The Importance of Consistency

Being consistent is something that can help in every line of work.  The importance of consistency is incredibly high.  Think of how critical consistency is in the life of a a surgeon, fire fighter, soldier or Prime Minister/President.  After all,  in these roles people’s lives depend on your ability to deliver every single time you are called to action. Consistency can be life and death in those roles because if you have a bad day or make the wrong choice people could die.    

On a less critical level imagine you have waited for years and you finally get the opportunity to see one of your favourite singers or bands perform. You are so excited and the atmosphere is absolutely electric.  Then they take the stage and the performance is terrible.  It lacks energy, they forgot the words to their songs and overall they just seem really off. Suddenly you feel completely dejected and disappointed. You waited so long for this and now you are just let down thinking it was a waste of your time and money.   

So when we talk about consistency on a basketball court it is very important. Often the coaches jobs depend on the players ability to perform.  The higher the level of competition the more consistency becomes a factor.  Coaches will make decisions based upon consistency because in crunch time or at the end of a game this will be the time when the smallest factors need to be controlled the most. 

So what are some of the ways an athlete can become more consistent?

1 - Find Your Optimal Performance Level  

Know your performance level and figure out how to find it. The way to figure this out is to think back to the state you were in when you had your best game or go with what felt good for you when you were playing.  The trick is to get that feeling to repeat where you are in that “just right” state.  Some athletes naturally get very hyped up before a game so they are going to have to learn to bring those levels down. Some athletes need to pump themselves up so they need to do something that gets them ready to play.  One of the key factors for many athletes is not being too high or too low however every athlete is unique so it is up to you to figure out what works best for you.  

2 - Pre-Performance Ritual 

Recently, football player JJ Watt surprisingly revealed that his pre-game ritual involves listening to Adele music before he plays.   Athletes can be incredibly unwavering and even have very strange pre-performance rituals that can almost be superstitious to some degree. They can get to the court hours in advance just to start their OCD shooting rituals.  They might have a particular pair of shoes they have to wear or have to talk to someone special before they play.  Figure out what yours is and it may be something simple or incredibly complex.  At the end of the day if it makes you play better that’s what matters.  Keep in mind though with things that are complex if they mess you up or take you in the wrong direction before you even start the game.  It may need to be altered in order to be more repeatable. Getting into the correct mental state is critical to a consistent performance. 

3 - Practice How You Want to Play in the Game

So many athletes don’t take practice as serious as they should.  This is probably the biggest area of improvement I have noticed over the years that I have been involved with coaching basketball.  Players at lower levels often go haphazardly through practice after practice and when the game starts they wonder why they played poorly. They miraculously had a bad game but they don’t put together the practices that lead to those games as critical to their performance.  When you attend a successful university or college practice you can see the level of intensity is the same or greater than in a game. This should give you an indication as to how important this is.  

Playing at your best isn’t like a switch you can turn off and on at will.  Players who make that mistake are really doing themselves and their team a disservice. It has to do with having your state of performance be consistent and elevated every time you step on the court.  You should want to prove to all of your teammates the reason you are there is to be the best player on the court and in the process you will make them better too. This would then be the same rule when you play against opponents.    

4 - Dealing with Adversity 

You don’t always have control over what happens to you but you do have control over how you react to it.  There are going to be obstacles in a game that get in the way of your optimal performance.  No player is going to be perfect or even great every single night.  Sometimes no matter how hard you try the ball just won’t go into the hoop. Sometimes you are a step slow and everything seems to be going wrong.  You might pick up a couple of fouls and you end up on the bench. The way you you react to this will determine your success. To counteract this continue to play team defence, get your teammates a great shot, set great screens, or box out your check so they don’t get an easy rebound.  If you are on the bench help your teammates by letting them know the time on the shot clock, cheer for them and give them ideas of things you see that can help them succeed.  By focusing on these elements you can take the focus off yourself and it might help you to get back into the flow of your own game much faster.  

In closing, consistency is a key factor to succeeding at high levels of sport. Coaches like to be able to some degree accurately predict how you will be in certain situations.  The more consistent and predictable you are the easier it is for them to depend on you when the game is on the line.  If you are on the bench when the game is on the line then what that is telling you is that you aren't predictable with your performances.  Work on your consistency in order to put yourself into a position to succeed. It is a relatively small thing that if done properly can really be a difference maker to your game as well as the success of your team.