The basketball court is the athlete’s theatrical stage
Sport24.gr followed a basketball team for a week, searching deep in order to discover how the team prepares for a game.The physical training, the scouting of the opponent, the tactics and anything you need to know that happens in the background.
A basketball game is like a play. Training to improve your weaknesses is daily, the same with analyzing your flaws, at the same time that performing on stage (i.e. the court) is what everybody works for the whole week. Things in many cases are more complicated than you might think, since preparation isn’t only technical. It is about training physically in the right way, it is about nutrition and guidance from their coaches in order to be ready to face any challenge that comes up.
For the latter, we also have to consider factors that have nothing to do with your preparation (like the beahvior of the crowd or the referrees). Not due to prejudicion. Just because the athlete has to be absolutely ready for anything that might mess up with his mentality during the game. What does that mean? That he might even have to deal with some injustice from the referees, a harsh hit by an opponent or even the mental games of the crowd towards him.
It is rather known that a basketball court is not quite exactly a church on Sunday morning in most cases and every athlete has to endure all bad behavior and keep trying until he fulfills his mission, being totally focused on his effort to do that.
If we could split a team’s preparation in three stages, these would be: training and physical health, tactics and scouting, mental preparation. Think of it as a start-up of Eurobank’s Entrepreneurial Program EGG in collaboration with Corallia, a start-up that is born in the beginning of the week, builds up during the week and is being presented as complete at the finale, the game.
Training and physical condition
The way and the persistance in which the athletes train differs from team to team. There are coaches that want to emphasize on physical training, dedicating most of the time spent in practice at these activities, especially in the beginning of the week. Generally, after the usual day off following a game, there is a training with gradually increasing intensity, where the gymnast has to be present so as to really put some work into stamina and physical condition. This sometimes occurs for a second day, giving the same emphasis however in a less intense way.
Following that, it is the gymnast who decides what kind of training each athlete will follow in order to exercise a particular part of his body. He might want the athlete to work on his upper body, his leg strenght or even his athleticism.
Tactics and scouting
Following a full analysis of the opponent, the coach decides on the tactical approach. He focuses on the parts he thinks they should work more. If, for example, the opponent is strong on guards, he emphasizes on how to face their game, as well as trying to lead them into taking wrong action (taking a quick shot, keeping a slow pace, keeeping them far away from the basket). Likewise, if the opponent is strong in 5, tactics must focus on their features and how to stop them.
Mental preparation
Taking into account that each athlete is already in a state of pressure and anxiety, he might not be able to keep his temper, therefore coaches usually try to warn them well before they face any difficulty during the game. They know in advance whether the opposing crowd will pose a threat, if the refferees are very strict, or if within the opponent’s team there is a specific player that is usually provocative.
Mental preparation is therefore even more important than most people think. How can a player put in play what he has been trained for by his coaches, if he doesn’t remain calm during the game? If the athlete is not able to read the game, just because he might be nervous or angry, the whole team’s strategy might go to hell.
Game day
Photo Credits: Action Images
* We gracefully thank the basketball team of Psychiko for their overall assistance in making this story possible.