Game Preparation

Dictionary.com provided this definition of the word “prepare”:

[pri-pair] – Verb  

To put in proper condition or readiness.

How do you prepare for games? 

1)    Do you get 7-8 hours of sound sleep the night before a game?

2)    Do you review your playbook or read your opponent’s scouting report before you go to sleep?

3)    Do you eat a healthy, energy packed breakfast the morning of game?

4)    Do you pack your uniform, shoes, etc. in advance to avoid scrambling at the last minute?

5)    Do you “dress for success” on game day to put yourself in a confident state of mind?

6)    Do you eat small snacks and drink plenty of water throughout the day?

7)    Do you eat an appropriate pre-game meal 3-4 hours before tip-off?

8)    Do you meet with your Athletic Trainer if you have any issues or nagging injuries?

9)    Do you arrive early to avoid the risk of getting stressed over traffic, bad weather, or a flat tire?

10) Do you visualize playing well before the game begins?

11) Do you know what gets you ready to play (listen to music, find a quiet spot, etc.)?

12) Do you know what gets your teammates ready to play (and allow them to do it)?

13) Do you go through a sufficient pre-game warm-up before you take the court?

14) Do you stay focused during your warm-up once you have taken the court?

15) Do you listen with your eyes and ears when your coach is giving the pre-game speech?

Ultimately, all of these questions lead to this:

Do you wait for the game to start or do you prepare for the game to start?

Here is a visualization technique to help you prepare:

Sit with your eyes closed, in complete silence, for 2-3 minutes and visualize a specific time in your life when you played the best basketball you have ever played.  A time you vividly remember when you were in the zone – when every shot you took went in and every pass you made was on the money.  Engage every sense.  What did the gym look like? Sound like? Smell like? How did you feel?  This technique will put you in a confident frame of mind when you take the court.  You can do this by yourself, or better yet, do this with your team.

The True Point Guard-How to Become 1

Point guards are the heart of a basketball team. The engine. The quarterback.
A basketball team can't play in sync without a strong point guard leading the way. Point guards need to be able to dribble, pass, play defense and shoot the basketball. But they also have to make quick decisions, read and react, be a leader and be responsible.
If you're a point guard--or want to be a point guard--let this guide help you improve your game. From ball handling to leadership to passing to strength and conditioning, this is the ultimate guide for playing point guard to the best of your ability--and helping take your team to the top.

Ball Handling

The ball is always in the point guard's hand, so strong ball handling skills is a must. Visit iHoops' ball handling section to learn more, or improve your ability by following these tips:
5 Crossover Dribbling Techniques: Here are different crossovers that point guards use to maintain possession.
Perfect the Fake Crossover Dribble: Learn how to juke your defender with the fake crossover, and watch a video demonstration.

Shooting

Setting your team up for the best shot sometimes means taking it yourself. Here are keys to getting off a clean shot--and swishing it.
Shooting off the Dribble: Picking up your dribble and nailing a jumper isn't easy, but this animation will help you improve.
The Shot Fake for Perimeter Players: A fundamentally sound pump fake is perfect for getting seperation from a defender for a shot. Here are keys to the perfect shot fake.

Passing

Passing is an aspect of basketball that must be a strength for any point guard. Here are some tips to making sure your passes set your teammates up perfectly without any turnovers.
Passing Fundamentals With Steve Nash: Watch as one of the NBA's all-time great point guards demonstrate the basics of passing.
Point Guard's Guide to Feeding the Post: Learn the proper fundamentals of working the ball inside to your forwards.

Perimeter Defense

The work doesn't stop when your team loses possession. Here are tips for playing strong perimeter defense and helping your team make a big stop.
6 Perimeter Defense Tips: Defense is largely effort, but are some fundamentals to keep in mind to help your D.
2-on-1 Fast Break Defense Tips for Point Guards: Point guards often find themselves on the wrong end of a 2-on-1 fastbreak. Here's what Duke University's coaching staff recommends for those situations.

Leadership

Point guards are expected to be the captain of the floor. Pick up the necessary qualities of a great leader by following this advice:
5 Steps to Being a Great Leader: "Great leaders make the impossible seem possible." Learn how to be the one who inspires your teammates.
5 Ways to Separate Yourself From the Pack: Do the little things to make yourself the best player on the floor, and become the classic leader by example.

Strength and Conditioning

Being a great point guard is more than an on-court job. Get your body ready to lead your team with these guard-specific strength and conditioning tips.
The Definitive 6-Week Guard Workout: This training plan will get any guard faster, stronger and quicker for next season.
3 Drills for an Explosive First Step: The first step is crucial for a ball handler. Here are workouts that will make you quicker than your opponent.
How Chris Paul Stays on Top of His Game: See how the NBA's best point guard stays on top with a look at his offseason workouts.

Weekend Review from Mt. Royal University

Women

ʼs Basketball: Head Coach - Randy Peron (stmu.wbb@gmail.com)

ACAC Preseason Tournament at MRU: Games vs. Medicine Hat College / Lethbridge College/ SAIT

Women’s basketball continued their preseason preparation by

Tournament this past weekend. The team set out to improve on their previous performances while

focusing on some specific aspects of their overall game with 3 matches vs. strong ACAC Teams.

Struggling in the first game vs. Medicine Hat College, the team tried to compete against an athletic, wellcoached

opponent. After a difficult first three quarters, the ladies seemed to find their rhythm towards the

end of the 4th quarter, and finished strong with improved play and better execution. Player of the game

went to Lindsay MacWilliam for the Lightning.

