If you put your effort and concentration and to play into your potential to be the best that you can be, I don't care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game. In my book, we're going to be winners.

The talent for so many players today, the talent and the spotlight, it's taking them to heights that their character's not strong enough to support.

I'm one of those set goals achievements.

I talked about faith, passion, obviously the drive with the guys that've been around, and the guys that surround me every single day. If I want to be one of the best, I've got to play with and against the best. So that which gets praised gets repeated. You're listening to The Hardwood Hustle, brought you by PGC Basketball. Players, thank you tuning in. You're listening to The Hardwood Hustle brought you by PGC basketball. Players, thank you tune to them in. You're listening to The Hardwood Hustle. I'm your host Adam Bradley, alongside T.J. Roseanne. Special thanks to our friends over at PGC basketball, lead them up, and Team Snap for all their support of the Hardwood Hustle. Today we're going to be in our series pitfalls to avoid as a player. And today we're talking about eye contact.

So players, just so you know, we put out a poll to coaches and asked them different things

that frustrate them, that their players do, and things that kind of get under their skin.

And there was a whole list of different things that coaches said one of those things

is eye contact this failure to make eye contact a coach is in the moment he's trying to coach

you he's trying to teach you he's trying to instruct you and inspire you and move you and you're

not making eye contact you're looking down you're looking off to the side side, you're looking past him or her as they're speaking to you.

Players, I'm going to tell you right now that really frustrates coaches and can put you on the wrong side of their graces.

You're trying to get in the good side of their graces.

That could put you on the wrong side.

And it's something that you need to be aware of and you need to work and to be intentionally to get past yeah i think players one thing is

important to know is this is to help you we want you um to be have the most effective career you can

and um just acknowledging the fact that that coaches desire eye contact um it's just human nature When somebody gets eye contact with you, when they nod their head, when they look at you, they want to be coached. And coaches want to coach players that want to be coached. So you need to with your body language, but specifically with your eye contact right now, you need to look at your coach. Like, I want to be coached. Like, I hear you. Now, I recognize this. All of you are in different situations in different places. I've been around a lot of different types of players. And I've had a lot of players initially not give me eye contact. And what I realized oftentimes is, you know, in coaches, this is important for you too, is it's not always natural just to give

eye contact. Not everybody was raised that way. Not everybody has the same self-esteem. Not everybody

you know is used to doing that. So coaches, if a player doesn't make eye contact, one of the

worst things you can do is jump on them right away. One of the best things you can do is teach

them how to have eye contact and that they need to have eye contact. And players, you need to recognize and understand how important it is to have eye contact. It's a skill. Like, you know, when you give respect, you get respect. And you hope when you're speaking, somebody gets eye contact with you. And vice versa, when somebody's speaking to you, you need to have eye contact

with them. And the fact, you know, if you're sitting there in the huddle and you're looking out left or right or up in the air, you're telling your coach, I don't care. Now, maybe that's not what's in your heart, but that's what's communicated. That's what's communicated to a coach. And that's what's important because perception is reality. And you can go back in the office and say, well, coach, I did pay attention.

I did care.

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