On Christmas Day, since I had mentioned that I had wanted to hook up my camera and break down film from my last game earlier in my visit, my parents and sister all said to hook it up and we'd all watch it. After all, they've never seen any of my games.
I was a little shocked to see how much they were contributing to my analysis - in a good way. "He looks like he's nervous in that spot." "Have you worked with him on his crossovers? He'll be good if he can get that one step." Granted, most of their comments were things I've already keyed in on to work on, but it was good to see that I was seeing things that were actually problems and not just figments of my frustration with our struggles as a team. Allow me to clarify - I am not frustrated by any one particular player, and I don't want it to be taken as such. I am more frustrated by the fact that I believe in my team, and just haven't quite found the winning formula for them yet. And when you are frustrated, you see things and can easily make a mountain out of a mole hill. It was assuring to hear them spot the same issues I did.
It was also great to hear the comments from them after the video was over. It was 19 - 2 at half time and we ended up only losing by 6 in a great second half effort. "That was a pretty good comeback. They need some more practice time, but they need to hear from you and their parents that they have people that believe in them. A lot of the issues and problems were just that they are unsure about so much that they overthink and underperform." Didn't see that coming. But its true. In the past, my teams just needed to know that they weren't in first place or feared to keep working, so all I had to do was remind them that they lost by X points to Team A and they would refocus. New team, new approach.
We play tonight assuming that my flights and the weather cooperate. While we didn't get an opportunity to practice since that game, based on the emails and quick conversations I've had with the parents, I feel good about how we'll perform. Maybe just that one extra vote of confidence will give us the edge we need. If so, that will be just one more way my family has found to continue to support me in my journey. Thanks Mom, Dad and Nikki. Again :-)
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
The Trip
By my count, it looks like I owe you all 3 more blog posts to catch up for the year. Guess we need to get started.
Every year I go back to San Antonio to visit my family for the holidays. It's the one time all four of us are in the same spot, so it's pretty much a staple even though it always seems to interfere with the Winter travel Holiday Slamfest Tournament in some way or another. We'll figure out someway to get everything to work out, but in the mean time, we'll just have to deal since family is kind of important.
This year, just as I was making my last rounds in my apartment to make sure I had everything packed and in the car (if my plane is delayed a little, I am set to go straight from Newark Airport to the gym) I got a phone call from the airlines. "Due to delays, your new flight information is..." Great. Turns out I was going to have to either lose a whole day to travel or spend the night in Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. I chose to spend the night in the airport just because I needed to get some errands run, and losing a whole day to travel was not what I wanted to do. The first leg of the flight was fine, then came the 6 hours of sitting in the airport all by my self with nothing but my tablet, laptop, and the Internet. It was time to be productive.
Over night I went back and looked at my team's stats. We need to work on sharing the ball a lot more. We do a great job of rebounding, but we need to make sure we get points off those rebounds and not air-balls and bricks. I started putting together some practice plans to address those issues. I also went through each player's stats. I don't have stats for every game, but I have enough to get a read on how the stats would look for the ones that I'm missing. I have guys who get minutes that have a lot of zeros on the stat sheet which means I need to work with them to get them to be productive with their time on the court. They are hard workers, it's just that they are new to competitive basketball. They need attention. I have guys that are good players, but are inconsistent or try to do too much when the competition is stiff. Need to get more consistent in that area and develop some trust in their teammates. As the other players develop, both of those areas should improve. Coaches that don't keep stats are really missing out on a great tool and source of information. Yes, you can get a feel and see these things during games, but stats not only puts numbers to it, but it also lets you see just how bad it is. Sometimes in games, you feel like you are doing better or worse than the numbers show. You get that certainty that concrete numbers will show you versus the feeling of the game. The game of basketball at every level is about putting in work outside of games and structured practice, so I sent each child and parent the stats and what I saw based on looking at them so that when we get together again we all have a sense of what we are going to work on together. If you don't want to use stats for yourself as a coach, use it to motivate you team to keep working hard and improve. Nothing says fix this than seeing that you average 8 turnovers a game, or .42 rebounds a game. Even better is being a total 0-10 from 3-point range. It should say, "Your range is not there yet, stop wasting possessions" so that you don't have to be the bad guy - Dad will for you.
I also took some time sitting in the airport to clean up some of the plays I had and draw out new ones. They aren't entirely new, just that I'd never actually sat down and drawn them out. Players seem to have either transitioned to being more visual learners or just gotten so focused on themselves that they only learn "their spots" so I've decided to fight that by drawing the plays out and sending .pdf files of them to the parents, as well as creating a "playbook" that comes with me to every game. But it also helps me as a coach see where the flaws are, and has even shown me possible options I didn't see before now that it's on paper. I love win-win situations!
We have a while before we play again, but many of the parents have said they are working with their kids to help improve their abilities based on the stats they got, which I believe because they understand the challenges facing us as a new team this season. I still have video to watch and put together a film session so they can see how they got some of those numbers on the stat sheet, but I'm kind of thankful for the layover. Game me a chance to just work without distraction. Well, almost. I did have to battle sleep a little, but that was it.
Every year I go back to San Antonio to visit my family for the holidays. It's the one time all four of us are in the same spot, so it's pretty much a staple even though it always seems to interfere with the Winter travel Holiday Slamfest Tournament in some way or another. We'll figure out someway to get everything to work out, but in the mean time, we'll just have to deal since family is kind of important.
This year, just as I was making my last rounds in my apartment to make sure I had everything packed and in the car (if my plane is delayed a little, I am set to go straight from Newark Airport to the gym) I got a phone call from the airlines. "Due to delays, your new flight information is..." Great. Turns out I was going to have to either lose a whole day to travel or spend the night in Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. I chose to spend the night in the airport just because I needed to get some errands run, and losing a whole day to travel was not what I wanted to do. The first leg of the flight was fine, then came the 6 hours of sitting in the airport all by my self with nothing but my tablet, laptop, and the Internet. It was time to be productive.
