• Chris Davy

S is for... Snap

S is for... Snap

So, I'm sat at my desk again, and in my office I have a whole bunch of shit in it. All over the place. One thing I have, is a bunch of post-it notes. Reminding me to do stuff, or plan stuff, or just keep stuff in mind. I have them on my desk at work as well. Sometimes, there is just a lot of stuff to take in, so what's the harm in having a few cheat sheets? Personally, I find it helps take the edge off. We all forget stuff and so I think it is good sense to have some reminders dotted around the place of important things that you know you need take into account.

One that I have on my desk in my office at home is. 'Map + Snap.'. That's literally all it says on it.

Why does it say that? WELL, this is a psychological mantra that I made up to help with scoring in basketball. BUT I think you can apply it to other things as well.

When it comes to basketball I support the New York Knicks. I have done for a bunch of years. The main reason being the film Eddie. Most kids, A LOT of kids my age from outside the United States, and probably even in the United States, I would say support the Lakers, Bulls or Celtics - and now Golden State. I mean it's obvious really. Glory hunting or as the American's call it Bandwagoning. I did it. When I was growing up in Exmouth, Devon; this was a time way before mobile phones and the internet. I wasn't from down here so when it came to football I didn't support Exeter City - although I follow them these days and I'm happy when they are doing well. But I'm from Wolverhampton, that's my home town. So I would follow them. But they weren't in the Premier League, so I could only ever really follow them on teletext. I wanted a team I could follow more and watch more. But I didn't want to follow the crowd, I never really have in a lot of ways - probably because of a weird thing I have about fitting in or making my own decisions, so I didn't want to support Man Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal. Instead I supported Blackburn Rovers. They were on Match of the Day every week so I could follow them. SO, when it comes to basketball, I follow the Knicks. I had this film Eddie that I could watch. And the film is based on the Knicks. It's got Whoopi Goldberg and a bunch of actual basketball players in it, and as well as being a cool basketball film, its just a really cool film.

Anyway, that's part of the reason I love basketball. Other than having fun playing it as a kid from time to time, collecting trading cards, playing NBA Jam and watching Space Jam.

But the whole Map + Snap thing. Well, like I say, it's a shooting mantra. Map - because when you are shooting, OR doing anything, you need to map it out and plan what you are trying to do. If you want to get the best results that is. And the Snap bit - well in basketball when you shoot a jump shot in particular, it's important that you snap your wrist on the follow through. But snap, depending on what definition you use and what culture you are immersed in, can mean a bunch of other things as well. It can mean that something is lively and full of energy. It's an easy task. It's the way something can done in the spur of the moment. And a bunch of other stuff.

Now I'm not saying do everything in the spur of the moment, clearly not. That's why you map it first. But you are working towards speeding up the relationship between your conscious and your actions to a point where it looks like its instinctive. Like you know exactly what you are doing. Which you do, because well, you mapped it out. True instinctiveness however would be purely primal. It would totally primitive and would have a very raw conscience - maybe not one at all. You would act like an animal - or perhaps a monster. Here you are working towards a point where it looks like you are acting like an animal, you have animal instincts - but really inside there is a fuck load of headwork going on.

Clearly I tend to look at this mantra of Map and Snap in a fairly positive and progressive way. But if you wanted to you can find a way to play Devil's advocate and find a negative regressive way of looking at it all. It's all down to purpose, motive and direction. What are you mapping? Are you creating a positive map or a negative map?

Back to the Knicks. One of the legendary Knicks players is a guy called Walt "Clyde" Frazier. Now not only was Walt an absolute boss on the court, he's just a cool, chilled out dude man off the court. I've watched the Knicks a bunch of times over the years and Walt Frazier often does the commentary with a presenter called Mike Breen; who is an equally cool guy. He has a great tone to his voice and is an AWESOME play-by-play commentator. I can listen to those two chat all day.

SO, to finally make my point. Walt Frazier, when he commentates he often has little catch phrases that he uses to describe the action. Dishing and Swishing, Shaking and Baking, Stopping and Popping, the list goes on. My contribution anyway would be Mapping and Snapping. Now I haven't done any coaching for a fair old while, and I haven't done any practising either. But this mantra, this is one I would bet my life on.

If you want to do anything, shoot a basketball, get a job, pass a test, or just make a cup of tea, whether you want to buy into what I'm saying or not. I believe you are always mapping and snapping. I think map/snap is a really quick, easy, simple and fun way to keep a philosophy in mind when you are doing something. It pretty much encompasses who you are and what you are about. Map - I'm planning it. Snap - I'm doing it, and I'm doing it with purpose and energy. Try it, let me know how you get on. Preferably by helping Great Britain win an international championship.

Who doesn't love a good quote?

"I'm good at snap decisions. But if you let me, I will chew something to death." - Jimmy Iovine

Songs to listen to now:

The Power - Snap!

Rhythm is a dancer - Snap!

Snap your fingers - Dean Martin

Just snap your fingers at care - George Gershwin

Snap Out Of It - Artic Monkeys

Stop Then Snap - SouljaBoy

One Finger Snap - Herbie Hancock

Snap Them Fingers To Boogie - John Lee Hooker

Snap Happy - Twista

#knicks #basketball #coaching

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