I Hate Losing

Would you rather have a team that liked to win, or hated to lose? I think a team that likes to win is alright, but without superior talent and size, they aren't really going anywhere. A team that HATES to lose, they are driven. I want to clarify that I don't mean 'scared' to lose, I mean hates. You can't hate something that scares you.

The varsity basketball team at the Hebrew Academy is currently on a 3 game slide. To be fair, the three teams we played were all solid, though none were truly outstanding. Almost every team we play is physically and athletically superior. If that's all that mattered, we would have a track meet instead of a basketball game.
We have good basketball players that limit themselves mentally and emotionally. They say they're 'ready' for the big game and prepared to do what it takes to win, and then they piss themselves when the game starts. They freak themselves out so much that they're basically worthless on the court.

We played our arch-rival The Jewish Day School last week. Their team was no superior to ours in anyway. Yet, for some reason, in the heads of our players, JDS is on some pedestal. How ridiculous. They get so excited about this one game, but not in a good way. I feel like any team that takes itself seriously, stands up the challenge and goes after it. Instead our guys duck their heads and run. From a coaching standpoint its frustrating to see a superior team give away a game.

Basketball really is a mental game. If you're not mentally strong, you will not be successful. Mental strength is the basis for every aspect from the game. You have to have the discipline to apply yourself to learn the fundamentals, you have to have the mental strength to work through the pain of conditioning. It is necessary when you have to focus on the more suble points of advanced offensive and defensive strategy. Most importantly you have to have the mental strength to ready yourself for competition, to know when and how to apply your strengths and expose the weaknesses of the other team. You have to have the mental ability to refuse to lose. I thought our team had that mental strength. We spent all summer working on it, with a focus on conditioning. We spent the pre-season preparing this team for success. Through our first five games, it was going well. Then boom. One game, and we can't recover.

There are still plenty of games left, and every day is a chance to turn it back around, but for this season to matter, it has to be turned quickly. People need to step up, and play to their abilities, otherwise, we're just another middle of the road team, which might be ok for some, but not for me.