Wanting to carry that over into their second match of the weekend, the women prepared to go up against

against Lethbridge College. Playing their best team game of the season the team competed hard

throughout the contest and with intense team play on both ends of the court battled the Kodiaks for the

entire match. Finishing the game with both better defense and more fluid execution of the offense, the

women proved to themselves that they can play hard and compete with ACAC teams. Player of the game

went to Kaitlin Harding, who showed leadership skills and poise on the court throughout the contest.

Their final game was a re-match vs. the SAIT Trojans. The women even competed as hard as they could

despite having a short bench due to injuries. The players stuck together throughout the contest playing

with only 6 players in the 2nd half. Player of the game went to Jorja Flagel who played very well against

some very strong players from SAIT.

playing in their 2nd exhibition ACAC

Results for the weekend:

103-32 vs. Medicine Hat / 86-39 vs. Lethbridge / 105-19 vs. SAIT

Preseason work continues this week with a scrimmage against Lethbridge College here in Calgary. The

game goes Friday evening at 6pm at Rundle Academy.

St. Mary's Women's Basketball Active This Thanks Giving Weekend

This weekend St. Mary's Women's Basketball Team will be participating in the Mt. Royal Invitational Tournament along with volunteering with "The Feed The Hungry Program" on Sunday. As the team continues to prepare for ACAL league play in January they will have contests against ACAC opponents Medicine Hat College, Lethbridge College and SAIT. On Sunday all team members will be working during the morning doing food preparation for the afternoon Thanksgiving dinner for community members who frequent Feed the Hungry services.

Lightning Strikes Up New Era

There’s Lightning in the long-range forecast.
And even with two winters to wait before they join the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC), the St. Mary’s University College women’s basketball squad would love to take some of their soon-to-be league rivals by storm at SAIT’s Fall Classic exhibition tournament this weekend.
“I know what it’s like to play against ACAC teams, and I know what the competition is like, but it’ll be nice to show the rookies what the next few years will be like for them,” said sixth-year point guard and team captain Kaitlin Harding.
“We want to show them that just because we are in a lower league, it doesn’t mean that they can crush us and walk all over us. We’re still competitive. We still practise a lot. Basketball is still our game.”
A long-time top contender in the lower-tier Alberta Colleges Athletic League (ACAL), the basketball squads at
St. Mary’s — a liberal arts and science school with about
600 students — will enroll in the ACAC for the 2012-2013 campaign.
You could call this a sneak preview.
On Thursday afternoon, the Lightning were thumped 94-19 by the Mount Royal Cougars. They’ll try to keep the score closer in Friday’s match against the Red Deer Queens before a date with the host SAIT Trojans on the final day of the tournament.
“I want to see where we are in regards to the powers of the ACAC,” said Lightning coach Randy Peron earlier this week. “Mount Royal and SAIT, those two teams are nationally-ranked teams traditionally, and I just want my team to be able to compete with them.
“All of us would like to have the scores close, but the big picture — and we’ve been talking about it since training camp — is we want to compete regardless of the score and we want to improve on everything that we’ve been working on.”
Now in his fourth season at St. Mary’s, Peron calls this his best recruiting class, and he’s optimistic experience against ACAC squads will only speed their development.
After all, it’s not long before these games will mean something in the standings.
“They know the two years is going to go by quick,” Peron said. “I’m sure, deep-down, they would like it to start today — as I would — but they all understand that we need to prepare as best we can.”
wes.gilbertson@sunmedia.ca

St. Mary's Women's Basketball Give Back to The Community

                           

Head Coach Randy Peron announced today that the St. Mary's University College Women's Basketball team will be volunteering this Sunday for the "Feed The Hungry Sunday Dinner Program" held at St. Mary's Cathedral Hall in downtown Calgary.

     

The purpose of the service is to serve a nutritious dinner to needy Calgarians in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. Since the program's first dinner in 1993, over 877,851 full course dinners have been served. At each dinner, an average of 500 guests are greeted and served an average of 1000 servings of a full course dinner. In addition to the main hot entree,bread, salad and a variety of desserts and beverages are served.

     

The Lightning student-athletes will be placed in groups each with different responsibilities, from dessert preparation, to servers, greeters, main entree helpers, cleaning of tables and more. A great way for the student-athletes of giving back to the community with this successful program. The student athletes will be returning  on Oct 10/10 for their 2nd day of involvement with this program.

       

The Department of Athletics and Recreation at St. Mary's has introduced in 2010-2011 the Lightning Varsity Athlete Community Service Program.  This program requires that each student-athlete participating in varsity athletics at St. Mary's devote a minimum number of hours per semester to volunteering in the community.  To join the Community Service Program or more information on Lightning Athletics, please contact the Athletic Director at 403-254-3728.

                                                                                                                          

Recruits and Walkons Compete for Roster Spots

After the 1st week of tryouts Women's Head Basketball Coach Randy Peron is very impressed with the talent and hard work ethic that has displayed by all athletes. The competitive drive is very high as players vie for spots on the roster. " I am very impressed by the work ethic and willingness to work on individual fundamentals during this 1st week of tryouts. The ladies that have been recruited along with the walkons have all worked very hard to compete with the returning players for roster spots on the team. With a Theme this season of "Together", all players have grasped the components that are necessary in order for the team to be successful this upcoming season. There will be some tough decisions to be made by the coaching staff regarding player selections, decisions which will make our team as strong as possible for the start of non-conference play beginning Sept 30 as we participate in the SAIT Invitational".