Midwest

     Basketball

This is a question I've been asked over and over again...

"How can I become a great player?"

And as you might expect, there's no simple answer to that question. But I can tell you one of the most important parts of becoming a great player is consistency.

Great players are consistent in their ability to play at a high level. They do certain things well (usually a lot of things), and do them well on a consistent basis.

Guys like Jordan, Kobe, LeBron...all the great players bring their A-game night-in and night-out. You know they're going to play well just about every time they take the floor. Of course, no one is perfect, and everyone has off nights. But the really great players play at their best on a consistent basis.

Consistency can help your game in a number of ways, such as:

• Getting you more playing time: coaches like knowing what they're going to get out of players, and so someone that does things consistently well is more likely to get more playing time since the coach can depend on them.
• Getting you the ball more: players are more likely trust you and pass you the ball if they know you'll do something good with it.
• Getting you noticed by coaches and scouts: if you are a solid, consistent player, coaches and scouts will notice and be more likely to take an interest in you, and be more likely to want you on their team.

So the next logical question is: how can a player become more consistent? Again, no easy answer, but here are some proven ways that will help:

• Practice, practice, practice: the better your skill-level, the better you'll be able to play at a higher level, and do it consistently.
• Work on the mental part of your game: the more confidence you have in your abilities, the easier it will be for you to play at a high level, and do it night-in and \ night-out.
• Learn how to focus before games, and re-focus during games: being able to focus on the task at hand is a key element of playing well. Not only do you need to be able to block out distractions before games, but you should develop the ability to re-focus yourself during games (at half time, during time outs, etc.). The better able you are to focus, the better able you'll be to play at the top of your game.

Consistency isn't something that comes overnight. It's something you build over time as your skill-level increases, as you become more confident in your game, and as you develop your ability to focus and maintain focus over long periods of time.

But I can tell this: if you can develop consistency in your game, you'll be well on your way to becoming a much, much better player.