The Shooter’s Mentality
Confidence is a a must if you or your athletes want to perform at their peak. However, confidence can be very fragile for some athletes…
Too often, after athletes miss a shot, drop a ball, mess up a tumbling pass or make some other mistake, they judge their performance and dwell on the mistake over and over in their mind.
Judging your performance and holding onto mistakes can hurt confidence, sometimes to the point where you play ti safe and avoid making another shot or attempt.
If you want to be a consistent performer, you need to solve the confidence riddle:
How can I stay confident after misses or mistakes?
Notre Dame sophomore, Arike Ogunbowale, is a very confident basketball player and her confidence seems unshakeable no matter what happens in the course of a game.
In a sweet 16 matchup against Ohio State in the 2017 NCAA Women’s Tournament, Ogunbowale missed her first four shots.
Unfazed, Ogunbowale kept shooting and made 11 out of her next 18 shots and totaled 32 points for the game.
In a post-game interview, Ogunbowale revealed her secret to maintaining high confidence, even if she is slightly off her game.
Ogunbowale: “I don’t really care about shots I miss. I just know I got to keep shooting it. They’re going to fall eventually. And that’s what I kept doing.”
What are Ogunbowale’s mental keys to staying confident?
- “I don’t really care about shots I miss.” – A missed shot is in the past and there is nothing you can do to undo the past. Focusing on the past is a huge waste of time and energy. When dwell on mistakes, it etches that failure deeper in your mind. For these reasons, it is important to let go of misses and move forward to your next opportunity.
- “I just know I got to keep shooting.” – When you focus on the present or next opportunity, you can forget the past. Keep going for it. As Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Success requires action.
- “They’re going to fall eventually.” – You must trust in your ability and in your training. You have prepared yourself through practice, repetition and training. You are just as prepared to succeed even if you missed a few attempts.
These keys to confidence can be applied by any athlete in any sport.
For example, a confident gymnast who steps out of bounds on the floor routine, must quickly focus on the next tumbling pass…
A confident tennis player, who double faulted twice in a row, continues going for her first serve because she knows she will hit her soon.
A confident baseball player will continue to swing the bat aggressively, despite two early game strikeouts, because he knows things can change with one swing.
Confidence is a game-changer so make sure you bring it every competition!
The Shooter’s Mindset After Missing:
Make your own version of Ogunbowale’s self-talk that you can quickly recite to yourself in competition… For example, “It’s only a miss, keep shooting.”
Remind yourself that the more you miss, the greater the chance of making the next one!
Avoid analyzing or judging the miss as this leads to a lack of trust in your shot or overthinking. Instead, focus on the next play or chance.
Related Sports Psychology Articles
- How to Benefit From Mistakes in Competition
- How to Refocus After Making Mistakes
- How Preparation Boosts Confidence
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