Writer

Hiam Haddad

Basketball is not just a game,  it’s a mind set. It’s a sport embedded in true passion and purpose.  With this belief comes many questions. Which characteristics can be honed through basketball to serve a greater purpose? Which students of the game are successful and why? Which will advance furthest in competition? What defines success for you?

For me, two indicators of success come to mind – purpose and perseverance. Building perseverance and purpose in kids requires mindset growth because many people set a goal and yet don’t follow through on their commitment to it or themselves. 

Children often get discouraged when they lose a game and this is very evident in their body language every time I watch a youth basketball game.This is because they lack true passion to persevere. While there is no actual science or template that can be used to get children more motivated, if they learn about a growth mindset and how the brain  reacts and changes to certain challenges on a psychological level, they are more likely to succeed when they fail because they don’t believe that the failure will be everlasting. 

Passion emerges from purpose. Purpose is not something that just gets handed to you, it is developed. It is not something that can be taken away from you, as it is something we grow into and develop. This is why to me, the game of basketball is much bigger than just a sport. It is a game of passion that will allow an individual’s belief that their purpose is much more significant than playing a game. Purpose allows you to hone the skill of perseverance by developing the mindset that challenges are not a threat to your success.