you go up a
• 28:55
  level or the minute
• 28:57
  that you're pushed to an extreme the minute that you're not
• 29:01
  playing to the level
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: that you think you should be
• 29:04
  now all of a sudden your identity gets questioned now all of a
• 29:07
  sudden you just you
• 29:08
  just feel not worthy less than I'm not good enough and just
• 29:12
  understanding and
• 29:13
  giving it a word oh you just have the achievers mindset this is
• 29:15
  part of it this is
• 29:16
  the ugly side of it right and just understanding how do you
• 29:18
  work through it I call
• 29:20
  it just you got to learn how to set your soul on fire feed your
• 29:22
  soul in a sense
• 29:23
  right it can't just be all performance based this is the
• 29:26
  performance side what
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: about your human side
• 29:29
  and this is part of you going back to that self-esteem
• 29:31
  confidence two sides of the
• 29:32
  same coin right this is kind of the same concept with that too
• 29:35
  is as athletes as
• 29:36
  achievers coaches oh my gosh don't get me started on coaches
• 29:38
  you want to talk about
• 29:39
  achievers people who have that achievers mindset name a coach
• 29:44
  who's in it for the
• 29:45
  right reasons and I will show you somebody who has an achievers
• 29:48
  mindset and coaches
• 29:49
  we're the ones who take these losses harder than anybody else
• 29:52
  when we're not
• 29:53
  achieving when we're not succeeding when we're not
• 29:55
  accomplishing you talk about an
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: identity scare
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: Coaches, we're the ones who deal with this the most.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: For coaches who want to connect with you,
• 30:05
  SPEAKER_00: because if I didn't already mention it,
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: you have great stuff on social,
• 30:09
  great clips that they would learn a lot from just in the 30
• 30:12
  seconds minute.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: Where would be the best place for them to do that?
• 30:16
  Instagram and X are probably the two platforms that I'm the
• 30:19
  most active on.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_01: But I post all my stuff to
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_01: LinkedIn,
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: YouTube,
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: but I would say Instagram and X are,
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want to say my favorite platforms,
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: but call it for what it is.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: Those are the ones that I'm the most active on.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be sure to put the links down to those as well.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.