How to Mentally Prepare And Maximize Your Summer Hoops Experience
by Mikko Simon April 07, 2015
by Quinn McDowell, AreteHoops.com
Summertime can be overwhelming with the sheer number of opportunities available to basketball players today. High school off-season, AAU, skills clinics, exposure camps, personal training, group workouts; the list goes on and on.
In addition to these opportunities, players often have the added pressures of maximising their exposure for potential college scholarships, and dealing with the expectations of high school coaches. This can all be overwhelming to think about, but I think there are a few questions we can ask to make this complicated process more simple.
1. What are my Dreams? My goals? How do I get there?
This is the most straightforward and important question you can ask yourself. Before you make any decisions about your summer you need to sit down and answer these questions and map out a plan. For example if your goal is to play college basketball, but your high school coach is not well-connected in the world of college coaches, then you might need to think about spending time at more exposure events (i.e. AAU, invite camps, travel to colleges for workouts).
If your goal is to have a great senior high school season but you don’t care as much about playing at the next level, then your priorities would shift.
2. What do I need right now in my career?
Are you coming off an injury? Do you need more skill work? Did you get limited playing time this past season and need more in-game experience? All these are examples of different circumstances that could change how you spend your time this Summer.
For some players a high school season is a busy time filled with school, practice, social events, and extracurricular activities: it can be hard to find time to get in extra skill work and personal development. These types of players might need more skill work than just playing in a million tournaments during the Summer.
3. Would I regret this decision looking back on it?
This is a great question to ask when you are split on a difficult decision about your priorities. This question cuts through the uncertainty and gets right to your gut feeling. Listen to your gut, don’t live with regrets, and go after your dreams with everything you have.
4. What is the wisest decision based on my personality and circumstances?
Some players love being on the road with teammates every weekend during the Summer, other players enjoy the comfort of home and improving their game in familiar surroundings. Just because your AAU team registers for six consecutive tournaments doesn’t mean that you have to play in all of them. Make decisions that ultimately put you in the best position to be successful, regardless of what other people might think.
Quinn McDowell is a writer, trainer and professional athlete. He has played in the NBA D-League, Australia and Spain, following his four-year career at the College of William and Mary. He is the founder of AreteHoops.com and desires to see coaches and players succeed with excellence. He currently resides in Palencia, Spain, with his wife Lindsey.
Share:
+Recent Articles
-
POINT3 Announces Official Partnership with Johnson C. Smith University’s Esports and Gaming Trifecta
February 24, 2021
-
What Can Brown Do? Get Buckets...
May 28, 2019
-
Why Woven Shorts? A Sweaty Hoophead's Love Story...
May 10, 2019
-
Beware the Lone Wolf
May 31, 2018
-
The Commission on College Basketball - Our Take on the Recommendations
May 01, 2018
-
New Guest Columnist's Take On Our B(ALL) DAY T
April 20, 2018
-
How We're Reaching 500,000 Ballplayers This Summer
April 19, 2018
-
"My Bad" - A Special Message from Our Founder & CEO
April 11, 2018
-
Looking for POINT 3 Gear Outside the U.S.? We’ve Got Some Good News for You…
December 19, 2017
-
We Have What Every Ballplayer Wants: Our Top Gift Ideas for the Year
November 16, 2017
+Categories
- #DRYVTour
- #OnlyBallersKnow
- 10000-hour rule
- 3d Athletics
- 43Hoops
- AAU
- all-star
- Alpha
- Alphas
- ankles
- Apparel Magazine
- Atlanta
- Atlanta Hawks
- B Dot
- Back Pack
- Ball All Day
- BALL DAY
- BASE
- BASE LT
- basketball
- basketball bags
- Basketball Camp
- basketball gear
- Basketball Gear Bag
- basketball gift ideas
- Basketball Jones
- Basketball Shorts
- basketball training
- basketbull
- BBA Nets
- Bball Breakdown
- Bdot
- Behind the Brand
- Ben Bellucci
- big shots
- Big Shots Nation
- BlazeSports
- Blog
- Bobby Cremins
- Brandon Armstrong
- breast cancer
- Brian Hoffman
- Brooklyn
- Bulls Sox Youth Academy
- Bulls Youth Academy
- bundles
- Butler Street YMCA
- Buzzer Beater
- Carlos Dawkins
- catalog
- Chicago
- Chicago Bulls
- CHOA
- CHSAA
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Coach Romeo
- coaching
- Colorado Premier
- colorways
- Company News
- Compression
- Core Body Awareness
- customer service
- Defense
- DeShaun Thomas
- Dexter Water Johnson
- Dime
- Drills
- drop ship
- drop step
- DRYV
- DRYV Baller 3.0
- DRYV Shorts
- DRYV Technology
- DRYV Uniform Jersey
- DRYV Uniform Jerseys
- DRYV Uniform Shorts
- Elevate
- endorsement
- Entrepreneurship
- Esports
- Euroleague
- FC Barcelona
- FIBA World Cup
- Finals
- Finland
- FlashTraining
- Footwork
- Forbes
- Founder
- free uniforms
- George McGinsie
- Get Sponsored
- gift certificate
- gift guide
- giveaway
- Golden State Warriors
- graphic t
- Green Flash
- He's Playing Where?
