my overall game

Question
Hi coach.  I am always trying to get better at basketball but it seems what ever I do there is always someone to come up and stop me.  I work on my skills but it seems that I gain nothing from practice because I can't implement it in the game.  When I don't practice it seems like I do better, even though I know that's not true, it just seems like it.  Recently I have been fasting and so I really cut down on practice.  I'm really out of shape now and I'm trying to get back in shape but sometimes it seems pointless since the season starts in a month and there will always be someone faster.  Its hard for me.  I crumble under pressure.  I sat the bench all my basketball playing years getting little to no time.  I want to be the standout player but it seems like I cant do it.  Even though I tell myself I can, I still make bad decisions in games and turn the ball over.  I don't know why because I know I am a good player but when it comes to my high school games I cant execute.  Also this is my sophomore year in high school and the coaches finally see some talent.  However they know they cant rely on me to lead the team to victory because of my inexperience.  I had to step up this year for my summer league team and start to actually play.  I did not do good.  However there was some improvement.  I started scoring 2 a game then my last game was 8 but i couldn't lead the team to a victory.  We always came so close but couldn't finish.  I've tried stuff like telling myself I am good, visualizing before games but it just seems silly to me and doesn't work.  I got some skills and I have a pretty good understanding of the game and what to do in game situations but when the game goes on it seems like I forget all of it as it goes on.  One of my friends tells me I think to much about it.  But I don't get what he means.  What can I do to improve my basketball mentality my in game knowledge and my skill.  I want to be a threat out there and I want to do great and lead my team to victory.

Answer
Hello Omar and thank you for asking this question.

The first thing I would do is sit down and start writing down when you started having problems with pressure, what circumstances you would have problems, whether it was with any particular players, teams, coaches.  See if there is a common denominator.  Sometimes, if it is all laid out, it starts to make sense that what's going on really doesn't make sense, and that can be the first step to overcoming it.  

There's an interesting thing about willpower and imagination.  When you have problems with pressure, the imagination is the part of you that believes you can't do something.  So what happens is that you are using your willpower to try to succeed, but your imagination is telling you that you can't do it.  And your imagination always wins in the long run.  This is why mental training works so well -  it works with your imagination to help you change the beliefs that are holding you back.  Sometimes affirmations and visualization do sound and seem silly - if you don't understand why they work - but it is what top basketball players have been using to succeed for years.  Give it a try.  I use them in my office every day to help athletes overcome problems and perform better under pressure in lots of sports.

Good luck and let me know how it goes.

David

David Kenward, The Mental Coach
Sacramento, California
http://www.thementalcoach.com