Game Preparation

Dictionary.com provided this definition of the word “prepare”:

[pri-pair] – Verb  

To put in proper condition or readiness.

How do you prepare for games? 

1)    Do you get 7-8 hours of sound sleep the night before a game?

2)    Do you review your playbook or read your opponent’s scouting report before you go to sleep?

3)    Do you eat a healthy, energy packed breakfast the morning of your game?

4)    Do you pack your uniform, shoes, etc. in advance to avoid scrambling at the last minute?

5)    Do you “dress for success” on game day to put yourself in a confident state of mind?

6)    Do you eat small snacks and drink plenty of water throughout the day?

7)    Do you eat an appropriate pre-game meal 3-4 hours before tip-off?

8)    Do you meet with your Athletic Trainer if you have any issues or nagging injuries?

9)    Do you arrive early to avoid the risk of getting stressed over traffic, bad weather, or a flat tire?

10) Do you visualize playing well before the game begins?

11) Do you know what gets you ready to play (listen to music, find a quiet spot, etc.)?

12) Do you know what gets your teammates ready to play (and allow them to do it)?

13) Do you go through a sufficient pre-game warm-up before you take the court?

14) Do you stay focused during your warm-up once you have taken the court?

15) Do you listen with your eyes and ears when your coach is giving the pre-game speech?

Ultimately, all of these questions lead to this:

Do you wait for the game to start or do you prepare for the game to start?

Here is a visualization technique to help you prepare:

Sit with your eyes closed, in complete silence, for 2-3 minutes and visualize a specific time in your life when you played the best basketball you have ever played.  A time you vividly remember when you were in the zone – when every shot you took went in and every pass you made was on the money.  Engage every sense.  What did the gym look like? Sound like? Smell like? How did you feel?  This technique will put you in a confident frame of mind when you take the court.  You can do this by yourself, or better yet, do this with your team.

Mt goal is simple:  To prepare by doing everything possible to give my players the best chance to be successful and win.  I take into account every aspect of preparation and don’t believe any detail is too small.

Our pre-game routine is standard. Consistency is a building block to success. Our players head to the locker room to get dressed at halftime of the game before ours. We begin our 10 minute warm-up 40 minutes before tip-off.  That leaves 10 minutes to review our match ups, the “keys to winning the game,” . We do our on-court pre-game warm-up for the remaining 20 minutes before tip-off.

Then we put in work.

Duke Gets Top Ranked High School Player

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=5636226

Basketball Warm-up

2011 NCAA Basketball Rankings

2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings - Week 1 (Nov. 15)

Year:

2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 2002-03

Week: Preseason | 1
Poll:

AllESPN/USA TodayAssociated PressESPN.com Power RankingsInsideRPI Rankings

• Add Widget

AP Top 25
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Duke (58)	1-0	1,617
2	Michigan State (7)	1-0	1,558
3	Kansas State	1-0	1,422
4	Ohio State	1-0	1,379
5	Pittsburgh	3-0	1,325
6	Villanova	1-0	1,197
7	Kansas	1-0	1,178
8	North Carolina	1-0	1,021
9	Florida	1-0	1,017
10	Syracuse	2-0	967
11	Gonzaga	2-0	911
12	Kentucky	1-0	887
13	Illinois	3-0	834
14	Purdue	1-0	772
15	Missouri	0-0	685
16	Butler	1-0	626
17	Baylor	1-0	587
17	Washington	1-0	587
19	Memphis	1-0	540
20	Georgetown	1-0	333
21	Temple	2-0	289
22	Virginia Tech	1-0	271
23	Brigham Young	1-0	228
24	Tennessee	1-0	194
25	San Diego State	1-0	162

• Others receiving votes: Texas 130, Wisconsin 113, West Virginia 43, Georgia 42, Minnesota 41, Florida State 37, UNLV 21, Wichita State 20, Richmond 18, Vanderbilt 16, North Carolina State 9, Connecticut 8, Colorado 7, Arizona 6, Mississippi State 6, Murray State 6, UCLA 4, Xavier 4, Utah State 3, Ohio 3, Maryland 3, Portland 1, New Mexico 1, Appalachian State 1

• Dropped from rankings: West Virginia 6, New Mexico 8, Wisconsin 16, Vanderbilt 21, Richmond 24, Xavier 25

• Complete Rankings »

ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
RK	TEAM	RECORD	PTS
1	Duke (29)	1-0	773
2	Michigan State (2)	1-0	743
3	Kansas State	1-0	676
4	Pittsburgh	3-0	656
5	Ohio State	1-0	648
6	Kansas	1-0	568
7	Villanova	1-0	557
8	North Carolina	1-0	476
9	Purdue	1-0	475
10	Florida	1-0	456
11	Syracuse	2-0	441
12	Gonzaga	2-0	434
13	Kentucky	1-0	433
14	Missouri	0-0	362
15	Washington	1-0	348
16	Illinois	3-0	335
17	Baylor	1-0	308
18	Butler	1-0	267
19	Memphis	1-0	209
20	Temple	2-0	136
21	Georgetown	1-0	128
22	Texas	2-0	110
23	Tennessee	1-0	92
24	Virginia Tech	1-0	82
25	Wisconsin	1-0	78

• Others receiving votes: San Diego State 72, Brigham Young 62, Minnesota 30, Florida State 17, UCLA 15, UNLV 14, West Virginia 14, Wichita State 9, Xavier 8, Vanderbilt 8, Mississippi State 8, Texas A&M 7, Richmond 6, New Mexico 4, Utah State 4, Georgia 4, Marquette 2, Saint Mary's 2, North Carolina State 1, Northwestern 1, Maryland 1, Murray State 1, Dayton 1, Arizona 1

• Dropped from rankings: West Virginia 3, Xavier 14, New Mexico 16, Maryland 18, Saint Mary's 19, Brigham Young 22, Texas A&M 25

• Complete Rankings »

Find Your Zone

Dr. Rob Bell
Ball State University

There are instances within all of sports where everything is perfect. These are times when there are no thoughts, movements are effortless, and time is transcended. Csíkszentmihályi (1990) characterized this state as “flow,” although it has become popularized by the more common name of being “in the zone.” It is essentially losing oneself in the moment of our activity.
Throughout the history of sports, there have been numerous examples of athletes being in the zone. A perfect illustration of this state was Michael Jordan during the 1992 NBA championship series against the Portland Trailblazers, hitting seven 3-pointers in a row and scoring 35 points in the first half. Jordan was so shocked by his performance that after his seventh 3-pointer, he just threw up his hands as to say “I can’t explain it.”
David Toms also epitomized the “zone” or “flow” during the 2005 Accenture match play. During the week, he hit 74% of greens in regulation, made 37 birdies, two eagles, and only four bogeys throughout six matches and 118 holes of play. During the final 36-hole match against Chris Dimarco, Dimarco played the match 3-under par despite losing the match being 6 holes down with 5 to play. In fact, Toms at one point held a 9-up lead with 10 holes to play. Toms play epitomized losing oneself in the moment; “I can’t explain why I felt like I did all week,” Toms said “I just felt very, very comfortable with myself and the golf that was in front of me. I don’t know that I’ve ever really felt like that in an event.” (LA Times, Feb 28, 2005)
The beauty of this flow state is that it is not limited to athletic endeavors; painters, musicians, writers, surgeons, and chess masters have described similar feelings. We can even encounter “flow” during everyday life. Whether we are totally immersed in conversation, shaving, or daily chores, a lot of activities present the opportunity to experience “flow.” The key ingredients that provide the best opportunity to experience our zone are to structure our activities accordingly.
To work toward flow state, we must merge our actions and awareness. The universal experience for the zone is that our performance becomes automatic. Everything is so effortless that we do not even recognize our total concentration on the task at hand. However, since lapses in concentration can hinder these states, we must learn to eliminate outside distractions, self-critiquing, and/or thinking about the outcome. Here are a few ideas to help:

• Eliminate outside distractions such as cell phones or iPods. It is easier to focus on the task at hand without these devices.
• Have clear goals that balance our skill level with the challenge. If we set too high a challenge, then we will become anxious, and if we set too low a challenge then boredom will result and we won’t improve.
• Approach every practice as an opportunity to improve. Avoid self-critiquing yourself with language like” I messed up again”, or “I can’t get this right.” Instead, view every moment as a challenge to improve.

4 Ways to Improve Your Mental Game

                

Want to shoot better? Then you might be surprised at how much of your game is mental.
For instance, if you imagine yourself missing shot after shot, how do you feel? Pretty lousy. And, chances are very high that you're going to do exactly what you imagined: you're going to miss shot after shot.
Then, your performance spirals downward because the more shots you miss, the worse you shoot.
So, let's look at how to improve your mental game with these basketball shooting tips that will help you shoot better.

