As a youth basketball parent one of your goals should be to use the game to teach your young player valuable life lessons that will prepare them for success down the road. Being part of a team can help prepare your child for situations they may encounter as adults living and working in the world outside of sports. What do kids learn from the practice sessions, the games, the tournaments, the mental and physical preparation, and all the time they’ve put in? Hopefully, much more than just how to play the game.

Here are 10 lessons that can be learned from basketball and applied to life in the real world.

1. Be a leader.

All teams are more successful when they have good leaders. This starts with the coach of course, but teams need players to be leaders too. The best teams that I played on or coached had multiple players serving as leaders. These leaders held themselves to a high standard of performance and also held their teammates accountable as well. Basketball can help your young player develop the ability to lead others in a positive way. It takes courage and self-discipline to be a leader on a team. It is not always easy to hold peers accountable, but good leaders bring out the best in their teammates.

At a job or in business positive leadership is a skill that any employer or entrepreneur values. The more leaders a business has the better off that business will be. Leaders become valued employees or are able to start their own businesses and lead a team of employees. Leadership is a skill that can be developed through basketball and put to use in the business world later in life.

2. Learn to persevere.

Success in sports and in life doesn’t come easy. You don’t get to be a great player without facing some adversity and pushing through it. As I have written before, grit is a key component to long term success and making your dreams a reality.

Your young player may face many obstacles on their path to success in the game of basketball. Learning to deal with defeat and discouragement and push through them is a skill that will serve your child well in their future. They may get turned down for a job or fail in their first attempt at starting a business, but they’ll know they can keep pushing and eventually break through and reach their goals.

3. Prepare for success.

In basketball, if you or your team do not prepare, chances are you will lose. Winning teams and successful players prepare with hours of practice, conditioning, and strategizing. Preparing properly builds confidence that we are ready for the challenge ahead of us. Winning teams know their competition as a result of their preparation, giving them an advantage.

Are you prepared for your big meeting or are you going to “wing it”? Did you prepare for the job interview or go in blind? Did you research the market before you opened for business? Basketball teaches players and teams to be prepared in order to achieve success. Failure to prepare is preparing to fail!

4. Cooperate for the good of the team.

We’ve all played on a team with people we liked and people we didn’t like. In order to find success, teammates must figure out a way to cooperate to get the job done and win games. The same is true in the real world. Your young player may grow up and have to deal with a difficult co-worker or boss. Chances are they’ll be able to draw on experiences with difficult teammates or coaches and how they overcame the differences to create a winning outcome. That experience is invaluable. The team must come first.

Here is a sign that hangs on many locker room doors.

“If you are not prepared to put the team first, turn around.”

5. Know your role.

Good teams have players with defined roles. The players know what is expected of them and why. Businesses operate in the same way. When everyone knows and accepts their role the team is successful. Basketball teaches young players to understand their role and then perform and achieve what is expected. Great businesses will have the same expectations of their employees. Winning teams are those where players do what is expected of them and execute the game plan. This holds true in sports and in life.

6. Set goals.

Goals are a road map to where you want to go. In a team sport like basketball your young player will set both individual and team goals. Then, they’ll figure out a plan to reach those goals as an individual player and as part of the team. Throughout your career as an adult your child will have individual goals and most likely also work as part of a team. People with a goal and a plan are much more likely to be successful. Floating aimlessly with no purpose is sure-fire way to lose ground to competitors with well-defined goals.

7. Work hard.

There is no substitute for hard work. Basketball requires a young player to put many hours into the game in order to be successful. You can’t just walk onto the court and expect to beat someone who has put more time into the game than you. Business owners and employees must be prepared to outwork their competition too! No matter what vocation your child chooses later in life, the hard work and commitment they learned through basketball will serve them well.

8. Strategize.

Coaches, teams, and players must learn to strategize in order to win games. The higher the level of basketball the more strategic the game becomes. Winning players have a strategy to beat their defender and score. Winning teams have a strategy that they employ over the course of the season and then adjust based on the opponent or the circumstances.

The ability to strategize, see the big picture, and then attack the details are skills that athletes develop through their participation in basketball or other team sports. There is no more valuable skill in the real world than the ability to strategize and create a vision for yourself, your company, or your employer. Anybody can take orders, those that create the strategies are the people who create real value in their careers.

9. Be versatile.

Players that can play multiple positions and have a wide skill set are much more valuable than the one dimensional player. This type of player has more opportunities to earn playing time or fill different roles. They are constantly working to add new parts to their game, knowing it will make them more difficult to defend. The coach has a hard time keeping them off the floor. They earn their minutes by always evolving and getting better.

The same is true in life. The more skills you have, the more knowledgeable you are, the more indispensable you become. Long term success is built on the ability to keep growing, developing, and learning.