Over night I went back and looked at my team's stats. We need to work on sharing the ball a lot more. We do a great job of rebounding, but we need to make sure we get points off those rebounds and not air-balls and bricks. I started putting together some practice plans to address those issues. I also went through each player's stats. I don't have stats for every game, but I have enough to get a read on how the stats would look for the ones that I'm missing. I have guys who get minutes that have a lot of zeros on the stat sheet which means I need to work with them to get them to be productive with their time on the court. They are hard workers, it's just that they are new to competitive basketball. They need attention. I have guys that are good players, but are inconsistent or try to do too much when the competition is stiff. Need to get more consistent in that area and develop some trust in their teammates. As the other players develop, both of those areas should improve. Coaches that don't keep stats are really missing out on a great tool and source of information. Yes, you can get a feel and see these things during games, but stats not only puts numbers to it, but it also lets you see just how bad it is. Sometimes in games, you feel like you are doing better or worse than the numbers show. You get that certainty that concrete numbers will show you versus the feeling of the game. The game of basketball at every level is about putting in work outside of games and structured practice, so I sent each child and parent the stats and what I saw based on looking at them so that when we get together again we all have a sense of what we are going to work on together. If you don't want to use stats for yourself as a coach, use it to motivate you team to keep working hard and improve. Nothing says fix this than seeing that you average 8 turnovers a game, or .42 rebounds a game. Even better is being a total 0-10 from 3-point range. It should say, "Your range is not there yet, stop wasting possessions" so that you don't have to be the bad guy - Dad will for you.
I also took some time sitting in the airport to clean up some of the plays I had and draw out new ones. They aren't entirely new, just that I'd never actually sat down and drawn them out. Players seem to have either transitioned to being more visual learners or just gotten so focused on themselves that they only learn "their spots" so I've decided to fight that by drawing the plays out and sending .pdf files of them to the parents, as well as creating a "playbook" that comes with me to every game. But it also helps me as a coach see where the flaws are, and has even shown me possible options I didn't see before now that it's on paper. I love win-win situations!
We have a while before we play again, but many of the parents have said they are working with their kids to help improve their abilities based on the stats they got, which I believe because they understand the challenges facing us as a new team this season. I still have video to watch and put together a film session so they can see how they got some of those numbers on the stat sheet, but I'm kind of thankful for the layover. Game me a chance to just work without distraction. Well, almost. I did have to battle sleep a little, but that was it.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Your Practice Makes My Practice Better
I meant to post this over the weekend, but got in a bit of a funk and just really fell into doing nothing but some soul searching and the like. Soul searching may be too intense a word, but there was a lot of thinking about how I've managed my team this winter. In a better mood, so back to posting.
A few weeks ago I decided to take Coach D up on his offer to come sit in on one of his college practices. The intent of my visit was to get a better way to practice. I knew I couldn't really use any of the drills with my team at this point in the season, so my focus was on the flow and how practice is run for a nationally competitive team.
Well worth the couple of hours that afternoon. I did see a drill I could use in a few weeks, but more importantly I saw little things that can be used at any level. There was no goofing off, but it wasn't completely militaristic either. Just guys putting in work. If a pass was supposed to be a bounce pass because that's how the coach said it should be - it had to be a bounce pass or they did it again. If they missed a lay up or caused a turnover, they had to run baseline to baseline. But it had flow, which is the most important part. It made sense.
So I've taken that stuff into my practices. Missed lay ups and turnovers now result in sprints. One player did ask me why and I just told him to think about what happens in games - if you turn the ball over you have to get back on defense, so think of it as sprinting back and getting a stop to try again. He was satisfied, and now I don't even have to say it. The players tell each other to run, unless the player realizes it first and just takes off on his own. I was surprised to see one player throw a bad pass to his teammate who bobbled it out of bounds run with no one telling him to. When he got back, he must have seen the confusion on his teammates faces, and just said, "I threw him a bad pass so it was my fault too." Accountability is a good little side effect to have! I've also made sure that my practices are more structured. It's not at the level as the practice I visited, but it definitely feels like it flows better. There's less time transitioning and more time working. If I say I want bounce passes, and some one throws a chest pass, it gets corrected and we redo the rep. If it's still not done correctly, it's considered a turnover, and that has helped to improve the attention to detail.
Seems players aren't the only ones who need to go to practice. You can learn a lot watching other practices. I need to find a few more opportunities to check out Coach D's practices.
A few weeks ago I decided to take Coach D up on his offer to come sit in on one of his college practices. The intent of my visit was to get a better way to practice. I knew I couldn't really use any of the drills with my team at this point in the season, so my focus was on the flow and how practice is run for a nationally competitive team.
Well worth the couple of hours that afternoon. I did see a drill I could use in a few weeks, but more importantly I saw little things that can be used at any level. There was no goofing off, but it wasn't completely militaristic either. Just guys putting in work. If a pass was supposed to be a bounce pass because that's how the coach said it should be - it had to be a bounce pass or they did it again. If they missed a lay up or caused a turnover, they had to run baseline to baseline. But it had flow, which is the most important part. It made sense.
So I've taken that stuff into my practices. Missed lay ups and turnovers now result in sprints. One player did ask me why and I just told him to think about what happens in games - if you turn the ball over you have to get back on defense, so think of it as sprinting back and getting a stop to try again. He was satisfied, and now I don't even have to say it. The players tell each other to run, unless the player realizes it first and just takes off on his own. I was surprised to see one player throw a bad pass to his teammate who bobbled it out of bounds run with no one telling him to. When he got back, he must have seen the confusion on his teammates faces, and just said, "I threw him a bad pass so it was my fault too." Accountability is a good little side effect to have! I've also made sure that my practices are more structured. It's not at the level as the practice I visited, but it definitely feels like it flows better. There's less time transitioning and more time working. If I say I want bounce passes, and some one throws a chest pass, it gets corrected and we redo the rep. If it's still not done correctly, it's considered a turnover, and that has helped to improve the attention to detail.
Seems players aren't the only ones who need to go to practice. You can learn a lot watching other practices. I need to find a few more opportunities to check out Coach D's practices.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Frustration
I normally don't post immediately after games, especially loses. I'm pretty sure it's obvious why. But today we need to make an exception. They say animals can sense emotions, and my dog who normally can't stand to not be in the same room as me has decided to very quietly stay in the kitchen. I need to vent or something....
