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How to Get Better at Anything

This post could be sub-titled “how to construct a practice” since practice is primarily the way you get better at anything.

But before we delve into how to construct a practice, let’s answer the question:

Why do we practice?

First of all, practice is preparation for something - some activity, action, or event.  We practice so that we have peak performance when we execute that action.

All practice has its eye on that event which it seeks to enhance.

When thinking about getting better at some event, it often helps us think about how to improve at that event by calling it a “game”.  One of the most helpful aspects of reducing all events we wish to improve at to “games” is that it removes pressure and adds and element of fun to practice.

So, think of anything you want to improve as a game.  A business presentation is a game.  The relationship with a child, spouse, co-worker could be considered a game.  Your appointment with a used car salesman.  And on and on and on.  For any event with is a game, your preparation for the event is “practice”.

Here is a deceptively simple statment that you must always keep in mind when constructing a practice.  It is the key principle to getting better at anything.  If you forget it, your practices will not lead to optimum performance in your games.

The phrase is not “Practice makes perfect.”  Practice doesn’t make perfect and never will.  Perfection is an illusion and the constant focus on perfection frequently leads to “paralysis by analysis”.  And the phrase is not its pernicious step-sister “Perfect practice makes perfect,” . One shouldn’t pursue perfection in practice, one should be making perfection harder, if not impossible, in practice, so that performance in “gams” is as high as possible.

So, you should forget that you ever heard the phrases “Practice makes perfect” or “Perfect practice makes perfect.”   Erase them from your mind forever.  Replace it with this one.

Practice exists to make games easy.

Practice  doesn’t exist to merely “get ready for the game”.  It doesn’t exist to “put you in an ideal mental state for the game.”  It doesn’t exist to “make the game less hard.”  Those are all consequences or byproducts of correct practice, but they’re not the objective.

Practice exists to make the game EASY.

Easy.

When you practice right, it means that when you’re playing the game, giving your business presentation, making the pitch, shooting the free throw, swinging the bat, the game is easy.  Success comes.

So practices have to be designed in a way that the end result is that they make the game EASY.

Most of your practice time should emulate and maginify the challenges inherent in the game.  Not just emulate challenging conditions.  Magnify.  Practice MUST magnify those challenges and oppositions.

This is simple to do.

Take what needs to be done in the game, and make it harder.  A lot harder.

To illustrate, I’ll use a few example from my favorite game - basketball.  I’ll skip some of the individual skill building things that can be done (more on some of those below from one of the best individual skills coaches around), and instead focus on how to optimize practice for a team.

In basketball, teams usually practice five-against-five, because that is how the game is played.  But to make the game easy, make the practice hard.  Practice four-on-five or five-on-six, depending on what team-skills you’re trying to improve.

For example, when practicing offensive sets, the offense can play against six men (or more) so that that defense is 20% stronger than in a game situation.  Alternatively, you can have the offense or play with four men against five (so that the defense is 25% stronger and the offense has 20% less “weapons” to attack the defense with).

When practicing defense, do the opposite.  The offense either plays with six men against five defensive players, or the defense plays with four!

You can do this in football, baseball, soccer, etc.  Players are forced to exert themselves and play more precisely and focused against steeper odds.

When you then revert to “game state” (i.e. five-on-five in basketball), the game seems much easier.  Opportunities are more abundant.  Space to operate is greater.  Options increase.  The strength you gained while fighting a stronger enemy is now employed against a weaker opponent.

So, if you  always make the resistance higher than what will be in the game, the game will be easy.

One other way to challenge yourself in practice is through the systematic removal of assets that will be at your disposal when you play the game.

If you are going to speak in public and will have notes you can refer to, but want to give a great speech that connects, practice without your notes, try to memorize it.  Practice as if you will have to give the speech from memory.  When it comes time to give the speech and you can reference your notes, you will find that your performance will be much stronger than if you had permitted yourself to practice with the notes.

So as you’re practicing, set rules that take away assets you’ll have at your disposal when you play the game.

Back to basketball.  You might tell your players that for an entire game they must play without ever dribbling the ball.  If they dribble, it’s a turnover and the other team gets the ball.  Your team will become much better passers and during the game, when they’re allowed the option to dribble, will find the game much easier than the passing only version.

You can repeat this a number of ways.
- No shots other than layups
- No three point shots allowed
- No shots other than WIDE OPEN three pointers
- Twenty passes before shooting
- Two passes only before shooting
- No shooting with the right hand

In addition, speed up the pace and duration of the practice so that it exceeds the game.

If you’re rehearsing for a piano piece that is technically difficult, learn the song at a metronome speed 10-15% faster than the paying speed.  One you’re proficient at that speed, slow it down to the desired speed and it will seem easy to play.

In basketball, make players run longer and harder and with less breaks (and no stopping for free throws and dead balls).

Play loud music, blaring recorded applause, etc. during the practice that exeeds the loudness of the gym when it’s full so that the players ahve to learn to communicate over and through noise that will be louder than anything they’ll experience in a real game.

Young guys often get nervous playing in front of crowd, and espeically in front of girl’s they’re trying to impress.  convince come of the girls to come and watch the practices and comment loudly on the boys’ performances. . .  this helps them learn to play with the pressure of “eyeballs they’re trying to impress” on them.

Play with a heavier ball on passing drills.  Shoot on a smaller hoop.  After a warm-up to get “centered” on their shot (like you would in pre-game warmups) NEVER let your players shoot in any way that doesn’t replicate a game situation, i.e. shoot seldom, not “premeditated,” at full-speed, with a defender on your or in the vicinity, and without rest between shots.  (For more on this, check out the story of Ivan Radin, the NBA’s most sought after skills coach who employs all of these methods with his clients.)

I’m just coming up with ideas off the top of my head, but you get the point . . . you can do this with anything

The bottom line is, make practice harder than the performance, and the performance will seem a breeze . . .

So how about you?  In what ways do you prepare/practice to ensure you have peak performance in your “games”?

If you are not fulfilling your potential (in basketball or anything else!), contact me.  I’ll review your needs at no cost and if I think I can help you, I will prepare a summary analysis and proposal for you.  If you like it, we can move forward; If not, you keep the analysis at no charge.  More information here.

June 6, 2009 | Filed Under Basketball, Performance, Sports 

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