March 08, 2021   |   Tagged Coaching,

Why Loyalty Matters So Much on the Basketball Court and in Life

Why Loyalty Matters In Basketball and in life

You show loyalty to the game of basketball when your actions match your words. According to experts on loyalty, lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure in every area of life. The basketball court is no different. A lack of loyalty to your workouts creates distrust in your game. When you distrust your game, you cannot expect your teammates to trust your game. Some players distrust their game and choose to mask their distrust by an overinflated ego to hide their insecurities about their skills. The court becomes a great measure of team loyalty. When you see players open and not receiving the key passes needed to be successful, this is an indication of a lack of loyalty.

These teams aren't hitting the open man for several reasons.

• First, they may not have the skills to make the pass, which is a lack of loyalty to skill development.
• Second, they may not trust the person to complete the pass or handle the ball well. This is a lack of faith in each other's skills which may or may not be true.
• Third, some players on the team may not want to give up the ball because they want to be the one who scores.

This type of team has no loyalty to the mission or purpose of teamwork. Skillful players have the loyalty of the team, and they create loyalty to the team.

If you are loyal to the game of basketball, you will commit the time necessary to be excellent and worthy of your teammates' confidence and trust.

7 Ways to Develop Greater Loyalty

1. Love and loyalty go hand in hand. Lack of loyalty means lack of love. If you don't love basketball, you won't be loyal to your workouts. If you don't love someone, you won't be loyal to your commitments to him or her. There are many reasons we fall out of love, but one of the biggest reasons is bitterness. When you get disappointed or hurt whether in basketball or life and the worm of bitterness starts to eat away at your love, you are in trouble.

2. Define your purpose. What are you called to achieve and accomplish on and off the court? This is an incredibly important question to answer. What is your responsibility to your family? Being clear with your purpose will help you know where your loyalty lies.

3. Loyalty creates bravery. Courage is connected to the heart and your heart is the vessel for what you love. If you have nothing to love, you won't be able to have a sense of purpose. Without purpose, there is no need for bravery. Loyalty sees the responsibility necessary to fulfill a duty and the pledge to see that God-given purpose carried out. When you love something or someone, you will be loyal and when you are loyal, you will be brave.

4. Loyalty needs to unite with integrity. Without integrity, loyalty can become mindless obedience such as what we see in destructive dictatorships. A blind servitude for a country or a leader without strong integrity is dangerous as seen in the example of North Korea. Integrity is defined as wholeness, purity, innocence. This is an important definition. A person of integrity is not corrupted by power, blame, bitterness, prejudice, selfishness, or fear.

5. Loyalty and the tongue. How people speak is an extraordinarily strong indicator of their level of loyalty. People who speak very negatively about other people often, openly, without reserve are not loyal. People who are loyal do not gossip. They do not slander others; they take no delight in speaking badly about other people.... ever.

6. Forgive. Bitterness creates a lack of trust. You let go of bitterness through forgiveness. The more bitter a family, team, or business, the greater the lack of loyalty. The practice of forgiveness-asking and the ability to work through painful situations indicates strong loyalty.

7. Loyalty is a lifestyle. Being loyal six days a week and not loyal one day a week doesn't work. Important relationships require a higher level of trust which is built and protected over time. Loyalty is a decision, a pledge, a promise that requires daily commitment. Talking with Fred Crowell, founder of NBC Camps about his recent celebration of 50 years of marriage with his wife Susie, he says loyalty requires discipline to stay true to your mission. "I pledged 50 years ago to love Susie until death do us part, that pledge requires me to work hard, to ask forgiveness, to grow and change, to remain loyal to my mission to love and respect her every day of my life."

ABOUT NBC BASKETBALL CAMP

NBC Basketball Camps is a program committed to helping athletes become better players and better people. Loyalty, integrity, gratitude, courage, commitment, and other character qualities are values NBC Camps believes in intentionality and wisdom to attain and live successful lives. If you love basketball and are willing to do the work necessary to play the game well, please check out NBC Basketball Camps. We want to work with you.