I don't like losing. Yes, it comes with the territory. Sure, in competitive sport there has to be a winner and a loser. Such is the way of things in the basketball world. I completely understand that. Yet, it doesn't make accepting loss after loss any easier. It doesn't make seeing your team struggle to do fundamental things well and with success less painful. It doesn't make it any less difficult to see the other team score at will. It straight up sucks.
Maybe I have been spoiled in the past, with players who had a bit more experience and understanding of the game. I need time that isn't available. Every team I'm going to face from this point forward will have at least a whole year's head start. A whole year to understand how to protect the basketball. A whole year to understand how presses work. A whole year of learning to dribble with their heads up and see the floor. It may not seem like a lot, but a whole season is at least 16 games. 16 games of learning. 16 games of growing together. 16 games of experience.
I don't like losing. But most importantly, I don't like feeling like I'm letting my boys down.
I let a guy who was working hard to contribute with every ounce of his body foul out half way through the third. Nothing is more depressing than seeing a kid who is giving his all have to sit through 12 minutes wishing he could be out there helping his team. I let him down. I lost my cool over a series of bad calls and lost my right to the coaches box with 2 minutes left in the first half. Also gave the other team two free throws and possession. The team lost its energy after that. The bench got quiet. The guys on the floor kept playing hard, but it just didn't feel the same. We didn't really gel defensively after that. I hurt the entire team.
Maybe I'm not preparing them right. We're working on dribbling, rebounding, and passing in practice. We're explaining how to react in certain situations and then making it happen. But we're just so far behind everyone right now.
Am I going to give up? Absolutely not. But I can't afford to keep spinning my wheels like this. I don't blame the team. They are working hard. This is on me. This is absolutely my loss to bear - and it hurts. It's going to be a long night...
I don't like losing. Yes, it comes with the territory. Sure, in competitive sport there has to be a winner and a loser. Such is the way of things in the basketball world. I completely understand that. Yet, it doesn't make accepting loss after loss any easier. It doesn't make seeing your team struggle to do fundamental things well and with success less painful. It doesn't make it any less difficult to see the other team score at will. It straight up sucks.
Maybe I have been spoiled in the past, with players who had a bit more experience and understanding of the game. I need time that isn't available. Every team I'm going to face from this point forward will have at least a whole year's head start. A whole year to understand how to protect the basketball. A whole year to understand how presses work. A whole year of learning to dribble with their heads up and see the floor. It may not seem like a lot, but a whole season is at least 16 games. 16 games of learning. 16 games of growing together. 16 games of experience.
I don't like losing. But most importantly, I don't like feeling like I'm letting my boys down.
I let a guy who was working hard to contribute with every ounce of his body foul out half way through the third. Nothing is more depressing than seeing a kid who is giving his all have to sit through 12 minutes wishing he could be out there helping his team. I let him down. I lost my cool over a series of bad calls and lost my right to the coaches box with 2 minutes left in the first half. Also gave the other team two free throws and possession. The team lost its energy after that. The bench got quiet. The guys on the floor kept playing hard, but it just didn't feel the same. We didn't really gel defensively after that. I hurt the entire team.
Maybe I'm not preparing them right. We're working on dribbling, rebounding, and passing in practice. We're explaining how to react in certain situations and then making it happen. But we're just so far behind everyone right now.
Am I going to give up? Absolutely not. But I can't afford to keep spinning my wheels like this. I don't blame the team. They are working hard. This is on me. This is absolutely my loss to bear - and it hurts. It's going to be a long night...
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Practice...
Yeah yeah...I'm slackin'. We'll get caught up. Trust me.
So once upon a time there was this one guy who had a press conference and shared his attitude regarding one part of being an athlete. You may remember, you may not. But just to make sure we're all on the same page:
Maybe it's because I'm a coach that I disagree with his tone, and his last statement. I will say that I think some guys in the next generation of "ballers" have this same mindset. I see it in my practices, some of my fellow coaches' practices, where great talent fails to really push themselves to get better because it's practice. Yes, we talkin' 'bout practice. Maybe people don't pay to see practice. And yes you can compete at a high level and all that outside of practice. But where are you improving your game? Remember, people have this thing called pride, and some even have this ego thing going on. They aren't going to take you embarrassing them lightly. What will they do? PRACTICE. I saw a shirt the other day that pretty much sums it up: "Each rep you take off gives someone an opportunity to beat you."
So, yes - we talkin' 'bout practice.
The last statement is pretty disturbing though. "How...can I make my teammates better by practicing?!?" Really? Here's how:
1. Builds chemistry
Okay, so you are the franchise guy. Great. So your check is much larger than everyone else's. That's not going to make them like you. But to see you, who the owners, coaches, and fans have deemed "the great one" working just as hard as the lowest of the low, if not harder, says something. It gives your words added weight when you tell someone to pick it up a little. It usually means that when people come after you for a mistake or have issues off the court, that someone will not only help you, but stand by you when the vultures come out. People will not only see your franchise tag as a label, but will see it as a symbol of leadership and a rallying force.
2. Pushes boundaries
People have a natural tendency to live in their comfort zone. When people show up to practice with the right mind set, you should spend a little time outside of your comfort zone. Do it enough and now your comfort zone grows. When people play you close, you are used to it, so it doesn't throw you off your game. When people take away your first option, you are okay looking for options 2 and 3. When you get to that point where your body used to say stop, you can keep going a little longer. If you are comfortable in practice, you aren't working hard enough. If you don't practice then you definitely aren't working hard enough.
3. Teaches your coaches
Coaches tend to have their own idea of what the strategy will be. Sometimes the strategy won't work, and you can get that from practice. Perhaps he/she had a vision of how a play would go with a certain squad. Set up a couple of reps against a live defense and we'll see just how genius that vision may be. Practice lets you fine tune the little things before the game. Set this screen a little higher, cut a second later. Or maybe we just need to scrap it all together because the skill set just doesn't favor that scheme. Those adjustments can be made well before the first fan walks into the arena at practice.
