Winter is maintenance season! What does that mean? If means you should maintain all the skills you have worked on over the past 7 months and on top of that, come up with ways you can improve as a player off the court. Basketball is a long season, so don’t assume the whole season is going to go the way the first practices or games go. There are always ways to improve as a player during the season.
First, study film of yourself playing. Watching game film allows you to see what you need to get better at. It’s one thing if a coach sees something you need to improve on and tells you, it’s another thing when you actually see yourself doing it on film. Most of the time what you see on film will align with what the coach is telling you that you need to improve upon. This gives you another perspective on how you can improve in that area and act.
Second, study your playbook. If you don’t have a playbook, create one. Get a notebook, draw a diagram of a court, and draw up the plays and sets that your team runs. The universal symbols are as follows: X is for defense and O is for offense. Check out the pic below for additional symbol ideas.
What separates the average from the exceptional players is the ability to prepare and study. In fact, if you are taking the time to read this article, I bet you have at least a 3.5 GPA. Therefore, I know that in school you are preparing for the quizzes and tests you take in your classes. So, if you are passionate about being an exceptional basketball player, why would you prepare any less when you want to perform highly in a game?
Third, keep a journal. I would recommend writing what your coach tells you your areas of improvement are, post-game analysis, personal season goals, etc. This way you have all the important information in one place to refer to when you need it the most. Don’t rely on your memory as you will most likely forget at least half of the information and probably won’t be able to recall it in the moment you need it.
These are only a couple of examples; I’m sure you can think of many more. Now get off the court and get into study mode! Maintain your game and prepare yourself for an exceptional season.