In our basketball camps at LSU, we try to de-emphasize winning and losing and concentrate on the process...must along the same lines we do with our team. Many are always somewhat shocked when we tell them that we don't talk to our team about winning and losing. We talk about effort, teamwork, and execution. These should be the goals. Winning and losing is only a by product of those goals. Of course we talk about competing and put our teams in situations that create competition in practice. However, in our summer camps, we are more about teaching fundamentals and making sure the campers enjoy what is taught.This is what we put on the back page of our camp booklet that we give to all the coaches who work our camps:
IT'S NOT ABOUT WINNING OR LOSING
"It's difficult for young players to learn because of the
great emphasis on records. Ideally, the joy and frustration
of sport should come performance itself, not the score.
While he is playing, the worst thing a player can think
about in terms of concentration, and therefore of success,
is losing. The next worst thought is of winning."
-John Wooden-