The list could go on and on, but I have to finish laundry and prep for my game tomorrow. I'm sure the above young athlete (Allen Iverson, if you didn't know) grew older and wiser with time. Hopefully the athletes I noticed with a lackadaisical attitude towards practice will have a similar opportunity to keep playing and laugh at their younger self, as he did.
So once upon a time there was this one guy who had a press conference and shared his attitude regarding one part of being an athlete. You may remember, you may not. But just to make sure we're all on the same page:
Maybe it's because I'm a coach that I disagree with his tone, and his last statement. I will say that I think some guys in the next generation of "ballers" have this same mindset. I see it in my practices, some of my fellow coaches' practices, where great talent fails to really push themselves to get better because it's practice. Yes, we talkin' 'bout practice. Maybe people don't pay to see practice. And yes you can compete at a high level and all that outside of practice. But where are you improving your game? Remember, people have this thing called pride, and some even have this ego thing going on. They aren't going to take you embarrassing them lightly. What will they do? PRACTICE. I saw a shirt the other day that pretty much sums it up: "Each rep you take off gives someone an opportunity to beat you."
So, yes - we talkin' 'bout practice.
The last statement is pretty disturbing though. "How...can I make my teammates better by practicing?!?" Really? Here's how:
1. Builds chemistry
Okay, so you are the franchise guy. Great. So your check is much larger than everyone else's. That's not going to make them like you. But to see you, who the owners, coaches, and fans have deemed "the great one" working just as hard as the lowest of the low, if not harder, says something. It gives your words added weight when you tell someone to pick it up a little. It usually means that when people come after you for a mistake or have issues off the court, that someone will not only help you, but stand by you when the vultures come out. People will not only see your franchise tag as a label, but will see it as a symbol of leadership and a rallying force.
2. Pushes boundaries
People have a natural tendency to live in their comfort zone. When people show up to practice with the right mind set, you should spend a little time outside of your comfort zone. Do it enough and now your comfort zone grows. When people play you close, you are used to it, so it doesn't throw you off your game. When people take away your first option, you are okay looking for options 2 and 3. When you get to that point where your body used to say stop, you can keep going a little longer. If you are comfortable in practice, you aren't working hard enough. If you don't practice then you definitely aren't working hard enough.
3. Teaches your coaches
Coaches tend to have their own idea of what the strategy will be. Sometimes the strategy won't work, and you can get that from practice. Perhaps he/she had a vision of how a play would go with a certain squad. Set up a couple of reps against a live defense and we'll see just how genius that vision may be. Practice lets you fine tune the little things before the game. Set this screen a little higher, cut a second later. Or maybe we just need to scrap it all together because the skill set just doesn't favor that scheme. Those adjustments can be made well before the first fan walks into the arena at practice.
The list could go on and on, but I have to finish laundry and prep for my game tomorrow. I'm sure the above young athlete (Allen Iverson, if you didn't know) grew older and wiser with time. Hopefully the athletes I noticed with a lackadaisical attitude towards practice will have a similar opportunity to keep playing and laugh at their younger self, as he did.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Things I'm Thankful For...
Not to fall into being cliché, but I really wanted to post this because it gives me a chance to say thanks and give credit to those who have and are helping me along my journey.
To start, I want to say thanks to Coach D, who without ever having met in person, gave me the opportunity to join his AAU coaching staff. For all he knew I had zero clue about the game, but he took a chance and that's not something you should take lightly. Even with the struggles we had that first year and the horrendous record, he never once said a word to me about leaving the program. I remember thinking to myself after every tough loss we took, "You are going to get fired. Any minute you are gone." He was just there to keep helping the team and I get stronger and better.
I am also thankful for the support of my family in this endeavor. Though they've never seen me coach a single game (they are in Texas so that would be tough) my mother, father, and sister have been there behind me all the way. My parents have helped me get the tools I need to analyze games and critique my team and my own game time decisions, and my sister has been there to cheer me up during rough losing streaks and help diagnose injuries along the way. Hey L, if you read this and I ever make it big time, you've got a job on my medical staff, hands down. We always joked about working together growing up, so who knows.
I am also thankful for a couple of choice people who've come into my life and helped me make it through the rougher patches of my career. People like K-Dub and Letty who no matter what the odds were found ways to come cheer for my boys, sometimes when no one else would. My good friend Deenie, who will be the first to admit that she knows very little about basketball yet will listen to me vent, rant, rave, or whatever for as long as it takes. And of course, I have to say thanks to KB who gave me the number of a guy who gave me a number of a guy who told me to call this one guy who put me in touch with Coach D. It had to start somewhere, right?
I also am thankful to the fellow Travel and AAU coaches who have always been willing to share laughs, lessons, tough losses, and their time with me to help make me a better coach. I've always been one to admit that I am still learning a lot about what it takes to be a good coach and these guys have been more than willing to help me out.
Lastly, I'm thankful for the teams who have been coached by me, and told their friends great things to encourage them to come through our program to work with me. I'm thankful for the understanding, patience, and willingness to grow with me, and many times it with little to no resistance.
I love the opportunity that I've been afforded with the program, which is why I put in the time to try to make sure it pays those responsible back for their support, belief and encouragement. If I left you out, charge it to my head and not my heart, and know that I absolutely do appreciate you and your support.
I'll try not to be so cliché for the next post...
To start, I want to say thanks to Coach D, who without ever having met in person, gave me the opportunity to join his AAU coaching staff. For all he knew I had zero clue about the game, but he took a chance and that's not something you should take lightly. Even with the struggles we had that first year and the horrendous record, he never once said a word to me about leaving the program. I remember thinking to myself after every tough loss we took, "You are going to get fired. Any minute you are gone." He was just there to keep helping the team and I get stronger and better.
I am also thankful for the support of my family in this endeavor. Though they've never seen me coach a single game (they are in Texas so that would be tough) my mother, father, and sister have been there behind me all the way. My parents have helped me get the tools I need to analyze games and critique my team and my own game time decisions, and my sister has been there to cheer me up during rough losing streaks and help diagnose injuries along the way. Hey L, if you read this and I ever make it big time, you've got a job on my medical staff, hands down. We always joked about working together growing up, so who knows.
