I love basketball, but I am hesitant to play?

Question

I am on the high school basketball team (JV). Almost every time we have a game, I always feel nervous and hesitant to play. I like playing basketball though. What could be the problem?

I am nervous even when I go to practices. I have no idea why. I just don't like this feeling; I feel all worried and nervous and worst of all, I have NO confidence.

PS: I have a tournament coming up in a few days and the people who play the most are going somewhere else for their basketball team outside of school, which means I will get a lot more playing time. I am already feeling nervous about it.

Can anybody help me with this? Thnx.

-and I don't exactly agree with what my coach says sometimes. he pays so much attention to the starters and none to the players on the bench. whenever a starter makes a mistake, he is like "try harder" but when a sub makes a mistake, he goes crazy

Answer 1

omg u just described everything that im totly going through. i LOVELOVELOVE playing basketball, but sometimes people question if i really wanna play, cuz i get all nervous when i get the ball. my travel-ball coach keeps telling me that i've got all the tools to play basketball, but im just not confident with what i can do. i think im just afraid of what everyone will think if i s***w up, u know? idk, i just have to get over it i guess. haha sry about my babbling, i kno i didnt help much.... its just good to tell some1 who understands what i feel like. :)

Answer 2

coaches are usually that way, it's their character as ya have mentioned.

So, just do what your coach want to do but play as you would be as effective as can be, meaning score those points for your team & play defense well when situation arises & prevent your opponents from making their shots to the basket.

To counter your fear of the crowd watching you play, just ignore them & focus on making a score, play like your favorite star players do.

Imagine the star players in your shoes scoring those points. I was once as shy like ya. Now, I am a prolific shooter of me team, a dead shot on every angle.

Good times kid

Answer 3

My experience is I always feel a little nervous to shoot (except FT, coz I fully understand the importance for a role player to be a great FT shooter - grab all those easy and maybe crucial points and your team will love you), but I am very comfortable on doing all dirty works. Therefore I have seldom been a starter, but given that I am the most dedicated hustle guy on the team, I still have some minutes to play, and sometimes my coach throws me in final minutes because I can get those little things done to seal a win.

What I would like to say is to you should figure out your strengths asap. For me, I know I am and I will be neither a sharp-shooter nor an acrobatic athlete, so I refine my game into a blue-collar mode and fine a way to survive in the team.

For your coach I think he could be kind of Lenny Wilkins or Larry Brown or Mike D'Antoni who have a lot of faith on starters but not the same for reserves - and that shows how important one should portray himself a comfortable role on the floor. If you can showcase some sort of capabilities, you will have a higher chance to log heavy minutes, allowing yourself to set a momentum.

If a handicapped can even play basketball, everybody can play - just figure out your game and trust yourself to get flourished one day, even if you are an unsung hero.

Answer 4

I know exactly how you feel, it happened to me in 9th grade, you just feel like you cant do it and you'll fail. but just think of one a good time like when  you scored 20 points and that should motavate you it worked for me and keep tellin your self that you are gonna do better this time and think of Deron Williams when you play because hes the best PG in the NBA and hes a beast, that helps me 2 because i want to be like him.

Answer 5

coaches like bench players with a lot of energy, come off the bench and play your heart, a big plus is diving for lose balls and being aggressive on the boards