YIPS ARE FOR CORTEX
Sole of the right foot slightly twists and shifts, searching for the sweet spot. Basketball spins between two hands with the left fingertips feathering synthetic leather, the right palm guides and ushers. Deep inhale through the nose, the eyes target the rim, exhale. Two dribbles with a light catch in-between, the left leg finds balance. Right hand feels for channels, left palm in guide position. Knees bend naturally once, a second slightly smaller bend. Another inhale, slow is smooth. The mantra plays as I lift, exhale and release. Follow through holds a prayer to the basketball gods asking to help guide this ball to the bottom of the net. Eyes fixed on the rim. Swish. The majestic free throw ritual that all (but a handful of psychopathic) basketball players adhere to, may be more important to success than your cerebral cortex understands. The beautiful consciousness of the mind resides in this complex part of the frontal lobe where new skills are learned, understanding of past and future takes place, and where your greatest adversary to free throw percentage lays dormant.
Attempt after attempt. Day after day. Week after week. Your routine is locked in, the cerebral cortex has transferred this new skill to the subconscious cerebellum. The part of the primal brain that is, in part, responsible for your coordinated muscle movements. The autopilot. The muscle memory. The part of the brain you want guiding your ten thousand repetitions of practice from an uncontested, static distance. The psychological state of a player can be more meaningful than talent when it comes to free throws. When the cortex recognizes the potential future of an action it will try to drag your muscle memorized mantra back to the frontal lobe; thinking it needs thought to control the outcome... Clang, miss, choke. The cerebellum already knew what to do, because it's done it a million times before. It's primal. It's being present. Allowing the brain and body to nestle into its ritual and trust the process despite the pressure.
Every eye in the gym is on you, the game is on the line and your body is fatigued. In these situations a player's mind set matters. The gravity of such moments can sharpen focus and enhance ability, or, it can haunt your psyche and give you the yips. A player can experience mental blocks that inhibit muscle memory and cause a hitch, glitch or twitch under extreme stress. This is known as the yips. Most commonly associated with baseball pitches, bowling, darts, golf putts and free throws, it is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when athletes with no identifiable physical limitations randomly and unexpectedly fail to execute even simple sport performance movements. So next time you step to the stripe, no matter the score, no matter the scenario, just settle into your cerebellum, take a breath, trust the practice and pray to the karmic gods of the hardwood they guide your hand true and hold that follow through, just like you have ten thousand times before.
Weekly Recap:
Defeated Degenerates no more was the theme for the six o'clock contest as the D-gens got off the schneid with a 77-62 dub over The Standard. "Super Mario" Archuleta put on his game face and laced four out of five at the charity stripe as he went for a game high 38 pts and 10 boards. Josh DeHerrera gave his best "Yoshi", sinking four threes while ripping down 5 rebs and 4 thefts in the win. On the other side of the ball, Bryan Enriquez was a perfect two for two at the line and took home team high honors with 29 pts, 12 rebs, 3 thefts with some deft shifting and clutch work.
Remember when the cafeteria served sloppy joes and all the kids were stoked? Me either. But Medium Kings Dedrick Johnson (17 pts, 14 rebs) and Adan Lopez (21 pts, 9 rebs) were royalty at the lunch room in this sloppy affair where neither team could muster a clean rhythm. For team Prime Time, Kareem Masibuwa managed the only edible content worthy of a plate as he nibbled his way to 14 pts and 13 rebs. Shout out Manny Chavez for going two for two at the charity stripe to starve off famine while spoon feeding 13 pts. Medium Kings 55, Prime Time 46. Yuck.
These Killer Bees look locked in this summer as they snuck out a tough win over Silent Storm 79-73. Worker bees PJ Lovato (21 pts, 9 rebs and 6 swats) and Luis Alvarado (18 pts, 14 rebs and 2 thefts) were pollinating the shit outta this Storm’s flower. Shawn Daniels and Wilford Troup did their best to summon the sound of a thousand silent lightning bolts going for 22 pts each, but the Storm's anemic 7-12 free throw performance proved to be a deafening downfall.
Silent Storm picked up where they left off to start Wednesday's game slate, with a 66-93 shellacking by 505 Unit. We better get some moisture soon or it's gonna be a long, dry summer for the Storm. The Units were getting to their spots and sharing the rock, amassing 31 team dimes. Lukas Turner led four 505'ers with 27 pts, 11 rips and 6 assists while Steven Lovato (22 pts, 12 rebs and 5 dimes), Angel Parra (24 pts, 6 rips and 5 dimes) and Mario Montaño (17 pts, 12 boards, 5 dimes and 4 steals) were dialing 1 before they called their boys. Jessie Woosley was a tornado of ballerism, doing damage from everywhere to try and disconnect the line with 22 pts and 7 rips, but did miss one free throw. Don't worry fellas, the monsoons are coming.
After a last minute snub for the seven o'clock game, Heatwave and Mob tipped off the nightcap in one of the worst free throw exhibitions we've ever seen. The radiation makers managed just 4-12 from the stripe as they eeked out a 73-70 win, thanks in large part to Al Capone and crew going 8-18 from the line with some crucial misses in the waning minutes. Martin Gracia was money from behind the arc scoring a team high 22, while inside the paint, Jeremiah "Reezy" Jacquez beat up the mobsters with 19 pts and 12 rips, despite shooting one for six from the stripe. Mob's Eric Martinez (36 pts, 7 rips, 5 dimes) was gangster from everywhere except...you guessed it, four for eleven from the line.
Over at the nursing home on Thursday night the IBUProfen and prune juice was flowing as FAZO lived at the stripe, making thirteen out of eighteen attempts, with Brian Fairchild doing the cerebellum shuffle, going nine out of ten at the line and dropping a 30 piece. Matt Brito powered the cream of wheat and dropped 19 pts, 17 rebs, 7 dimes and 3 thefts in the 81-68 victory over Santa Fe Elite. Ryan Romero put together a highly efficient outing with 16 darts on eight attempts and a perfect one for one at the stripe for Santa Fe "Ordinary" on this night.
A highly anticipated showdown between two top geriatrics tipped at 7pm. 505 Unit wasted no time establishing their place at the parcheesi table as they cruised with the walker and jumped out to a 40-31 halftime lead over IPS. After a quick nap, teams popped their dentures back in for 20 more minutes, but IPS couldn't find the bite and got licked 63-84. Five Units notched double digits led by Brandon Encinias' 21 pts, 8 rebs, 6 dimes and 5 thefts. The acronymic letters got 21 pts from Greg Trujillo but were only two of six from the stripe.
The old Mob men closed out our week with a dominant 104-71 win over Zia Elite. Eric Martinez had an Unc redemption with 31 pts, 13 rebs and 7 dimes but was still stuck in the cerebral cortex as he went three of six from the line. Andrew Ellsworth busted out the cane and whipped around the hardwood with 20 pts, 10 rips, 8 dimes and 5 thefts to help choreograph the flash mob. For the Zia "Plebeians" Matt Valdez dropped a 30 ball in the loss but the Zias did manage to shoot a perfect one for one from the charity stripe.
Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend, where family and friends can gather round the grill to unofficially, officially kick off the Summer season. To celebrate this auspicious time Swish is giving you even more open gym time with pick up ball starting early Monday night at 5pm. Play until you don't have ten or 9pm. 35+ tourney kicks off next week with four games so get your naps in Uncs, you got a late night Thursday, and check the bracket to know when you play, https://scheduler.leaguelobster.com/2485209/35/spring-26/ . Alright ballers, get your free throws up and your ritual down.
Respect the game, Santa Fe Swish