I am also thankful for a couple of choice people who've come into my life and helped me make it through the rougher patches of my career. People like K-Dub and Letty who no matter what the odds were found ways to come cheer for my boys, sometimes when no one else would. My good friend Deenie, who will be the first to admit that she knows very little about basketball yet will listen to me vent, rant, rave, or whatever for as long as it takes. And of course, I have to say thanks to KB who gave me the number of a guy who gave me a number of a guy who told me to call this one guy who put me in touch with Coach D. It had to start somewhere, right?
I also am thankful to the fellow Travel and AAU coaches who have always been willing to share laughs, lessons, tough losses, and their time with me to help make me a better coach. I've always been one to admit that I am still learning a lot about what it takes to be a good coach and these guys have been more than willing to help me out.
Lastly, I'm thankful for the teams who have been coached by me, and told their friends great things to encourage them to come through our program to work with me. I'm thankful for the understanding, patience, and willingness to grow with me, and many times it with little to no resistance.
I love the opportunity that I've been afforded with the program, which is why I put in the time to try to make sure it pays those responsible back for their support, belief and encouragement. If I left you out, charge it to my head and not my heart, and know that I absolutely do appreciate you and your support.
I'll try not to be so cliché for the next post...
Monday, November 5, 2012
Goal Update & Lessons Learned
A while back I had mentioned some goals and all that I was going to look to accomplish and whatnot. So here's an update on where we stand:
- Put together practice plans prior to each practice
I started out pretty well, with written plans ready to go. But the last few weeks I've been just putting them together in my head. So I can't completely say I've absolutely failed, but since I'm not writing them down I have no proof of success either. I am looking to get back to doing it though, with this season winding down and another beginning, I want it to be more consistent.
- Establish open lines of communication between the parents, the players, and me
While parents have been pretty good about coming to me with concerns and we've been able to come up with plans and an understanding that works for everyone. The players though, and perhaps it's just their age, will always be quick to tell you that everything is fine, when it clear to everyone that it's not. I usually know what the issue is. but I don't want to always be the bad guy. I want them to be okay with talking to me about what's going on. Can't really tell how we're doing on this one - it may be a little inappropriate to expect 12 year old kids to understand the concept of "open lines of communication." - Make time to analyze games in a timely manner
Been a little tough since I've been running from game to game and site to site to get the games filmed and stats recorded for most games. The few I did get, I've looked over and made adjustments accordingly. Not enough to really judge one way or another on this one.
- Maintain a positive turnover differential
Absolutely didn't hold this up. The 13U team has done fairly well limiting turnovers, but they also have a lot more experience playing than the other teams. I see the 12U team starting to shift in the right direction, but I didn't do a good job preparing the teams to meet this goal. Going to have to put more effort into this as the season ends.
- Advance out of pool play each tournament
The competition has been tough, and we just seem to be missing one key element but the 12U and 13U teams have both been to championship games. The brackets weren't quite set up the way I'd envisioned when I made this goal, and has made it really tough to do this. I was expecting to lose the occasional game and work our way out of pool play by way of point differential, but the tournaments have generally been lose and you're out so far all season. Nonetheless, I'd have to say we've fallen short here too. - Play the 32nd minute just as hard as the 1st
This is something we've done very well. We've played every game to the end and I'm proud of the boys for it. No matter what the score, there has only been one game where I felt like the team just quit. We've played almost 30 games, so that sounds like a resounding win here. No matter what the final records end up being, by playing hard for the whole game they'll only get better. They'll look back and remember these days and appreciate each victory they get. Hopefully some humility comes with these losses as well. - Limit the opposition to no more than 5 offensive rebounds a game
While I don't have any proof, I feel like we've lost this on several fronts, mostly because the competition has had quite a height advantage over all our teams. The 13U team's bigs are constantly battling injuries and the other teams give up at least 7 inches and athleticism. Again, I've failed to prepare the team to meet this goal. I didn't spend enough time working on rebounding - made a false assumption during planning and it cost us this goal.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Student Athletes
To get the obvious out of the way, I'm safely holed up in my apartment while Sandy makes her visit to the NY Metro area. So far for me, she's been nothing more than a tree-stripping, work cancelling noise-maker, but I'm pretty sure I'm just lucky. For those families who live in areas prone to flooding or got hit harder than I did, hope you get to return to normalcy real quick.
So, perhaps I'm old school or I'm just too hard on players still in middle school and below. All I know is, that I'm not that much older than these kids I coach and it seems like things are so different. When I was a kid, you were a student and an athlete and were expected to be decent at both if you wanted to stay a student athlete. The trick was in effective use of time and resources. You knew you had class from 8 to 3:30 and then you had 2 hours of practice. You were expected to be at both. Big test? Great, make sure you study, go to tutoring in the morning before school, whatever - but keeps those grades in the passing range. Well, almost whatever...you still have practice from 3:45 to 6. You didn't call up coach saying you had a test or something and expect to not have some kind of punishment for missing practice. You committed to being both a student and an athlete. You didn't just drop one when it was convenient for you.
Now it seems like the new idea behind student athlete is that you are a student before an athlete. Yeah, that's cool too. Let's face it, for basketball players, there are only 30 NBA teams which means only 60-65 guys get in (give or take some for undrafted free agent signings) so the rest of the people in NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA, and the like have to find some other way to make money. While from a rational, beating-the-odds viewpoint, this idea makes sense, I think what people forget is that being a student athlete is a privilege, not a right - and it should be earned by excelling in both areas. Not just bouncing back and forth, letting one area slide to correct the other. You need to bring your "A-Game" in both realms to be a student athlete.
I coach 5th grade through 7th grade, and across all levels this season I've had parents tell me "John Smith won't be at practice today because he has not finished his homework." I'm sorry, but I don't feel bad for you or your kid. For one, I doubt the school system is giving these kids that much homework to be out of school by 3:30, if not earlier, and get there homework done before or after practice. I especially don't feel bad for the multi-sport kids, as that I feel is just a lapse in judgement by the parent(s) that the team should not suffer for. If you are going to invest in your kid to be in all these after school activities, you should make sure they, and you as a parent, are prepared and capable to handle all associated responsibilities that come with the decision(s) to participate. Where I'm from, that kind of oversight was typically met with the dreaded "end of the bench" seat - the seat coach's eyes never seemed to be able to reach when it came time to sub.
