SmartBall by CarlosFrade

“I want to win, don’t get me wrong. Don’t get that twisted at all. I want to freaking win, but not at the expense of us skipping steps in the process.” Mike Brown captures a challenge that athletes and coaches face every day: wanting a result so badly that you become impatient with the actions required to achieve it. That impatience can change how you compete. You start forcing opportunities. You abandon your responsibilities. You stop communicating because you’re frustrated. Your attention becomes occupied by how things should be going, and you lose connection with what the game needs from you. In my performance system, I use the term ‘intent’ often. I describe a ‘high intent’ as approaching your performance purposefully, positively, and proactively. That includes having the discipline to keep executing important actions when they haven’t yet produced the outcome you want. For a basketball player, that might mean sprinting back on defence after another missed shot. Moving decisively off the ball when you haven’t received a pass for several possessions. Communicating with teammates when you’re disappointed with your own performance. These actions give your desire to win somewhere useful to go. One technique I use to help players do this is a Match Script (or Game Script): three specific actions that direct their attention and effort during competition. A basketball player might choose: “Scan before receiving. Sprint back on defence. Communicate early.” The player mentally rehearses these actions before competing and uses them as reminders during the game, especially when frustration or pressure pulls their attention towards the score. The script can’t guarantee a win, but it can help a player stay connected to the behaviours that give their team a better chance. Brown’s message also matters for coaches. If we ask players to trust the process, we have to keep recognising and reinforcing its important steps—even when the scoreboard hasn’t rewarded them yet. Want to win, sure - and bring that ambition every day. But keep asking: what does the game need from me now. ************************************** My new book, Compete, teaches ambitious competitors to execute actions with a high intent irrespective of the score