Player Development Coach, Joey Hewitt, emphasizes the importance of Mental Training
February 16, 2023
By Madisen Carter
Unlimited Potential Basketball is happy to introduce its newest Player Development Coach, Joey Hewitt. Hewitt grew up in Lafayette, California, and after graduating from Acalanes High School in 2015, he went on to play college basketball at Whitman College. Hewitt then went on to receive his Masters Degree in Sports Psychology while playing overseas in Australia, England, and Mexico.
Hewitt grew up in a family revolving around sports and got into the game of basketball through his older brother. Growing up, Hewitt loved the game, but explained that he was a late bloomer and lacked confidence in himself within the sport. After a good individual season his senior year of high school, that was when he decided that he could play basketball at a higher level and dedicated more time into improving in the sport.
At Whitman College, Hewitt had success with a career record of 112-10, making him the winningest D3 College Basketball player ever. Although Hewitt had an impressive college career overall, at the start of his freshman year, he admitted that he continued to struggle mentally and felt performance anxiety that soon started to trickle into his everyday life. He realized that something was not right, and that was when he decided to ask for help.
Hewitt was connected with Sports Psychology Mental Skills Coach and Author, Graham Betchart. Betchart helped guide Hewitt through his freshman season and taught him the skills and tools to deal with his emotions and anxiety on and off the court. When coming back his sophomore season, Hewitt said he had a rejuvenated mindset, and his experiences inspired him to pursue a career in Sports Psychology.
“I learned how to deal with my lack of confidence and how to deal with my anxiety on the court, and just naturally it trickled into my everyday life. So that's why I fell in love with [mental training] because I originally got into this because I wanted to be a better basketball player, but ultimately it made me a better person,” Hewitt said. “It made me more confident outside of basketball, [and] it helped my anxiety in a social setting in school [and] in every aspect of my life.”
Now working in the Sports Psychology field, Hewitt emphasizes that starting mental training at an early age is important for young athletes. If young athletes learn and receive the skills earlier in life, they will be more prepared to overcome the insecurities, anxiety and mental blocks that come up in everyday life. Another reason why it is so important to train on the mental side of the game is because this will help younger athletes be aware of who they are and understand their identity.
“... In reality, we need to learn how to detach ourselves from our sport and understand that we're not [just] a basketball player, we're not [just] a soccer player, whatever it may be. We're a human being first who chooses to play that sport, and that's something that I wish I would have started [to understand] earlier,” Hewitt said.
As a Player Development Coach at UPB, Hewitt plans to incorporate mental training during his private training and group training at the facility. He plans to do this through teaching mindfulness, breathing, and how to be present while playing the sport of basketball. He explained that before workouts, just three deep breaths can help get the mind into the right headspace and help embrace emotions through the workout. Hewitt also said that guided meditation and visualization helps an athlete understand that it is not about just one performance, but it is about how an athlete can get better every single day.
“In the workouts [and] in the training, I hope I can be kind of that type of presence who can bring someone back to the present moment when I can visibly see them living in the past, living in the future or maybe too focused on their peers or their distractions [of] their parents in the gym,” Hewitt said. “It's very important to practice this type of stuff, not just for basketball, but just in everyday life. It'll help improve focus, attention, and overall just help decrease stuff like stress and anxiety.”
Hewitt said he looks forward to being a part of the UPB Family and learning from the other coaches on the team. He has a long term goal of merging mental training with skill development, and is looking forward to learning how to incorporate that during the 60 minute sessions at the facility.
At UPB, it is important to the team that we help athletes understand how to play present and discover their greatness on and off the court. That is why we are so excited to have Hewitt and his expertise of sports psychology on the team, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact he will have on UPB’s community!
“I feel [that] the mental side of sports, mental training and sports psychology made me realize that basketball is just, you know, a microcosm for our everyday life,” Hewitt said. “How we deal with our problems in basketball is exactly how we deal with our problems in everyday life. So we can use that platform as an advantage for us and as a way to learn more not only about ourselves as players but ourselves as people.”