While I don't want to take any emphasis away from academics (that is what got me my scholarships after all), I have to ask the parents and kids to take a serious look at what it means to be a student athlete. I chose the route of just being a student, and it served me well I guess, though I wish I had made that run at the basketball team while I had the chance. I have some old associates who chose to just be athletes and struggled to get into colleges that would get them looks from NBA scouts and the like, though they were local heroes on their respective high school teams. But then, there are the student-athletes, who excel in the classroom, on the court/field, and at home with time management that get to go to the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, USC, and of course Baylor, and then get an opportunity to continue playing after graduation. I know for most of my players that's almost 10 years away, but it's never too early to start forming good habits.
Oh, and before I forget - shout out to Coach BDG for getting hitched this weekend and flying out literally just before the storm for his honeymoon. Best wishes to you and your new life with a wonderful wife.
So, perhaps I'm old school or I'm just too hard on players still in middle school and below. All I know is, that I'm not that much older than these kids I coach and it seems like things are so different. When I was a kid, you were a student and an athlete and were expected to be decent at both if you wanted to stay a student athlete. The trick was in effective use of time and resources. You knew you had class from 8 to 3:30 and then you had 2 hours of practice. You were expected to be at both. Big test? Great, make sure you study, go to tutoring in the morning before school, whatever - but keeps those grades in the passing range. Well, almost whatever...you still have practice from 3:45 to 6. You didn't call up coach saying you had a test or something and expect to not have some kind of punishment for missing practice. You committed to being both a student and an athlete. You didn't just drop one when it was convenient for you.
Now it seems like the new idea behind student athlete is that you are a student before an athlete. Yeah, that's cool too. Let's face it, for basketball players, there are only 30 NBA teams which means only 60-65 guys get in (give or take some for undrafted free agent signings) so the rest of the people in NCAA, NJCAA, NAIA, and the like have to find some other way to make money. While from a rational, beating-the-odds viewpoint, this idea makes sense, I think what people forget is that being a student athlete is a privilege, not a right - and it should be earned by excelling in both areas. Not just bouncing back and forth, letting one area slide to correct the other. You need to bring your "A-Game" in both realms to be a student athlete.
I coach 5th grade through 7th grade, and across all levels this season I've had parents tell me "John Smith won't be at practice today because he has not finished his homework." I'm sorry, but I don't feel bad for you or your kid. For one, I doubt the school system is giving these kids that much homework to be out of school by 3:30, if not earlier, and get there homework done before or after practice. I especially don't feel bad for the multi-sport kids, as that I feel is just a lapse in judgement by the parent(s) that the team should not suffer for. If you are going to invest in your kid to be in all these after school activities, you should make sure they, and you as a parent, are prepared and capable to handle all associated responsibilities that come with the decision(s) to participate. Where I'm from, that kind of oversight was typically met with the dreaded "end of the bench" seat - the seat coach's eyes never seemed to be able to reach when it came time to sub.
While I don't want to take any emphasis away from academics (that is what got me my scholarships after all), I have to ask the parents and kids to take a serious look at what it means to be a student athlete. I chose the route of just being a student, and it served me well I guess, though I wish I had made that run at the basketball team while I had the chance. I have some old associates who chose to just be athletes and struggled to get into colleges that would get them looks from NBA scouts and the like, though they were local heroes on their respective high school teams. But then, there are the student-athletes, who excel in the classroom, on the court/field, and at home with time management that get to go to the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, USC, and of course Baylor, and then get an opportunity to continue playing after graduation. I know for most of my players that's almost 10 years away, but it's never too early to start forming good habits.
Oh, and before I forget - shout out to Coach BDG for getting hitched this weekend and flying out literally just before the storm for his honeymoon. Best wishes to you and your new life with a wonderful wife.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
The Good, The Bad, and...
So last weekend was interesting. Here's a quick recap:
The Good:
My 13U team continues to battle hard, even when the odds are against them. We had a double header and were only at half strength. While we lost both games, the guys gave it everything they had and fought to the very end. For various reasons, only 6 players were available for the games and each of our opponents had at least 12 players. Every coach knows that when you see that your number one priority is to run, run, and run - and run they did. We hung with them as best we could, fighting all the way through the first game up until the final buzzer where we fell short by 4. Unfortunately, that game wiped us out and we just ran out of gas for our second game. We did our best, but it wasn't much of a contest. Still proud of the effort - it's good to see your team full of fight.
The Bad:
I may have over-estimated the strength and ability of my 11U team. Our early success made us look like a better team than we really are, and this last weekend was quite the eye opener. There is so much the team doesn't know, and I completely misjudged our playing level. It was bad. We couldn't run plays, we couldn't make layups, we just have so much to do to call ourselves a team. Well, we've got 4 more weeks, and that's more than enough time to turn it around.
The Unacceptable:
During the second game for the 13U's we played a team with a young boy, perhaps the coach's son, who would lead the team out of time outs and things like that. It was cute and funny - up until the last 2 minutes when we were down by 30. It was clear to everyone that we were just fighting with pride, but there was nothing left. The game was over, and everyone knew it. Then in comes this little kid with a jersey strutting on the court. Really? What kind of sportsmanship is that? You just don't do that. It's one thing to put in the lower half of your bench, but to put in a kid that's clearly not even close to 13? That's a sheer sign of disrespect for the effort that my guys are putting out. One day, I'll see that coach or team again, and we'll be ready. And you know what - they better not expect any kind of mercy.
