Hailey Van Lith- How To Build Toughness

In the Sweet Sixteen win over Notre Dame, Texas Christian University trailed at half-time 35-32 and star Hailey Van Lith had scored only 8 points. And Notre Dame still led after three quarters, 52-51.

Hailey Van Lith scored the last 6 points of the third quarter, and then scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to lead TCU to a 71-62 win. She outscored ND 12-11 in the fourth quarter, and had 18 of her teams 39 points in the fourth quarter. 

Van Lith is called “Miss March” in a tip of the hat to fact that now she has made her 5th Elite Appearance. She has been on three different teams to do this- Louisville, LSU, and TCU. 

Clearly she knows how to respond to the “tough” that a player faces during a basketball season, and especially during a tourney run whether in high school or college. Three post game quotes by Hailey Van Lith gave some insight into how she handled tough vs Notre Dame:

Quote On Expecting Tough- “We’re fine with it being a dogfight every game. We don’t hope to win by 20. We don’t hope they miss every shot. We’re ok with it being a close game. We know it’s going to be a fight. We’re ready to fight. I feel very confident in our mindset.” 

My View- Great, competitive players want tough. 

Quote On Team- “I was going out there and play as hard as I could to be able to practice with these girls tomorrow.”

My View- Great players are connected to their team.

Thoughts About Off-Season Work- Van Lith told a reporter at half-time she was not handling ND’s physical defense. She could not get open trying to run thru arm bars. So she told the reporter, she just thought back to what she did in the off-season. Van Lith went onto to describe:

Early Morning- 2-3 Hours Team Workouts and Lifting

Mid-Day- 2 Hours 3 on 3 Work in Prep for Olympics

Late Afternoon- 2- 2 1/2 Hours Individual Workouts with her trainer

So Van Lith told the reporter that she reflected that in the summer everyday she had to have a toughness, so she needed in the second half to bring that same toughness. 

The reporter said that Van Lith’s words were, “If you aren’t willing to do the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”

My View- In the off-season, players’ workouts need to be designed to improve skills, but also be designed to challenge the player’s toughness. On a daily basis Van Lith tested her toughness. 

Conclusion- Great, competitive players want the games to be as tough as possible because they KNOW they can handle toughness better than their opponents. The tougher things are, the better it is.