What You See Is What You Get

One of the few creative things I ever came up was what we called the acronym WYSIWYG? The day before we had an exam I gave each student a handout. The handout was called WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET! Hence the acronym "WYSIWYG" It was basically an outline to prepare for the exam.

It became a very popular test prep item for most students. For some students, the greatest test anixety is the stress related to what do I need to know? Many students feel over whelmed by the pressure of how to prepare for an exam. The WYSIWYG helped reduce test anixety for many students.

Basketball practice is partly about getting ready for the next game/test. Most coaches have had players who look like stars in practice, but in reality, do not handle game pressure very well. Can you, as their coach, come up with practice plans that will help relieve pressure anxiety? I think, if you are creative, you can help reduce someof the game pressure some of your players will be feeling.

I do believe adding pressure to drills can help. Set goals in shooting drills.. Stop practice and select a player to shoot a free throw while the entire team watches. Make sure you have consequences for a make or a miss. Pay attention to who on your squad wants the ball in their hands for the final possession. Play some games in practice that are "sudden death." 1 score games. If defense gets a stop they win, if the offense scores, they win. Again, consider having some consequences for each side.

How you handle game day circumstances can influence your team's outlook. If you are nervous and overly emotional, your team may well exhibit a tigthness in their play. How you react to the officiating may also influence your team's composure. When you practice game and score situations, you or another coach can make a "bad" call intentionally. Notice how your team reacts. If they over react, it may provide a good teaching moment.

You cannot cover every time and score situation that may happen during a game. But you do want to cover a number of late game situations so your players are not unprepared for some end of game situations.

If your players believe you have prepared them for as many game situations as you can, facing an in game situation should give them more confidence. Just like students who feel they have prepared properly for an exam will usually feel less test anxiety,

so will your players.

"Sometimes, despite your best efforts, they still just stand around and watch!"