Improve Your Game Overnight
Esper Kallas, Assistant Coaching Director
Several factors affect how good a player you are. Some, like height, are out of your control; others - skill level, athletic abilities, speed, jumping ability, etc. - take months, or years, to develop, There are two things, however, that you can control which will pay an immediate dividend and will make you a much better player and team member overnight. Those two things are attitude and effort.
Regardless of the circumstances, always keep a positive attitude . Avoid any negative body language and facial expressions - especially rolling eyes - at all times. Coaches and teammates will see that every time, and it will always reflect negatively on you. When everyone is running laps during warm-up and players start cutting lines (and they will), YOU be the one who runs all the way around the court. When the coach asks players to shag the balls, YOU be the first and fastest one to do it. Run during all the drills; don't walk. Never, ever give up on a ball, even if you think you don't have a chance of getting to it. Take ownership and responsibility for your mistakes and work to correct them rather than look for excuses. Do not worry about outplaying everyone else; instead, focus on out-hustling everybody and giving your absolute maximum on every play.
Hustle and great attitude are contagious; unfortunately, so is lack of hustle and bad attitude. Most players contribute to a team only with what they bring to that team in individual skills; then, there are the very few who also contribute by making all their teammates better because of the example they set with their attitude and hustle. It is this that is well within your control and will make your value to your team skyrocket overnight.