- High School
- Hoffman's Hoops Academy
- holiday
- Holiday Wish List
- HOODIE
- Hoop Group
- HoopSeen
- Infinite Skillz
- injury
- innovation
- Integrity Sports Falcons
- International Game
- inventory
- ISO
- Jahronmon
- Jam On It
- James McAdoo
- Jeff Sparrow
- Jersey Shore Warriors
- Jesse Snake Muench
- Jr. Hawks
- Junior Hawks
- Kaiser Gates
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Keith Van Horn
- Kenny Anderson
- Kevin Mitchell
- Kick OnCourt
- Knicks
- Kyle Korver
- Lauren HIll
- LeBron James
- Leg sleeve
- Les Robinson
- Lew Alcindor
- Lone Wolf
- Luwane Pipkins
- Malik Beasley
- March Madness
- Mark Adams
- Mark Williams
- Mental training
- Michael Rossetti
- Middle School
- Miles Davis Academy
- Minnesota
- Motivation
- My Sky Elite
- nails
- Nazareth Regional
- Nazareth Regional HS
- NBA
- NBA Draft
- NBA tip off
- NBN Basketball
- NC State
- NCAA
- NCAA Live Period
- new
- New gear
- new releases
- New York Knicks
- Newsletter
- nigeria shirt
- Nightwing2303
- North Carolina
- Notre Dame
- Ohio Crossover
- OHoops
- Old School
- Olympics
- On The Radar Hoops
- OnCourtNoSweat
- One Day Shootouts
- Orlando Team Jayhawks
- Parents
- Partnerships
- Pat Connaughton
- Patent
- PCA
- Performance
- Philadelphia
- PhotoShoot
- player development
- POINT 3
- POINT 3 Basketball
- Point Guard
- Portsmouth Invitational
- Positive Coaching Alliance
- Pre-Season
- predictions
- PrimeTime Sports
- prize
- promotion
- Raymond Felton
- returns
- Reversible LT
- Reversible LT Jersey
- reviews
- Rio
- RiseUp! Elite Sports Academy
- Road Trip
- Road Trip Back Pack
- Rob Crandall
- Roshown McLeod
- SAK
- SAK LT 2.0
- sale
- Scouting
- selling out
- Shipping
- shooter
- Shooting
- shooting sleeve
- Shorts
- Side Hoops
- SJ Hoops Elite
- Slam
- Socks
- Stephen Curry
- Streetball
- Summer basketball
- summer showcase
- Sweat
- Sweat Management
- Syracuse Nets
- t-shirt
- Taliek Brown
- team
- Team Footprintz
- Team Nigeria
- Team Uniforms
- Team USA
- TeamSnap
- Teamwork
- Texas
- The Hoop Group
- The Pit
- The Skill Factory
- Tizzo Johnson
- TJ Jones
- Top Innovator
- Training
- travel basketball
- Tryouts
- TTA
- U.S. Amateur Basketball
- UCONN Huskies
- Unboxing
- underdog
- uniform
- uniforms
- Video
- Warm-Up Drills
- Waterboy
- We Care
- we care about basketball
- Weartesters
- WeCare
- West Philly
- wheelchair basketball
- wholesale
- wish list
- Women's Gear
- Workout Efficiency
- World's Best Basketball Shorts
- woven
- X-Factor
- X-Wrap
- Youth basketball
Mikko Simon
Author