What Champions Are Made Of

The end of January to early February is probably the most challenging time period for athletes and their motivation. Let me just explain the 6 months of the basketball season.

October-Practice begins. It's exciting, new, fresh, and roles are still yet to be established.

Novemeber-Games begin. Enough said. Practice is put into action!

December-Everyone wants to finish strong before hitting conference. Preseason is now over.

Early January-Conference begins. It's a new season and every game matters for placing in your conference.

Mid January-Early February: You have played everyone in the conference once. You are now hitting the second scouting report, second time preparing for the same teams, have been practicing for four months, and are probably going through the same drills you have been running for four months. The Champion is at a heightened level of focus in this month over the details to give them an edge.

March-There is a reason it's called March Madness. It's tournament time and everyone is excited and wanting to work at tournament time. The question is whether or not it's too late.

Back to Mid January-Early February: It can be the most critical time in whether or not your team is for real, or whether or not their goals are just written on a piece of paper.

Questions to ask yourself if you are a true champion?
1) What are your individual goals today? True champions have them.

2) What sacrifices are you willing to make this week? Champions have the discipline to make sacrifices for long durations.

3) What are you doing this week that is above and beyond what's being asked of you? Champions don't have excuses as to why they don't have time. They find time by cutting something else out.

4) On a scale of 1-10 how hard did you practice today? Champions don't get bored with the process or the drill they've done a thousand times. They value repition and routine as a way to perfect their game.

5) Are you satisfied with your role and what are you doing to improve it? Some athletes give up when they see their role as one not being as big as they would hope for. No one should be satisfied with their role as there is always room for improvement.

The last question is what champion teams are made of and the answer is simple. It's a team full of individual champions pursuing the same goal. You know the one that every team in your conference has also written down as theirs.

Coach Bin