Adding Value to Your Team When You Don’t Get in the Game

On every team at every level they exist. Only five players can play at a time, and many teams have 12 to 15 players. They may play a few minutes here and there or only get on the floor during  blowouts. They’re not in the main rotation. They sit the bench.

I had the good fortune of playing for an excellent small college basketball program. Now, when I say, “playing” I really mean being on the team. I spent most of my time sitting on the bench. However, I believe I found ways to add value to my team despite this. I also believe that you can do the same for your team as well, no matter your level of play.

1. Have Enthusiasm

 Having enthusiasm is the hardest and easiest thing to do. On the one hand, you are sitting the bench. You are not excited about that. You’re a competitor. You want to be in the game. You want to be where the action is. On the other hand, while it may take a certain degree of skill to get in the game, it takes no skill to have enthusiasm. It’s a choice. You decide whether you will be enthusiastic or not.

Let me guess, you’re laid back, or quiet, or shy, or you just don’t get excited about things. Or, how can I act excited when I don’t feel that way? I have a solution – act as if. I agree with philosopher William James: “If you want a quality, act as if you already had it.” Just act enthusiastic. Act excited. You’ll be surprised how short a time it takes to develop this quality.

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”           -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Enthusiasm is contagious. For your team to have any degree of success, enthusiasm is needed. Be enthusiastic in practice and games. Your teammates may find it difficult to maintain a consistent, positive vision throughout the grind of a long basketball season. With your positive approach you will exercise a degree of influence and leadership.

2. Treat Practices Like Games

You must go full-speed all the time in practice. Never take a drill or a possession off. No matter how much better he is than you, you must do your best to stick with and challenge your man on defense. On offense, keep your defender honest, if he let’s his guard down, make him pay. Be aggressive. You might have the most motivated teammates in the world, or you might have some who look to cut corners.  But when you go full-speed you keep your teammates honest.  You add a measure of accountability. You help them get better, and therefore help your team get better.

By going full-speed you will get better too. The goal is to get off the bench and earn more playing time. Practice is a chance to prove to your coaches that you are ready for greater responsibility. If you are unsure of your weaknesses as a player, ask your coaches what you can work on to get better. Thank them for their honest assessment, and work on those shortcomings before, during, and after practice. Ultimately, the greatest gains in your game will be made in the off-season, which is always more individualized, but gains can be made during the season as well.

Offensively- Be an easy teammate to play with.  Move the ball, move without the ball, and screen for your teammates to get open. Use your dribble to get somewhere, not just for the sake of dribbling. Unless you are the defensive safety, crash the boards on every shot. Don’t try to make extraordinary plays. Stay within yourself.

Devensively- Talk constantly. Talking on defense covers a multitude of sins. Call out all screens. When in the help position, let your teammates know from which direction. In on-the-ball defensive situations, stay in a stance, cut off any clear path to the basket, and contest every shot. Whether your man crashes the boards or not, you must box out on every shot.

Doing the little things well at both ends builds trust with your coach and could get you a bigger role on the team.  

Learn every position on your team. For every offensive set, inbounds play, press breaker, and defensive scheme, know every single role. If you want to make yourself useful, the more tools you can develop the better. If you can’t practice at each position, diagram them on paper at home. In a close game with teammates in foul trouble, your coach is more likely to go with the guy who knows the system inside-and-out than the one who doesn’t.

3. Be a Servant

 Adding value to your team is not always getting in the game. When the water guy is overwhelmed during a time-out, help pass out waters. Carry equipment to and from the van during road games. Sweep the floor before practice. Throw away trash in the team room. Once you’ve gotten an adequate number of shots up during pre-game warm-ups, rebound for someone who is going to play more than you. Make yourself useful.

Off the court, meet needs on your team as you have the ability to. If you notice that a teammate seems discouraged, ask what’s wrong, listen well, and be an encouragement. You might have a teammate who doesn’t have a good family life.  Maybe they have nowhere to go for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Invite them to celebrate with your family.  A great teammate knows about their teammates.  You wouldn’t want your brother or sister spending the holidays alone.  Why should your brothers on the team be any different?

