How Mental Attitudes Shape Performance

Basketball psychology is in essence the study of how mental attitudes shape performance on the court. Basketball psychology studies have shown that although physical conditioning and teamwork are crucial to success in basketball, mental toughness is every bit as valuable as physical prowess.

When the buzzer rings and the game is on, it’s the mental game of basketball’s particular hybrid of battle strategy and mental endurance that makes or breaks player’s performance. To say that sports psychology for basketball is of great importance would be putting it mildly.

To properly analyze a player’s performance, basketball psychology has two crucial parts to take into consideration. First is one’s focus and concentration under duress in a game of basketball throughout a fierce competition over the course of the quarters. If a player can’t handle the mental strain, the performance will degrade over the course of the game.

Secondly, is the mental game. Being mentally tough is important. Mental toughness is having the psychological edge that allows you to reach peak performance and efficiency during the demands that are placed on you during training, practice, or competition. When the demands are greatest or the conditions become adverse being mental tough is what separate the good players from the great players.
Basketball Psychology is the study of these two primary facets and application of them on the court.

Taking both these factors into account proves one vital point. Players’ mental attitudes shape performance far too much to ignore. A player who goes into the game with anything less than complete commitment is a player who will not perform his best and who has already lost the mental game of basketball. Basketball demands a dedicated desire to carry the player through the highs and lows of game.

Specific emotions in a player are less important than their mental attitude in general. With the right attitude, a player can take anger, frustration or sorrow and channel it into their positive competitive focus in basketball. Mental toughness is all about dedicating yourself to the task at hand and focusing your mind on just relevant cues.

Sports psychology for basketball demonstrates the power of the human mind in regards to athletic performance. Much like the soldier on the battle field, a player on the court must discipline their mind and harness it to make the most of their capabilities. The mental game when you boil down to it, is a battle of wills. Which player has the mental fortitude to triumph; to maintain their focus and concentration throughout the long quarters, to battle through all opposition, and to force their bodies to their limits?

In the world of basketball, one of the more physically demanding sports, the demand placed on the mind is just as great. Basketball psychology clearly proves that the greater athlete is not defined by physical conditioning and teamwork alone, but by his ability to play the mental game of basketball, and to be mentally tough enough to endure the rigors of the game at his highest level.

A player’s mental attitude shapes his performance every bit as much as his physical condition and both should be kept in peak condition to reach peak performance.

Article by Ms. Delice Coffey, MA, LPA, MGCP a Psychologist who specializes in sports and clinical psychology, mental game coaching, and mental health services within the athletic arena.

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Improving your Mental Game in Basketball.