Attitude (Player's Handbook Chapter)

I am sure you have heard a coach say, “He has a bad attitude.” So what is a good attitude? Most of us find it easy to have a good attitude when everything is going our way, but what happens when the chips are down? It’s a known fact you will face adversity at least three times this season. What will be your attitude when you do not get in the game, when the official makes a poor call, when you can hardly walk you are so run down, or when you are getting chewed out for something you don't think you did?

A good attitude is doing your best at all times, respecting your coach's decisions, respecting your teammates, reaching down and going a little bit harder, accepting criticism, and not blaming someone else. Are you prepared to have such an attitude? David did…

Goliath, the nine-foot 400-lb. giant, challenged the soldiers of Israel. David, a 17-year-old shepherd, demanded to know why they were not accepting his challenge. They explained to David that Goliath would destroy them. David did not agree because he compared the size of Goliath to the size of God. As you know, David won. He did not allow the conditions to control his attitude; his attitude controlled the conditions.

I hope you can step onto the basketball court with the same attitude David had when he stepped onto the battlefield with Goliath. Be positive and do not let your mistakes handle you; rather, you handle your mistakes.

In closing, Chuck Swindoll echoes these sentiments by saying:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a team. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.”