IN THIS ISSUE

01 Why prep starts days before the game, not the day of

02 The mindset work I do to stay proactive, not reactive

03 My actual game-day routine from warm-up to tip

Hey club!

A few weeks ago I had one of the best games of my EuroLeague career. Career high. After the game guys were asking what I ate, what playlist I had on, what shoes I was wearing.

Nobody asked what I did in the two days before.

That’s always the part people skip. The result is public. Everyone sees the scoreboard. What they don’t see is the journaling the night before, the sleep I protected, the diet I kept clean in the days leading up to it. They don’t see that after the game I was still running the same routine. Stretching, ice bath, water, electrolytes, nutrition. Because tomorrow is on the schedule too. For me it’s never about one game. The question I ask every day, game day or off day, is: how am I getting better at my craft today?

Let’s go.

TAKEAWAY #1

Most people treat game prep as a game-day thing. Show up, get your shots up, warm up, and go. That was me too, early on.

The foundation gets laid days before. Here is what the system actually looks like:

Diet. Keep it clean in the two days leading into a game. Whole foods, nothing heavy. What I put in my body two days out shows up in how I feel at tipoff. That connection is real.

Notes review. After every game I sit down the next morning and break down what I saw. I keep a folder. Tendencies of players I guarded, the type of defense they ran, things I noticed. Nothing long. Just my personal reminders. So when we play that team again, I open that folder two days before. I’m not learning anything new. I’m just reminding myself of what I already know.

Sleep. The night before is protected. I’m not staying up late scrolling. I’m down early because I know what’s on the line.

Journal. Night before every game I write. Nothing structured. Just getting what’s in my head out onto paper. By the time I wake up on game day most of what needed processing has already been processed.

We also watch a lot of team film together the night before. It’s thorough and I trust that process completely. So I’m not trying to pile more film on top of it. The notes folder handles the tactical side early. The team film handles the rest. And by game day my brain has room to actually play.

TAKEAWAY #2

When I’m mentally preparing for a game, I’m not watching film of the guy I’m guarding. I’m watching Jalen Brunson. SGA. Peyton Pritchard sometimes. Clips of guys working on the things I want to work on. Staying focused on my growth, my game, the things I want to get better at.

I want to go into every game proactive, not reactive. If I spend my prep thinking about what the other team does, I’m already in reaction mode before the ball tips. That’s not where I want to be.

Here’s the concept I keep coming back to: make sure your emotions match your desired reality. If you know you’re going to make it to work safely, why would you react to the person who cuts you off on the highway? If you know you’re going to get that D1 scholarship, why would you react to missing a shot in today’s game? You already know where you’re going. Nothing between here and there should shake you.

That’s the energy I want going into every game. Already committed to the process. Not hunting the scoreboard.

TAKEAWAY #3

We come downstairs around 4:45 after my shooting time. From there it’s a sequence.

Get to the gym. Hit the bathroom. Start stretching. Get on the table. Tape my ankles. Then a few minutes of mental prep. Quiet, locked in, walking through what I want to do tonight. Not what could go wrong. What I want to do.

The whole routine is maybe 45 minutes to an hour. Not complicated. But consistent. Same order, every game. Your body and mind start to recognize what’s coming. By the time I’m in the locker room I’m already in game mode. The ball hasn’t tipped yet but I’m already there.

And when the game ends the system doesn’t stop. Stretch, massage, ice bath, water, electrolytes, supplements, nutrition. Same care for recovery as the prep. Because tomorrow is on the schedule.

There’s no night off from the system. That’s the only way it works. Show up the same way every day, game day, practice day, off day, with the same question: how am I getting better today? That question is the engine. Everything else is just the work.

I put all of this into a free PDF called The 48-Hour System. It goes deeper on every piece — the sleep science, the nutrition, the film work, the journaling windows, the full game day sequence. Everything in this newsletter, one level down. Free download below.

Faith + Consistency,
Elijah

The Consistency Club shirt just dropped.

We kept it clean. “Consistency Club” on the chest. “Faith + Consistency” printed inside the hem. Three dot logo on the back. Minimal, on purpose. It’s for people who already know what it means.

This is a limited run. No restock. No second drop. We’re only taking orders for one week and when the form closes, that’s it.

If you’re in, sign up below.

Grab yours here

P.S. Next week I’m going after something that was drilled into my head since AAU. The word “talent.” Everyone told me it was the thing that mattered most. They were wrong. And I’m going to tell you why.