How to Control Your Anger While Playing Basketball?

Controlling your anger in a sport that you love can be very difficult to do, especially if you eat, breathe, and sleep basketball. It is a part of who you are, you hate losing and feel your self-worth is on the line during every basketball game. This causes many of us to get angry when things don’t our way.

How do you control your anger when playing basketball? When you come across a situation that makes you angry on the basketball court, stop and walk away without saying anything. If you allow yourself to become filled with anger and emotion, your performance will drop off.

Basketball is a difficult and unforgiving game. Add in emotions such as anger and you will have less control of your game, your anger on the court can make you play far worse.

Anger and performance | Getting angry while playing basketball? 

Every basketball player has had their moment, the moment that I am talking about isn’t hitting a game-winner with no time left on the clock to win the championship game.

It’s the moment they have lost all control of themselves because of their temper on the basketball court.

Anger affects a player’s performance on the court because the player is focusing on the very thing that is making them angry instead of focusing their energy on what is needed to help the team win.

Due to your emotional state, your muscles are tense, your mind is occupied and your perception of what is happening on the court is affected. Your anger has caused you to have tunnel vision which means you only see directly in front of you.

Being angry during play can have a lasting effect throughout a basketball game that if anything small were to happened this could add to your already emotional state which could further lead to a performance drop-off.

The anger doesn’t allow you to move past your state of being and you may miss key opportunities during the game to score had you not been angry.

Visualization and breathing techniques prior to a basketball game will help you deal with your emotional state before it happens.

Picture yourself getting angry during the game and seeing yourself walk away and saying nothing. Then on the next play scoring because you are focused on the whole game and not one small thing. 

What calms you down? Find what works for you to calm you down in such heated moments, if breathing through the nose and out the mouth works try it out.

If ignoring is a better option, then do so. Remember the bigger picture, are you there to win the game or prove your point.

It may take some trial and error but as long as you are self-aware of your own actions, then that’s a great start.

We are going to take a look at some of the variables we as players have come across during a basketball game that make us mad.

Hopefully, by showing you a different perspective on these common situations you will have a different view on them and deal with them appropriately.

How to handle the referees?

When it comes to getting angry having to deal with referees is by far the most difficult part of basketball. When a referee makes a call you don’t agree with immediately it can feel you are being targeted.

If there is one thing to remember about referees in moments where you feel angry is that they are human too. Ok, not good enough? 

 I hate to say it, but from my experience over the years, saying nothing is better than saying something.

This includes verbal and nonverbal actions such as shaking your head and complaining about the call will only target you for the next play down the court.

Now I am not saying that referees hold grudges but referees are human and you just created a rapport with them, good or bad.

You are better off having a good report and not complain at all. Shaking hands with the referee before and after the game would go a long way. Yes, you are sort of sucking up.

Asking questions during the game and you are probably not going to get the answers you want, not only that asking questions can come off as defensive and whining.

After the game is much better, this shows your sincerity and are interested in correcting your mistakes.

This may seem so small in the grand scheme of things but can make a difference in an important game, your learning not to make mistaes they often call.

Getting angry at the referees is pointless, I have never seen anyone yell or scream at a referee over a call and get there way.

I have never seen a ref get scared and correct the call and I have definitely never seen a referee admit the player was right. Maybe once.

I have seen a whole team of players yell at the ref which resulted in the opposing team getting all the calls.

I have seen players who don’t normally foul out finish a game early, and I have seen players get technicals a lot quicker then other players because they had a few choice words with the ref.

Now is this because they are picking on the players or is this because the player is making it well know and building a poor rapport with the ref?

How to deal with anger towards the referees?

If the whistle is blown and you find yourself getting angry because you don’t agree with the call just walk away, make no eye contact, and don’t say a word.

You will never change the referee’s mind no matter if it’s their fault or not. Seriously, it is wasted energy. Doing nothing is better then doing something, really it is.

Don’t let your game suffer because of a bad call, you are going to forget about it next play down the court unless you are still focused on the call.

Your emotional state when playing basketball is so important in order to perform the way you want to, the calls usually go both ways and even out. Ok, sometimes…

 

Teammates make you angry

Playing with bad teammates is difficult, they love basketball and wish they could play like their favorite player in the NBA. But they suck.

You have much more experience than your teammates and ball is life to you. You take the game very seriously because You love basketball and you love winning.

In fact, you hate losing more than you love winning. But your teammates don’t understand the game nor do they care.

Every time you pass them the ball they throw it away or they take a terrible shot that they have no business shooting.

This really makes you angry and the more they do it the angrier you get. If this sounds familiar take a moment for a second to realize something.

Ask yourself this question? Do you make the players around you better basketball players or do you sit there and complain about how bad they are?

Hopefully, you understand that the players you are playing with don’t want to play poorly, they just can’t play as well as you because of a lack of experience and practice. Not all players have the gift to pick up a ball and perform. 

The best basketball players in the world have a short-term memory.

~Anonymous~

 

I myself was a very good athlete and did well in all sports except for basketball. That is why I loved the game because it was hard, but again I sucked.

It took me longer than normal to become good, I didn’t have instant success and always struggled. Most players struggle with the game of basketball, it’s difficult.

But, without your teammates, you can’t play the game and definitely can’t guard 5 players at once so show them some respect. Tell them where they should be on the court.

Where to look for scoring opportunities and build up their confidence by slapping hands and telling them good job.

How to deal with your anger towards bad players?

Going with the approach of not saying anything at all is best but can be difficult especially when you’re losing every game.

There are players who will bash their teammates in front of their whole squad because of one play. Don’t be that guy, its not a good look.

You are creating a toxic environment on your team and nobody will want to play with you. Remember your teammates aren’t playing poorly on purpose.

Let it go and worry about the next play. Besides if you are such a great player you will make your teammates around you better.

You are too hard on yourself?

This is something that you need to be careful with when it comes to basketball. The game is already difficult, there are millions playing the game trying to make the NBA.

There is a sure way to destroying your confidence as a basketball player, and that is being way too hard on yourself.

Growing up I was always hard on myself and it absolutely destroyed my basketball game, on top of that I wasn’t having any fun playing.

I would be mad after every shot I took and missed, I put unrealistic expectations on myself. 

For example, I would shoot anywhere from 5 to 10 shots a game and expect 80 percent of those shots to go in so that I could score 15 points or more a game.

If that didn’t happen I would be so angry not realizing that it was highly unlikely  I was scoring that much with that many shots that were 15 feet and out. 

If I am able to score 15 points a game with 10 shots or less then maybe I need to be shooting a lot more….hmmm…

I finally realized there’s other aspects to the game of basketball I needed to focus on that I had ignored.

If you are constantly putting pressure on yourself to perform, if you get mad after every miss or if you complain after having a good game that you should have done better, then you need to take a hard look at yourself in the mirror.

Realize that what your doing right now isn’t realistic and setting to high expectations, you almost need to be perfect which is impossible. 

Doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get the same result, is insanity. Albert Einstein.

Relax you will play better.