Andre is the tallest kid on his team, and lately that's felt like more to manage than to use. Andre grew a lot this past year, and movements that used to feel familiar now felt different — a pass arrives and his hands get there a beat sooner than he expects. He went up in warmups, mistimed it, and heard a couple of kids laugh. Since then he's been playing careful. Nothing is wrong with Andre. He's learning the timing for the body he has now.
The spiral
When your own movements feel unfamiliar, the instinct is to hide, and Andre did. He stopped going up strong. He stopped running the floor hard in case his timing was off. He drifted to the corner where the ball wouldn't find him. The quiet trap: he'd started treating a temporary stage as if it were just who he is now. It isn't who he is — it's where he is right now, and where you are can change with reps.
The turn: add one word — "yet"
When the self-talk says "I can't," Andre learned to add one word: yet. "I can't finish over people" becomes "I can't finish over people yet." The first is a verdict that tells you to hide; the second is a to-do list that tells you where to work. He didn't need to wait for his timing to feel normal — he could practice it on purpose.
- 1Catch the self-talk — notice the "I can't / I'm not" sentence.
- 2Add "yet" — out loud if you can.
- 3Turn it into one slow, clean rep aimed right at that thing; add speed only once it stays clean.
Andre picked one move — catch and finish without bringing the ball down — and practiced it slowly, not minding how it looked. A couple of weeks of practice later, a game: he caught it on the block, and instead of gathering low where a reach could poke it loose, he went straight up off the catch. It banked in. Nobody in the stands knew it was the exact rep he'd been grinding. He did.
Do This Now
- Pick the one move that feels most off right now and practice it slow and clean — adding "yet" out loud whenever "I can't" shows up. That's the whole assignment.
Coach & Parent's Corner
If a kid has grown fast, the help is patience plus reps — not pointing at the awkwardness, which can make them want to hide. Tell them: you're learning the timing for the body you have now, and that takes patient reps. Then give them one clean move to groove.
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