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The 4 Types of Mistakes Players Make-hoopskills.com

The 4 Types of Mistakes Players Make

By Dave Stricklin http://www.hoopskills.com

Throughout every basketball season and even

more so during the playoffs, everyone is

reminded that the team that makes the fewest

mistakes is usually going to win the game. While

I believe that to be a true statement, it's

important to realize that the first step in cutting

down mistakes is to cut down on individual

mistakes.

Just about all individual player mistakes (and

ultimately team mistakes as well) can be

categorized into one of four groups: physical

mistakes, mental mistakes, execution mistakes,

and effort mistakes.

1. Physical Mistakes

The types of physical mistakes that we are

talking about here are generally a result from a

lack of skill, a lack of practice, or both.

Shooting with poor mechanics, using right hand as you dribble the ball down the

left side of the floor while being closely guarded, and attempting a one-handed

pass across your body are just a few examples of skill related mistakes.

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The 4 Types of Mistakes Players Make-hoopskills.com

The good thing is that most of these mistakes can be greatly reduced with proper

instruction, lots of practice, and purposeful feedback. It's been widely

documented that it can take 10,000 hours of practice to become a world class

performer of any skill.

This is why renowned skill instructor Kevin Eastman of the Boston Celtics says that

every workout needs to include shooting and ball handling drills, regardless, of

your age and current talent level.

2. Mental Mistakes

Some mistakes appear to be physical at first glance but they are really mental

mistakes instead. For example, when a pass is thrown into an area overcrowded

with defenders and is stolen we usually say it was a "bad pass." However, the pass

may have been thrown perfectly but it was the decision to throw it into a crowd

that was the mistake.

Another type of mental mistake is losing focus on the task at hand. Not knowing

how much time is on the clock, losing track of your man on defense, and running

the wrong offense are all examples of mental mistakes.

Mental mistakes drive coaches crazy, especially if the same mistake is often

repeated by the same player!

3. Execution Mistakes

These mistakes are often a combination of physical and mental. Let's say a player

may have been taught by one coach not to box out but to aggressively pursuit the

ball instead. (This was the philosophy of UCLA's John Wooden) Now that his

current coach wants him to box out all the time, this player often "forgets" during

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The 4 Types of Mistakes Players Make-hoopskills.com

the heat of the game because he hasn't thoroughly learned the skill yet to the

point where he does it instinctively.

Lower level games are loaded with execution mistakes but these should decrease

as players gain more understanding and experience. However, it is not something

that should be taken lightly. Even NBA games are lost every season as a result of

poor and sloppy execution.

4. Effort Mistakes

This is by far the worse type of mistake that a player can make and usually results

in a one way ticket to the end of the bench! Coaches don't like them but can

tolerate and work with physical, mental, and execution mistakes but there is

absolutely no excuse for a lack of effort.

If you don't want to play hard and give every possession your very best effort,

then you shouldn't be playing at all. It's really that simple!

If you want to become a better player and help your team win more games, then

eliminate these four types of mistakes and you will be well on your way. 3