The Unbelievably Awesome:
Last week we were down in the dumps struggling to figure out how we were going to turn things around for the 12U team. I had a little talk with the team with how we would proceed, since it's just as much their team as mine. We re-evaluated our personnel needs, some of the schemes we had in place and made a commitment to work to finish the season strong. I called in some new faces, we tweaked our defense, lit a little inner fire, and voila - CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!! Yes, that's right. The guys really bought into everything, they were inseparable for 45 minutes before each game. They cheered for one another throughout each game. It was a total transformation, and it really payed off. Our two pool play games were close, but we were able to move the ball well, shoot and rebound well. Parents were engaged and interested, which was new. We ran out of gas in the final two minutes of the championship game, or maybe the other team just rallied off of the technical called on their coach. But it was the best game we've ever played. My boys were finally able to walk of the court feeling like ball players. Finally able to walk around after the game with heads held high, smiles, and a sense of accomplishment. We're not done yet, but man did it feel good to get those wins.
The Good:
My 13U team continues to battle hard, even when the odds are against them. We had a double header and were only at half strength. While we lost both games, the guys gave it everything they had and fought to the very end. For various reasons, only 6 players were available for the games and each of our opponents had at least 12 players. Every coach knows that when you see that your number one priority is to run, run, and run - and run they did. We hung with them as best we could, fighting all the way through the first game up until the final buzzer where we fell short by 4. Unfortunately, that game wiped us out and we just ran out of gas for our second game. We did our best, but it wasn't much of a contest. Still proud of the effort - it's good to see your team full of fight.
The Bad:
I may have over-estimated the strength and ability of my 11U team. Our early success made us look like a better team than we really are, and this last weekend was quite the eye opener. There is so much the team doesn't know, and I completely misjudged our playing level. It was bad. We couldn't run plays, we couldn't make layups, we just have so much to do to call ourselves a team. Well, we've got 4 more weeks, and that's more than enough time to turn it around.
The Unacceptable:
During the second game for the 13U's we played a team with a young boy, perhaps the coach's son, who would lead the team out of time outs and things like that. It was cute and funny - up until the last 2 minutes when we were down by 30. It was clear to everyone that we were just fighting with pride, but there was nothing left. The game was over, and everyone knew it. Then in comes this little kid with a jersey strutting on the court. Really? What kind of sportsmanship is that? You just don't do that. It's one thing to put in the lower half of your bench, but to put in a kid that's clearly not even close to 13? That's a sheer sign of disrespect for the effort that my guys are putting out. One day, I'll see that coach or team again, and we'll be ready. And you know what - they better not expect any kind of mercy.
The Unbelievably Awesome:
Last week we were down in the dumps struggling to figure out how we were going to turn things around for the 12U team. I had a little talk with the team with how we would proceed, since it's just as much their team as mine. We re-evaluated our personnel needs, some of the schemes we had in place and made a commitment to work to finish the season strong. I called in some new faces, we tweaked our defense, lit a little inner fire, and voila - CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!! Yes, that's right. The guys really bought into everything, they were inseparable for 45 minutes before each game. They cheered for one another throughout each game. It was a total transformation, and it really payed off. Our two pool play games were close, but we were able to move the ball well, shoot and rebound well. Parents were engaged and interested, which was new. We ran out of gas in the final two minutes of the championship game, or maybe the other team just rallied off of the technical called on their coach. But it was the best game we've ever played. My boys were finally able to walk of the court feeling like ball players. Finally able to walk around after the game with heads held high, smiles, and a sense of accomplishment. We're not done yet, but man did it feel good to get those wins.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Exhausted
I find myself struggling to finish the post - so we'll have to wait for a night when I'm not so tired. Busy, busy, busy...
Monday, October 15, 2012
I Got A Feeling....
So this past weekend was interesting....
Every coach has that one (or more) team that he hates losing to. So I played that particular team and then lost to start my weekend. Can you say bad mood? My 13U team played their first game well and came out with a win so I had a bit of a smile. The next game started with a 20-point hole so any positive energy was sapped right out of me. We fought hard in the second half to keep the loss respectable (6 points), so we were back to a just so-so mood. The next three games were then disastrous as I watched my teams get dismantled by the opposition and by their own mental mistakes. Just to give you an idea, here are the stats from one game that afternoon -
FG% - 9.7% (3 - 31)
FT% - 50% (2 for 4)
3PT% - 0% (0 - 9)
REB - 18
TO - 8 (I think my stat keeper was being generous...)
PTS - 8
You put yourself in a tough spot when you have stats like that...
I can't lie, I felt horrible Saturday night. I was absolutely just down in the dumps wondering what to do to keep from having a repeat day. My post on Facebook that night was just one word - "Deflated". It's how I felt. I was so excited and happy with how the teams were coming along and then we have a day like this and it's like someone pulled the rug out from underneath me. It was like a whole month of drills, concepts, games, experience just disappeared as players were making weak passes, trying to go one on five, and refusing to go left. I just couldn't believe what was taking place and felt absolutely helpless to stop it. Saturday night I just went home, ate and went to bed. I couldn't be bothered to do anything else. Just wanted to disappear and forget everything that had just taken place.
Then came Sunday. I was just hoping for better. We played better, even though we didn't get any wins. But the moment that snapped me out of my "Great Depression" was when my 13U team took on a 14U team. How we got matched up with them, I don't really know. In hindsight, it was a very good thing.
We came out with no fear. I didn't sense any hesitation. We were prepared to give them everything we had. And I just got that feeling that this was going to be one of those games that you'll walk away from feeling good. So I cheered up and fed off their energy. So much so that when one kid ran by our bench yelling "And 1!" to the referee, I just looked at him and said, "You didn't get it, so shut up and play." I didn't mean to say it out loud, it just kind of slipped. Then because we were sticking with them the whole game and they never really gained much separation from us, the parents started to get unruly. "We're putting this on YouTube because you refs are horrible and should be ashamed." My bench starts laughing. I look and a couple are saying, "Sure we want to be on YouTube!" Enjoying their energy and attitude, I just laugh and agree. Then sarcastically a player says, "Yeah they should put it on YouTube and explain why a 7th grade team is still in this game." Can't argue with that. They had us beat in terms of size and strength, and if you were to just look at the two teams, you'd be talking about a bad match-up and a blowout waiting to happen. We only lost by 12, and the 14U team left very, very frustrated. Win in my book, and it completely reversed my mood.