10. Show respect.

As a young basketball player your child will learn to respect teammates and coaches, even those they disagree with. It is impossible to be successful if you can’t be a good teammate or aren’t coachable. Winning teams create a culture where everyone buys in to the plan even though they may not completely agree. There may be times where your young player will have an opportunity to discuss with coaches or teammates why they disagree with their opinions. Learning to do this respectfully goes a long way toward getting your young player’s voice heard.

This is an essential skill for your young player’s future. Disagreements occur in all walks of life. Negotiating for what they want in a respectful manner you’re your young player apart from those who haven’t learned to be diplomatic.

One final thought that I have heard from numerous sources and have applied to my own life.

“Use Basketball to enhance your life and the lives of others, don’t let basketball use you.”

Teach your young player to love the game and it will love them back!

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Not every team, player, or coach can win a championship every year. With March Madness starting this week, there will only be one team that goes home with the trophy. The rest of the teams will fall short of their ultimate goal. Does that make their season a failure? Certainly not, if the team has built championship habits that will last a lifetime.

What are championship habits? They are actions that your young player can take day in and day out regardless of the outcome. Championship habits are focused on the process of what it takes to be great. Your young player cannot always control the outcome of a game or a season, but they can control the process that leads to long term success.

Championship habits mean doing the little things that make the big things possible.

Here are some examples.

Be life-long learner.

Players and people who think they know it all rarely get better or maximize their talent. Help your young player learn from great coaches and role models. Give them opportunities to read books about those who have had success both in the game and outside of it. Great players learn from their own experiences and the experiences of others. Learn what it takes to be great!

Don’t allow others to limit what you can accomplish.

A personal story – When I was being recruited in high school, a coach from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta (an NAIA school) told me on my recruiting visit that if I chose to play Division 1 basketball at Kent State that they would recruit over me the next year and I would never get a chance to play. On the other hand, if I came to Oglethorpe I would be a key contributor and would have the opportunity to score 1,000 points in my career. That message, which the coach probably never thought twice about, drove me as much as anything to play Division 1 basketball and show that coach he was wrong. I never forgot what he said. My proudest individual accomplishment at Kent State was scoring 1,006 points in my career. I did not allow that coach to limit my goals, instead I used his comments as motivation to fuel my passion for the game.

Actions speak louder than words.

Don’t talk about being great. That is easy. Put in the time and effort required to be great. Teach your young player that their actions must match their desire to be great.

Start today.

The best day to start getting better and training the right way is today. Sure, your young player could wait until it gets warm or when they get a new ball, but champions start working now!

Habits are built every day.

Your young player can’t work hard once in a while. Championship habits are built daily. Show up every day and give it your all regardless of the circumstances.

Here is a quote from Seth Godin, a popular business and marketing author.

Wouldn’t it be great to be gifted? In fact…
It turns out that choices lead to habits.
Habits become talents.
Talents are labeled gifts.
You’re not born this way, you get this way.

Don’t complain or make excuses.

Help your young player realize that complaining doesn’t help them to reach their goals, it only develops a negative state of mind. Look inward for the answers, don’t place blame on factors that are out of your young player’s control. Help them take responsibility and learn valuable lessons from adversity.

Embrace the journey.

The journey is what great players enjoy. They love to train. They love to play. They love to compete. The end result may or may not be a championship, but the daily grind is what great players live for because they love the game.

Take pride in hard work.

I used to love the fact that as a player I worked harder than other payers. I once had an assistant in college tell me I was the toughest player on the team. Hard work and toughness were two things that I could control. I took a tremendous amount of pride in my work ethic. Not everybody works hard. Help your young player develop their work ethic and you’ll give them a life-long advantage over others in basketball and in life.

Have a plan.

Young players have to know why they are playing and then have a plan for how to reach their goals. When players are young they play for fun and to be with teammates. As they get older other goals may become visible on the horizon. What are those goals and how do they get there?  As a parent or coach you can help your young player have a plan. Championship habits aren’t an accident.

Be coachable.

A coach’s criticism is intended to make your young player better. It shouldn’t be taken personally or looked upon negatively. As a coach I am often hardest on my best players. I want to get the most out of them. Body language says so much about how a player accepts coaching. Teach your young player to look the coach in the eye and nod when they are done speaking. Great players listen to and accept criticism as a conduit to improving their game.

You are who you hang out with.

Does your young player hang out with players that fool around during practice? Friends that don’t take their schoolwork seriously? Teammates making bad choices off the court? Champions surround themselves with people that create a championship atmosphere.

Set high standards.

Good enough is never good enough. Highly successful people are never satisfied that they have reached a goal and can relax. The next challenge is always around the corner. Champions have grit. They are willing to go the extra mile to be the best.

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