Stop Thinking

Practice is the time to think about the mechanics of your shooting, not during a game.
When it comes to your games, don't think about your shot, and don't pick apart the mechanics of what you're doing. This will only trip you up.
Just shoot.

Stop Being Afraid of Failing

Did you know that even the pros miss their shots more than half the time?
Yep. More than half.
Stop being terrified of missing your shots. Everyone misses.
Fear causes anxiety. Anxiety causes you to tense up. And then you're going to miss even more shots.
So, relax. Realize that if your shooting game isn't on, you can still contribute to the team in other ways like basketball defense. It all comes out in the wash.

Focus On Your Zone

You've probably been in The Zone before, right? You know, when your shots seemed effortless, and playing was just plain fun.
When you're in The Zone you feel like you're flying. So, make an effort to get in The Zone for games. Focus on clearing your mind of clutter. Make a list of everything you need to do (school work, things at work, etc.) so you don't have to think about remembering it all during the game.
This will keep your mind focused on playing, and nothing else.

Relax

When your mind is relaxed, your body is relaxed, and when your body is relaxed, your shots are looser and more accurate.
So, make a real effort to relax before games.
How? Well, you can try meditation. Don't laugh; even Kobe Bryant meditates before his games.
To meditate, sit in a comfortable position in a quiet place. Close your eyes, relax your mind, and just focus on breathing in and out. That's it.
Do this for up to 20 minutes. Normally 10 minutes will be fine, but if you're getting really relaxed then keep at it!
Meditation can work wonders for your mindset before a game, so don't be afraid to try this technique.

The Ultimate Guide to Playing Point Guard

iHoops.com

Point guards are the heart of a basketball team. The engine. The quarterback.
A basketball team can't play in sync without a strong point guard leading the way. Point guards need to be able to dribble, pass, play defense and shoot the basketball. But they also have to make quick decisions, read and react, be a leader and be responsible.
If you're a point guard--or want to be a point guard--let this guide help you improve your game. From ball handling to leadership to passing to strength and conditioning, this is the ultimate guide for playing point guard to the best of your ability--and helping take your team to the top.

Ball Handling

The ball is always in the point guard's hand, so strong ball handling skills is a must. Visit iHoops' ball handling section to learn more, or improve your ability by following these tips:
5 Crossover Dribbling Techniques: Here are different crossovers that point guards use to maintain possession.
Perfect the Fake Crossover Dribble: Learn how to juke your defender with the fake crossover, and watch a video demonstration.

Shooting

Setting your team up for the best shot sometimes means taking it yourself. Here are keys to getting off a clean shot--and swishing it.
Shooting off the Dribble: Picking up your dribble and nailing a jumper isn't easy, but this animation will help you improve.
The Shot Fake for Perimeter Players: A fundamentally sound pump fake is perfect for getting seperation from a defender for a shot. Here are keys to the perfect shot fake.

Passing

Passing is an aspect of basketball that must be a strength for any point guard. Here are some tips to making sure your passes set your teammates up perfectly without any turnovers.
Passing Fundamentals With Steve Nash: Watch as one of the NBA's all-time great point guards demonstrate the basics of passing.
Point Guard's Guide to Feeding the Post: Learn the proper fundamentals of working the ball inside to your forwards.

Perimeter Defense

The work doesn't stop when your team loses possession. Here are tips for playing strong perimeter defense and helping your team make a big stop.
6 Perimeter Defense Tips: Defense is largely effort, but are some fundamentals to keep in mind to help your D.
2-on-1 Fast Break Defense Tips for Point Guards: Point guards often find themselves on the wrong end of a 2-on-1 fastbreak. Here's what Duke University's coaching staff recommends for those situations.

Leadership

Point guards are expected to be the captain of the floor. Pick up the necessary qualities of a great leader by following this advice:
5 Steps to Being a Great Leader: "Great leaders make the impossible seem possible." Learn how to be the one who inspires your teammates.
5 Ways to Separate Yourself From the Pack: Do the little things to make yourself the best player on the floor, and become the classic leader by example.

Strength and Conditioning

Being a great point guard is more than an on-court job. Get your body ready to lead your team with these guard-specific strength and conditioning tips.
The Definitive 6-Week Guard Workout: This training plan will get any guard faster, stronger and quicker for next season.
3 Drills for an Explosive First Step: The first step is crucial for a ball handler. Here are workouts that will make you quicker than your opponent.
How Chris Paul Stays on Top of His Game: See how the NBA's best point guard stays on top with a look at his offseason workouts.

