In the game of basketball, the people who are supposed to know (odds makers) say the home court is a 6 to 10 point advantage. Playing and coaching in college leagues where teams play each other twice (home and away) the theory seems to hold up.

So what has this home court advantage happen? I have a theory based on the development of human beings. It really isn’t the the court and the crowd. Baskets are 10’ high, court is 94’ by 50’ and the crowd is loud at home and away.

Let’s go back to when you were 6-12 years old. You are trying a new route to school or an old route where you are fearful of the current “bully on the block” … strange territory, unpredictable events are the results. At that age we are formulating our reaction to things. Being uneasy is a natural reaction.

Obviously there are exceptions to this, but let’s stick to the generality. If I am uneasy I am probably not as relaxed as I would like to be and that can definitely affect my performance. And, I may never know it is about something that happened when I was 9 or 10 years old.

This doesn’t mean we can’t win on the road. If we are much better than our opponent we can win, but by a narrower margin. You know, win by by five points away from home and by 15 in our comfortable backyard.

I know you could be thinking, “great, so what do I do about it?” I don’t think it’s just “take two aspirin” and go to bed. The generality is do something to start the game that is different than usual. Maybe you should be more aggressive or contrary to your usual way of doing things. It might be for two or three minutes or longer. It’s not about your opponent, but what you are doing for your team. Don’t leave your team just reacting as usual.

The intent is to get your team PRESENT and into the game so that you are just playing ball. Your change can also throw the opponent off and make them a little tentative. That’s a bonus if it happens. And, you might do something a little different for each opponent.

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