THE I HAVE TO SYNDROME

There is an unfortunate common theme in youth basketball these days. I refer to it as the "I Have To Syndrome". It's divisive and tears at the very fabric of a team concept. Not only is it detrimental to a teams performance, it discourages personal skill development, puts an overwhelming amount of stress on the individual, which exudes itself in performance anxiety and poor play. Many coaches can't or don't identify it. If they do, they are at a loss on how to dissolve it.

The "Syndrome" is bred in several ways, a players conception or miss-conception of their role, parents, peers, press telling players what they think the player needs to do. What is the "I Have To Syndrome"? Players no longer play, they aren't taught to think for themselves or feel the game. They don't allow the game to come to them. Instead they enter competition with the mindset of "I Have To" score, "I Have To" shoot, "I Have To" dribble, "I Have To" beat my player off the dribble, "I Have To" get to the basket on the drive. All this "I Have To" creates a tunnel vision and players lose sight of the bigger picture, being competitive.  They start forcing bad shots and bad decisions.  In light of this fixture, I have been telling players, "all you have to do is PLAY!, play hard, hustle, rebound, play defense, move the ball (length of the court, width of the court, in & out), and sprint from one end of the court to the other end of the court (every possession), play together, have fun. Players would score so much more effectively and efficiently if they adhered to a set of principles. Instead players are guided by sources outside the game. The most common of which are the the 3P's (Parents, Peers, Press), as I have heard it coined by ASU Womens' head basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne. Players are told they have to shoot (x) amount shots, or play (x) amount minutes. I've seen too many 2-1, 3-2 fast breaks foiled by a player not passing because they are trying to reach a lofty scoring goal, how selfish and misguided.
 
To a player I would advise, instead of setting a bunch of individual goals, start by setting more team oriented bench marks; TO/Ast ratio, team assists, team scoring, points allowed, rebounds, deflections, consecutive stops. When setting individual bench marks keep in mind just that, they are bench marks, not "I Have To's". Scoring bench marks are not achieved on the floor, they are achieved through hard work and preparation. A player needs to work on their shot in a variety of ways. They need to work on their ball handling, their moves, counters, and finishes. They need to condition their bodies; sport specific speed and agility, strengthening, flexibility, explosiveness, recovery and nutrition.  So that when the opportunities arrive in game situations a player can score effectively, efficiently, at a high percentage rate.
 
Finally a player needs to condition the mind. They need to be able to deal with pressure, understand and read the defender and defense. They need to communicate, learn to work together, understand each other. A player needs to know how to lead and follow.  They need to know the difference between a good shot, bad shot, high percentage shot, low percentage shot, and how to find THEIR shot.

Players quit stressing about the game. Elevate your desire and level of play by being secure in your ability. Work on the intangibles, don't get caught up in the "I HAVE TO SYNDROME". Remember a small amount of leaven leavens the whole loaf. A culture of selfishness is easily created by just one player. It starts with you. Take account for your actions and in-actions. "Play hard, play smart, play together, and have fun." That is the only "Have to's", everything else is icing on the cake and will come as long as you work hard.