I believe that motivation is the number one skill to focus on in basketball. Most coaches or people will probably argue why dribbling or shooting is the most important skill. They may not even think of motivation as a skill, but it is a psychological skill. Motivation is also a trainable skill that can be enhanced by good coaching. Players with motivation, no matter what their skill level or skill set, will work to become a better dribbler, shooter, passer, rebounder, or defender. Players with motivation will go the extra mile and push themselves to the limits physically while watching film and looking to other sources for improvement suggestions.
Brian McCormick has a great section on psychological skills and how to enhance them as a coach in his book, “Cross Over: The New Model of Youth Basketball Development.” McCormick outlines the psychological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization components of motivation, based on Maslow’s Motivation Theory. These are the components that are needed for a player to reach their full potential. [I read full potential as meaning the player becomes the best possible basketball player that they can be. Thus, this is the skill that is most important.]. McCormick goes on to add suggestions on how coaches can motivate their players. A few suggestions included were:
1) Players setting goals
2) Building self esteem through the learning and mastering of new skills
3) Getting to know players personally
Other coaches, such as yourself, suggest using challenges and praise to train the motivational skill in players. All of the above are great examples of how coaching can play a part in training and increasing motivation and then create players who reach their full basketball potential.
In the end, players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash became the players they are or were because of their levels of motivation. All of these players were great athletes but something ignited their motivation. This motivation is what took Michael Jordan from being cut from his high school varsity team to the greatest ever. Motivation is what separates good from great. Motivation is what pushes individuals and teams to improve every single day. Motivation is the catalyst to improvement.