In basketball - as in life - true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way. Of course, it's no accident that things are more likely to go your way when you stop worrying about whether you're going to win or lose and focus your full attention on what's happening right this moment.
- Phil Jackson
It’s understandably difficult to concentrate in this world. We live in a land that is consumed by the internet, iPhones, Twitter, Facebook and news-so-fast, you’ll likely miss it. It’s challenging to stay present in a society that it always changing. Captivating the attention of your athletes before and after the strength & conditioning session can be a powerful tool to enrich the learning process and get them to buy-in to the process of “hard work”.
When you get athletes to focus on embracing the process of ‘hard work’ versus being concerned with conditioning, classes, tests, practices, games, treatments, and study-tables; you’ll focus them in on the positive process that allows for them to be successful for all of these domains.
John Wooden was very much a process-focused coach. He goes as far as saying the following regarding physical conditioning.
When you improve a little each day, eventually big things occur. When you improve conditioning a little each day, eventually you have a big improvement in conditioning. Not tomorrow, not the next day, but eventually a big gain is made. Don’t look for the big, quick improvement. Seek the small improvement one day at a time. That’s the only way it happens – and when it happens, it lasts.
The beauty behind this quote is that Coach focuses on development via a long-term approach versus a short-term quick fix. Small, incremental changes that are consistent and procedural are the changes that develop into habits and that develop into long-term results.