Red Jackets Intensity Improving With Win over Selects

Red Jackets U17 Boys successful in match versus Selects!

Congratulations to the U17 team for their win last night.  The Selects immediately set a fast tempo to the game which the Red Jackets responded favourably to.  Although the Selects were within four points at the end of the quarter, the 2nd quarter proved to be a challenge to the opponents as the Red Jackets offense widened the score gap while our defense kept their score to a minimum. 

While our defence is improving, our 2nd half was not as intense as our first half.  This is something we are constantly working on for improvement and are very pleased with the progress we are making. 

With 5 - 3's scored, the Red Jackets never gave up the lead winning the match 72-61.

Player of the game is Jordan for his solid defence and for implementing all that was asked of him by the coaches.

 

Red Jacket U17 Boys Play Hard vs. Talented CYDC

Playing against a very talented CYDC, Red Jacket U17 Boys played with intensity and drive even though losing the contest 75-49. The team in the 1st half seemed to be bothered by CYDC pressure defense that led to many steals for the opponents which helped them score 49 1st half points. Red Jackets becoming more focused along with a more aggressive style of play competed better in the 2nd half as the score was only 26-15 in favor of CYDC. A marked improvement on defense in particular for the Red Jacket Boy's. Player of the game went to Jamal with his drives to the hoops along with collecting numerous steals off the Freak Defense that the team runs. As in past seasons Red Jacket Teams get better as the season moves along and they look forward to practice tonight in preparation for their next fall league game encounter.

Red Jacket U17 Premier Boys Compete In Exhibition Action

The U17 Red Jackets Boys were successful in their exhibition game versus the Selects on Sunday afternoon.  Once the first quarter, new season jitters dissipated, the team settled down and began to pull away from the quick Selects team.  At half time Coach Randy reminded the players that defence would be their key to a win.  With discipline, the Red Jackets executed a defence that proved to be a challenge for the opposing team in the fourth quarter.  The scoreboard reflected a final score of 83 - 59 in favour of the Red Jackets.  There were 3's scored, great drives to the net, solid rebounding and assertive defence.  The team will need some work on their foul shots but it was a great team effort by all.  Overall, Coach Randy and Coach Barb are extremely pleased with the team's performance in their first match. Congratulations to Player of the Game Kyle for implementing what was asked of him by the coaches.

Look for more blog following our 1st league game vs. CYDC on Sunday.

Congratulations Team!

Red Jacket U17 Boys Prepare for Fall League Schedule

Red Jackets Basketball Organization is pleased to announce it's selections for the U17 Boys Fall Session.

Welcoming back Returning Players:

Jordan Babcock

Alex Rousseau

Lukas Wilgosh

Ahmed Al Saidi

Tobi Odufesco

Liam Maric

Djamal Sufi

Ali Churanek

Nathan Wallace

David Uponi

Red Jackets is pleased to announce and welcome the following new players to our Club:

Joel Fuller

Kyle Huffman

Martin Sawy

Coach Randy and Coach Barb are extremely excited with the group chosen to represent Red Jackets in the fall program.  With our new additions and may returnees, Red Jackets is sure to see a great season from this talented group of players.  We are dedicated to achieving our goals in preparing these young athletes to achieve their goals in preparation to compete for their high school teams.  We continue to strive as an organization to provide a positive, competitive environment for our athletes

Red Jacket Club Basketball Enters 4th Season

President and Head Basketball Coach Randy Peron is very excited to see his club organization enter it's 4th year of operation. " It has alwas been a goal of mine to create a club system in Calgary and surrounding areas to help develop young student athletes basketball skills so that each and everyone of them can be better prepared to contribute for their upcoming high school season or college. Teaching players European fundamental skills so they are more adapt to the FIBA Game has been a success in everyway. I have had numerous high school players continue to play the game in either University or College. From a variety of tournaments in the city, out of province and into the states many players have enjoyed the experience of playing for Red Jacket Basketball. Starting with 1 U17 Boys Team, Red Jacket Basketball now has over 50 players who play in U15 Boys-U17 Girl's-U17 Boy's and Open Division Men's Team's. I will continue to hire top level college players to coach the variety of team's in the future along with other seasoned personal. Our goal is not to favor a few with playing minutes but to allow all players from all team's to be able to contribute to this Team Sport." Check out more blogs in the future from Red Jacket Club Basketball.
Randy Peron
President-Head Basketball Coach
http://www.redjacketbasketball.org/