Coaching Mental Skills in Basketball: Developing Resiliency

As a coach, how can you develop skills such as resiliency within your players when the game or practice is not going their way? In this blog, we unpack some practical advice that you can use through the lens of a constraints-led approach. 

 

1. Be concise and set specific parameters

For example in a timeout, you could challenge your team, “can we communicate our coverages above the crowd for the next 3 possessions?” Then in the next timeout or end of quarter, we’ll review how we did. The majority of feedback that coaches give to their players within the game is mostly generic. By being more specific, it gives your players tangible action steps for focussing on the issues at-hand.

 

2. Embrace the challenge: reframe “losses” as learning opportunities

Every loss is a valuable learning opportunity, especially if this is debriefed with your players. Rather than emotional post-game talks, the next practice provides a valuable opportunity for debriefing. As the coach, you can ask specific questions to educate their intention, such as:

1. Identify three specific principles of play we executed effectively in the last game
2. Identify one or two principles of play that we need to improve. Explain the specifics of why and how we can be better in these areas.

These questions can be discussed with players in pairs or small groups. Then the whole group listens to answers from whatever group the coach cold-calls upon.  

 

3. Becoming a “Palms Down” Player

This is a cue word Alex Sarama and Jon Giesbrecht (@playfreeball) used with their players at College Prep Italy. When officiating practice activities and scrimmages, you may simulate refs making poor calls by intentionally ignoring certain calls. This then provides a great opportunity for your players to practice a “palms down” response as opposed to becoming emotional and arguing the call.

Want to keep learning with Transforming Basketball? Access our FREE skill acquisition workshop (value $147) to learn more about small-sided games and using an evidence-based approach in your practices: https://transformingbball.com/online-skill-acquisition-workshop. 

✅ Pre-plan your feedback to give clearer, more actionable information to your players
✅ Learn to use scoring systems and creative constraints to shape behaviors and raise the intensity
✅ Save time with smarter, more efficient practice planning using our proven methods
✅ Get plug-and-play small-sided games to use at your very next practice

It’s not just what you coach—it’s how you coach it. Sign up for the Free Skill Acquisition Workshop here.