Give the coach a reason

Many players believe they should get playing time just because. Well any coach will tell you this is not true. If you want to increase your playing time then you must give the coach a reason to play you. During the course of the game the coach may need someone to rebound the ball, play good defense, or even score the ball. Sometimes a coach just needs an energy guy/girl to come in the game and hustle for loose balls and give good effort. What does this mean? Sometimes there is a void that needs to be filled and if you can fill that void then your playing time may increase.

Think about the team you played on this past school year. In what area did your team struggle? Was it rebounding? Shooting? Defense? Hustle? Ball handling and passing? Those are voids or areas of improvement that every team can improve on. So if your team struggled with rebounding all year long and you didn't make the effort to become a good rebounder, then it's your fault you didn't get the playing time you wanted. You had the opportunity to say,"Hey this team is struggling with rebounding and I'm going to step up and do better on the boards."

So now, looking foward to next year, what did your team lose? Did your team lose your best defender? Shooter? Rebounder? If so, you could work hard over the summer to fill the void. Become the team's best rebounder and defender. Be that shooter that can stretch the defense. If you can fill a void that your team need then you may increase your playing time.

Remeber when training, "Don't confuse activity with accomplishments".