pol planas perez

Tiago Splitter, Chicago Bulls Head Coach, quizzing his players about the opposition… Who drives right? Who shoots off the catch? Who spins in the paint? Who crashes the boards? Knowing your opponent can help you direct your attention. You have clues to look for, threats to recognise, and actions to anticipate. And you can take that knowledge into mental rehearsal. I use a simple sequence with players: Say it. See it. Do it. Feel it. Say it: establish a clear intention. “See the screen early. Make the catch difficult. Contest under control.” See it: imagine the opponent, their movement, the screener and the surrounding space. Picture the information you need to recognise. Do it: mentally rehearse your response. Feel yourself adjusting your feet, navigating the screen, recovering and contesting. Rehearse the movement as well as the picture. Feel it: bring the competitive qualities you want to embody. Calm, alert, decisive. Imagine loose shoulders, active feet and purposeful communication. You’re rehearsing how you want to compete. Then vary the situation. The opponent rejects the screen. Changes direction. Makes an early pass. Rehearse noticing and adapting. Because there’s a potential disadvantage to knowing your opponent… What you expect can influence what you notice. Become too certain that a player will drive right and you might miss the space opening to their left. Focus so heavily on stopping a scorer that you lose connection with their teammates. Build an opponent up in your mind and preparation can become apprehension. A scouting report can help you read the game, but it can also leave you reading from a script while the game changes around you. The coaching challenge is to develop informed, adaptable players - players who know an opponent’s tendencies while staying focused and connected to what is actually happening. Ask: “What do we know about this player?” Then: “What are you seeing now?” Prepare your expectations while keeping your attention flexible.