Greg Johnson

New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown delivers a powerful message to his players at practice… He pulls his starting five aside, looks at the remaining players and tells them: “Everybody else in this gym, you’re fighting — either to make the team or for minutes.” I love this! Because it speaks to something I believe is fundamental to high performance sport… the intentionality of practice. Practice isn’t simply a place to improve technical and tactical capabilities. It’s an opportunity to compete. To demonstrate who you are. To build the habits, behaviours, and mindset that serve you when the pressure is on. And that requires intention. Deliberate, purposeful, relentless intention. In my new book, Compete, I introduce the reader three psychological skills that underpin outstanding performance: Attention, Intensity, and Intent. Attention: What are you focusing on during practice? Before each drill, identify the information you need to pick up. The positioning of a defender, the movement of a teammate, the space opening up. Stay connected to these cues, make decisions based on what you see and refocus quickly when distracted. Don’t just go through the motions. Be mentally present. Intensity: Are you practising with the physical and mental intensity the situation demands? Sprint into position. Communicate with purpose. Compete for loose balls. React quickly when possession changes. Maintain your standards when fatigue sets in. And remember, intensity isn’t always about going flat out. It’s about bringing the right energy to each moment. Intent: What are you trying to achieve today? Set a clear objective before practice. Perhaps it’s attacking space aggressively, making quicker decisions or responding positively after mistakes. Commit to demonstrating that behaviour throughout the session. Afterwards, reflect on whether your actions matched your intentions. Because here’s the thing… You don’t suddenly become an outstanding competitor when the game begins. You build the behaviours of an outstanding competitor in practice. You build them when you’re tired. When you’re frustrated. When you’ve made a mistake. When you’re not getting the minutes you want. When nobody seems to be watching. And this is where Brown’s message becomes so powerful. He’s reminding his players that practice matters. That every possession is an opportunity to demonstrate something. That competition isn’t reserved for game day. Of course, effective practice needs more than effort. It needs quality, feedback, reflection, and the freedom to experiment and make mistakes. But combine these ingredients with a High Performance Mindset and practice becomes an extraordinarily powerful environment for development. My message to athletes is simple… Don’t just turn up to practice. Compete with purpose. Train your mindset as deliberately as you train your game. Because how you compete in practice helps shape how you compete when it matters most.