Mastering the Mind with Coach Joey

By: Andrea Aruino

The brain is considered to be plastic. The way that we experience the world is dependent on our habits, beliefs, emotions, and more. Transforming one’s mindset in any way that they choose, makes all the difference in one’s journey as an athlete. Training the brain to think in a way that is beneficial towards your life, requires time, practice, discipline, and even more so, vulnerability, which is what Coach Joey Hewitt emphasizes in his mental training sessions. 

Hewitt is a Player Development and Mental Skills coach at UPB where he aims to share his expertise in the technical skills of basketball, as well as the mental skills. He has experienced the highs and lows of basketball considering the fact that he has been playing for most of his life, attending Whitman College and even playing professionally in Australia, England, and Mexico. 

The mental side of basketball didn’t always come easy for Hewitt. He recalls entering his Division III college expecting to receive a decent amount of playing time for his first-year. To his surprise, he found himself on the bench which jarred his confidence and made him question his ability to perform. The sleepless nights and the belief that this feeling of apprehension would magically fade, pushed him to do what he found to be the biggest hurdle of all, asking for help. Not only was this a pivotal moment for his basketball career but it was also a pivotal moment for him as an individual. 

“It was a really thorny path. It was hard to open up and be vulnerable but I realized my two options were: suffering in silence or opening up about my suffering to someone close,” Hewitt said. 

His mental skills coach, Graham Betchart, had a profound impact on his mindset development. Before working with Betchart, Hewitt rarely focused his time practicing breathing exercises or self-talk, all of which are tools he has since mastered. Overcoming these adversities, revealed how much value mental training can do for a player. Once a student, now a coach, Hewitt aims to promote mental training skills to everyone of all ages but highlights the significant effects that sets a good player apart from a great player when they start mental training from an early age. 

“The earlier you start mental training, the easier it is to mold your brain into a mindset built on good habits. It’s easier to train your brain because the older you are the more cemented you are in your beliefs and habits but there’s always room to learn and grow,” Hewitt said. 

In the upcoming weeks, Hewitt will be spending more time in the UPB gym where he will be training younger students on mental training. This type of skill set comes with its own challenges when training younger students, a realization he has had throughout his sessions as he is constantly looking for ways to improve. For younger players, it’s easier to comprehend this type of training in tangible ways such as breathing or journaling. 

In the media, being an exceptional basketball player means putting up the most points, dunking on a rival opponent, or having the best ball handles. Although Hewitt hopes to redirect the focus of success in basketball to things that are otherwise overlooked. 

“Athletes spend so much time chasing and chasing and chasing, thinking that they have to make it pro or they have to score a certain amount of points to be a valuable asset to their team. All that does is add so much pressure and stress,” Hewitt said. 

This perspective stifles one's ability to play freely which disregards other aspects of the game that are just as important. Hewitt wants his player’s to build a mindset that allows them to accept whatever happens on the court and worry less about their stats and achievements. He would rather focus on how they handle their emotions on and off the court. What were they thinking during that one play? What was their thought process in passing the ball instead of shooting? Being mindful of the way that a player thinks during an in-game situation, can help to refine their skills that can be translatable to games. 

Hewitt is tapping into a side of basketball training that is rather neglected in most player’s routines. Being open-minded and having the willingness to be vulnerable is what he hopes to instill in his students. Putting shots up, conditioning, and doing drills, are just as important as doing breathing exercises, practicing self-talk, and creating mental habits that sets a player up for success. Technical and mental training in basketball works in tandem,mastering this is what sets good from great.