Do you have a unique niche that will serve your team? I was a math education major in college. I often tutored my teammates who needed help for math class. I was offering a service to them that they might have had to pay for otherwise. Tutoring in college helped settle for me that I wanted to be a high school math teacher after graduation. Look for ways to offer your unique gifts in service to your team.

4. Be in the Game When You’re Not in the Game

When you’re not playing much, it’s easy to disengage on the bench, joke around with your teammates or even people in the crowd. This is the wrong approach. Get emotionally involved in the game. Talk from the bench, especially on defense. Encourage your teammates. Pick them up when they check out of the game for a brief rest.

You must also be mentally engaged from the bench. What is the other team trying to do? What are they running on offense? What are they trying to accomplish on defense? What are the tendencies of individual players? Taking note of these things will make everything much easier if you do happen to get into the game. Always be prepared!

5. Embrace Playing JV if Asked

Playing junior varsity (JV) basketball in both high school and college changed my career. In college, I was a walk-on who originally played JV only. We mostly played junior college teams who were way more talented than we were, and that is putting it nicely. We got destroyed on a regular basis.  But, it was real college basketball playing experience, not just practice. It helped me adjust to the faster pace of the college game. One season, the varsity team was victim to several injuries, and halfway through the season I was dressing out with the varsity team. This would have never happened for me without JV playing experience.

The next year I was a full-time varsity player, but I continued to play JV. I was not in the playing rotation on the varsity team, but I often got put in for a minute or two during close games. This wouldn’t have happened if I were not afforded the chance to play 30-plus minutes in JV games. Playing JV helped me improve and allowed me to show my coaches that I was ready to play meaningful minutes on varsity.

6. Do Everything Right Off the Court

Represent your program well. Just because you’re on the basketball team, you’re not better than other students at your school. Befriend classmates who aren’t involved in athletics. When choosing partners or a group to work with during class, be willing to work with those who are not on your team or in your friend group. Be genuinely kind to them, do your part, and show interest in their lives, no matter how different from your own.

Do everything right in class. Go to every class, sit up front, take notes, ask questions, complete your work, study, and get help if you need it. Show respect to your teachers. I don’t care if they are the most difficult teacher you’ve ever had or if they dislike athletes, you don’t have to like them, but you do need to be respectful.

Strive to get good grades. Coaches care about the team GPA. They know who has good grades and who doesn’t. Discipline yourself and put forward your best effort in all classes. You may never score a lot of points on the court, but having a high GPA reflects well not only on you, but on your team and coaches as well.

Your Time Will Come, Be Prepared

You will have teammates who get hurt, sick, suspended, or kicked off the team. Teammates will get in foul trouble. I remember a few times where my college coach was so frustrated with the starters that he took them all out of the game and put a bunch of us bench guys in. You will be called on. You must be prepared.

If you have enthusiasm, practice well, serve your team, are engaged from the bench, willingly play JV, and do right off the court, you will be prepared. When you do get in, your coaches aren’t looking for a hero or for you to impress anyone. Just do your job. Take care of the ball on offense and be accountable on defense.

I know sitting on the bench game after game is a hard road. You may never be recognized or cheered for like guys playing over you. But if you strive to add value to your team, you will be respected and appreciated by your coaches and your teammates alike. The outside world might not know what you bring the table, but your team will. Even if they don’t, there is satisfaction in doing things the right way. You are a part of something bigger than yourself.

Remember, playing basketball is short lived. At some point, the ball will stop bouncing. However, life won’t end so soon. You’ll be part of a family, a workplace, a church, and other organizations throughout your life. The majority of these roles will not earn you glory or praise. Your ability to add value to these various organizations will be invaluable. Don’t waste your current playing opportunity to develop this skill – add value to your team when you don’t get in the game.

The best business organizations and the greatest teams have something in common.  People behind the scenes who add immense value.