FIBA ASSIST MAGAZINE | 12 2005 | PAGE 35

COACHES - PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATION

Albert Rodionov has a master's degree inSports Psychology. He has been workingwith the USSR/Russia Men's and Women'sNational basketball teams as a psycholo-gist since 1969 and is now the Chief of theScientific Group. He has published booksand articles on sports psychology and hasdirected seminars on the topic all over theworld. He is currently President of theRussian Association of SportsPsychologists.

The mind is a powerful tool. Have you everthought about shooting the ball and scoringduring a big game and found that you weremoving your feet and hands when you didthis? You may not have known it, but youwere practicing something called visualiza-tion, or mental conditioning.To create anything, players must first havea mental image conceived in their mind-thisis true even of every invention createdthroughout history, and also true for basket-ball players trying to perfect their game.Players must first construct the shot-orother basketball skill-in their minds beforethey can expect the body to perform it pro-perly. However, visualization should notonly be used on the basketball court, but fordaily five to 10-minutes sessions at home.This way, a new program is created withinthe subconscious for the body to follow.The mental conditioning and visualizationfor a game can be divided into two differentparts: the day before the game and themoments right before the game.

THE DAY BEFORE THE GAME

The psychological training needed for theday before the game begins with the use ofmental images. We all have the ability tovisualize game situations in our minds andhow to execute a basketball fundamental.This visualization can consist of many diffe-rent positive images.

IMAGE OF A GREAT PLAYER

It is advisable to imagine in your mind a

great player, somebody who really impres-sed you with a mastery of certain skills. Try"to see in the mind," to use "the mind's eye"to visualize how he plays, how he uses hisparticular skills and fundamentals.

OTHER IMAGE: HIS OWN

The use of visualization can improve youroutlook and self-concept. It can change theway you talk to yourself, see ourselves, andperceive events around yourself. This, inturn, affects your behavior, including howyou take care of yourself. Visualization also improves motor learning.Understanding this, it is necessary to beable to see yourself playing confidently andeffectively, and convincing yourself thatyour opponents are always a step slowerthan you, that they cannot jump as high, orshoot as well.In this first part of the mental conditioningbefore the game, it is better to use theapproach called "self-suggestion." You dothis by repeating the phrase: "I can!" In thisformula of self-suggestion, it is imperativeto avoid the word "not," which has a strongnegative influence on the sub-conscious ofthe athlete.

RIGHT BEFORE THE GAME

Visualization is the ability to create an idea,a mental picture or a feeling, a sense ofsomething. In creative visualization, youuse your imagination to create a clearimage, idea, or feeling of something youwish to manifest. Then you continue tofocus on the idea, feeling, or picture, regu-larly, giving it positive energy until it beco-mes objective reality, until you actuallyachieve what you have been imagining. Touse creative visualization, it is not neces-sary to believe in any metaphysical or spi-ritual ideas, although you must be willingto entertain certain concepts as beingpossible.The mental conditioning right before thegame is based on the assumption that theplayer must be on the top from a psychologi-

by Albert Rodionov

MENTALCONDITIONING before THE GAME

COACHES - PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATION

cal standpoint (naturally, as well as on phy-sical conditioning and basketball technique).He must reach this level also having a fee-ling of certain emotional excitement, withoutwhich it is impossible to play effectively. To reach this aim, it is necessary that theplayer practices what is called "mentalrehearsal." This method consists of thinkingabout basic player movements on thecourt. If the player mentally rehearses theact of a inside pass to the big man or oftaking a long-distance shot with a fewseconds left on the clock, when it actuallycomes to making those movements on thecourt, he will act and move just as he hadimagined in his mind right before the begin-ning of the game. It is thought that imagi-ning a particular basketball movement, orany physical movement for that matter,subtly activates the muscles a person usesfor it, giving them practice. Real practice helps more than mentalrehearsal, and the real workout has tocome first, but mental rehearsal certainlyhas a role in game preparation. The mentalrehearsal allows the player to think thingsover quietly before the start of a game, andit almost guarantees that in the difficultgame situations, the player will know whathas to be done. It will not be necessary forhim to think how to play better and avoidmistakes, he will just do what is necessary.The previously mentally rehearsed move-ments and game situations will help theplayer successfully carry out the movesduring the game. Time will not be wastedthinking during the game about whatshould or shouldn't be done, because theathlete has already rehearsed his move-ments and knows what has to be done. Thisform of mental training will also help relievefeelings of uncertainty and pressure fromthe athlete before the game. In order to practice mental rehearsal, justbefore the game the player must create theproper, quiet feeling of confidence, while atthe same time maintaining a proper degreeof toughness, ready to face the game. Thisfeeling of confidence basically moves fromthe sphere of consciousness to the sphereof unconsciousness. It is enough to think: "Ishall do it" and the message will be sentfrom the subconscious to the body. All mental conditioning is aimed at prepa-ring the player to give his/her maximumeffort in the game. Such conditioning is cal-led IPS, or "Ideal Psychic State". This statemust be created some hours before thebeginning of the game (for the youngplayers, much earlier, while later for theveterans), with a state of excitement, fol-lowed later by a quieter state.In the first part of the physical warm-up toreach this mental state it is necessary tomake wide and quiet movements. In the

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second part, intensive drills like jumping orany other intensive physical activity is requi-red. The movements with wide amplituderemove stress and help players to relax.When the player enters the court, it isnecessary to warm-up gradually. Usingbreathing exercises, a player can "warm-up"mentally, with the help of a differentbreathing pace: a deep, slow breath, forexample, followed by a short exhalation,then a deep, fast breath, followed by a slowexhalationThe exercises on alternation of a tensingand relaxing of the muscles are useful. Suchmethods are especially effective, if therespiratory and physical exercises are alter-nate with imagined mental pictures: forexample, the player, while making vigorousrespiratory exercises, can imagine him/her-self while grabbing a rebound under theopponent's board or a lay-up, after beatingthe defense. The basic methods of mental conditioningare essentially two: 1) adaptation; 2) rationa-lization. Adaptation means that the playershould be ready to face any extreme situationin an upcoming game, thanks to the optimum

level of mental conditioning he has reached. If, however, it is impossible for the player toreach any internal or external reason, theplayer can obtain the best results by explai-ning quietly to himself the reasons why he isin an adverse condition, and then start tofind the best way to escape from this condi-tion with the less amount of damage. Before entering the court, it is advisable forthe athlete to have a word or a brief phrasein mind, which is a strong "key" to triggersuccessful moves on the court. It is useful totell himself in the first minutes of game, "Icontrol the situation." This phrase helps tocreate a feeling of confidence and strength.Key words can constantly be used duringgame, such as the phrase: "Concentration isbasic." Before the release of the basketballfor a shot, the player can think: "Two points!"or something like that, again reaffirming hisconfidence.It is important to remember that the maintask of the mental conditioning is to overco-me a variety of negative factors at thebeginning of game, as well as to overcomethe difficulties encountered during thegame.