Halftime

*Halftime* Short, hard breaths. Yelling. Re-group. Gatorade. Speech. More Gatorade. Focus. Draw plays. Break down. Run Out. Game time.

Halftime is every player's getaway. Whether you're playing a hell of a game and you need time to regroup, or you're completely out of it and you need to start over. Either way, halftime is beneficial... if you use it right. Every good athlete knows that the start of the 3rd quarter is the start of a new game. The second half can be a completely different story than the first because each team gets another chance to start over with warm legs and a new attitude. Go into halftime with one question: How will we win this game? And every single person on the team must know to give their absolute best effort, not only as an individual, but as a teammate, to finish the game off strong. And that is using halftime to your advantage.

Mistakes

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes." - John Wooden

The only way you can ever improve is by learning from your mistakes. There will always be some aspect of your game that you will need to fix, or revamp, and making mistakes is one way to notice those aspects. Every player needs to remember that to be great, they need to accept their successes and failures. Mistakes may start out as your failure, but eventually those same exact mistakes are what leads you to your success.

Injuries-Derrick Rose

This video is of Chicago Bulls' point guard Derrick Rose, who is currently out for the season due to another knee injury. It was believed that he would be out for the entire season, but with the work he is putting in with his injury, it's looking good. It is now possible that he may play later on in the 2014 season. According to his teammates, Rose's efforts push them even harder. Not only does he want to get back out on the floor, but he wants his team to be the best they can be. Even though he is sitting on the end of the bench, he still yells at his teammates to keep working hard or to keep shooting the ball, wishing he could be doing it too. This video is truly inspiring and shows that with hard work, anything is possible. And Derrick Rose knows that now. And no matter how hard he has to work to get back on that court, he'll do it. Because that's where he belongs. So if you are suffering from an injury, big or small, a little hard work will go a long way. Just ask Derrick Rose.

http://www.sportsworldnews.com/articles/10032/20140303/derrick-rose-injury-update-surging-bulls-finding-strength-from-injured-rehabbing-star-video.htm 

Game Day Playlist

Let's face it, thinking about the upcoming game is not going to get enough of your blood pumping, and it may even make you more nervous than you were to start. Drowning out all of these nerves and thoughts is the perfect solution, and is actually the most sought-after response to the pre-game nerves. I would definitely recommend that to calm down, but get excited and ready about your game, you play your favorite playlist or cd and focus on how you're going to play. It will not only build up your intensity, but also build your confidence after visualizing. These playlists may vary between athletes because different things push different people. Here is a list of songs that are popular pump up songs for before a game. If it's not your style, go out and search on your computer, iPod, or phone for your kind of game day playlist!
http://www.alexmarokobasketball.com/the-50-best-pre-game-songs-to-turn-you-into-an-animal/