We've got some work to do, and some teams have more work than others. But that game got me back in my zone, feeling good and ready to make things happen again. Thanks guys for setting me straight - you have no idea how much I needed that game.
Every coach has that one (or more) team that he hates losing to. So I played that particular team and then lost to start my weekend. Can you say bad mood? My 13U team played their first game well and came out with a win so I had a bit of a smile. The next game started with a 20-point hole so any positive energy was sapped right out of me. We fought hard in the second half to keep the loss respectable (6 points), so we were back to a just so-so mood. The next three games were then disastrous as I watched my teams get dismantled by the opposition and by their own mental mistakes. Just to give you an idea, here are the stats from one game that afternoon -
FG% - 9.7% (3 - 31)
FT% - 50% (2 for 4)
3PT% - 0% (0 - 9)
REB - 18
TO - 8 (I think my stat keeper was being generous...)
PTS - 8
You put yourself in a tough spot when you have stats like that...
I can't lie, I felt horrible Saturday night. I was absolutely just down in the dumps wondering what to do to keep from having a repeat day. My post on Facebook that night was just one word - "Deflated". It's how I felt. I was so excited and happy with how the teams were coming along and then we have a day like this and it's like someone pulled the rug out from underneath me. It was like a whole month of drills, concepts, games, experience just disappeared as players were making weak passes, trying to go one on five, and refusing to go left. I just couldn't believe what was taking place and felt absolutely helpless to stop it. Saturday night I just went home, ate and went to bed. I couldn't be bothered to do anything else. Just wanted to disappear and forget everything that had just taken place.
Then came Sunday. I was just hoping for better. We played better, even though we didn't get any wins. But the moment that snapped me out of my "Great Depression" was when my 13U team took on a 14U team. How we got matched up with them, I don't really know. In hindsight, it was a very good thing.
We came out with no fear. I didn't sense any hesitation. We were prepared to give them everything we had. And I just got that feeling that this was going to be one of those games that you'll walk away from feeling good. So I cheered up and fed off their energy. So much so that when one kid ran by our bench yelling "And 1!" to the referee, I just looked at him and said, "You didn't get it, so shut up and play." I didn't mean to say it out loud, it just kind of slipped. Then because we were sticking with them the whole game and they never really gained much separation from us, the parents started to get unruly. "We're putting this on YouTube because you refs are horrible and should be ashamed." My bench starts laughing. I look and a couple are saying, "Sure we want to be on YouTube!" Enjoying their energy and attitude, I just laugh and agree. Then sarcastically a player says, "Yeah they should put it on YouTube and explain why a 7th grade team is still in this game." Can't argue with that. They had us beat in terms of size and strength, and if you were to just look at the two teams, you'd be talking about a bad match-up and a blowout waiting to happen. We only lost by 12, and the 14U team left very, very frustrated. Win in my book, and it completely reversed my mood.
We've got some work to do, and some teams have more work than others. But that game got me back in my zone, feeling good and ready to make things happen again. Thanks guys for setting me straight - you have no idea how much I needed that game.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Like Raising a Pup
So today is my dog's 4th birthday. He taught me a lot about being patient and it helped to handle some tough coaching decisions, and can help teach some parents that same lesson. So Happy Birthday, Pharaoh!!
As I finish this season and prepare to enter into the winter season, one conversation I'm sure I'll have to have with at least one parent, if not more, is about playing time. I've been through a few of them, and it's easy enough to deal with assuming the parent is realistic about what they are asking. I can't really help you if you are asking for something that makes little sense, like asking for 30 minutes of playing time in a 32-minute game. Not happening - not even Kobe plays the entire game. This post is not about those parents. This post is for parents that realize that most coaches are willing to work to make your job as a team parent easier while keeping the team on track to maintain and improve its level of competitiveness.
The first thing a parent has to do is realize what their child is up against. In a 32 minute game on a team of 12 players, you're going to have to earn your minutes in most cases. Granted, you may get lucky and the guy in front of you may get into foul trouble, but the average athlete doesn't like that scenario. He wants to be the kid that the coach has in his rotation and calls into the game trusting he'll be able to get the job done. It's a great feeling - but it can be tough to reach for some. Not because they aren't good, but there are 11 other people fighting for those same minutes. Sometimes, it may look like an impossible mountain to climb. It's your kid's Mount Everest. We coaches don't do it on purpose, we love that your kid comes to practice and works hard day in and day out. I love those kids more than the lazy ones who manage to dominate simply because they happen to hit their growth spurt early. Which is why I don't mind the reasonable conversations.
Sometimes though, its not that the coach made a mistake and got caught up in the game or whatever else parents say. Sometimes it's just that the kid just isn't ready for the competition. Whether he's lacking the confidence, quick decision making, or some other intangible, it's something that may just need time. It just requires patience from everyone - parents, coaches, and teammates. Some people can walk in and just pick up a ball and it just happens. They are ready to go in a few weeks. Others it takes years. All we can do, is encourage the good things, try to improve or correct the bad, and give them opportunities to keep working on their game. This is what my little guy taught me.
I knew he was a smart dog when I got him and I had a feeling that we'd get along pretty well - that's why I picked him. What I didn't know was how much work it was going to take compared to my first dog. My first dog, Shakeeta, was like that naturally gifted kid on the team - just got her home and in a few weeks she knew the schedule, was housebroken, and the like. Pharaoh was not that quick. In fact, he just got to the point where he can be left in the house all day without having an accident on the floor a few months ago. I had moments where I wanted to just give up and pass him off to someone who had the ability to just stay at home and let him out every few hours, or could play with him so he didn't find something of value to destroy while I was at work. But, we kept working - re-emphasizing the same routine day in and day out, encouraging the good with treats and stuff. Now he gets it, and he's able to do a lot of things my first dog couldn't as a result of that continued effort.
Youth basketball players tend to follow a similar pattern. Maybe they aren't the star player in 5th grade. They may even be #10 in the rotation and get minor minutes. I've seen kids go from the 10th guy to THE guy after a few years of hard work because they never gave up. Their parents, coaches, and teammates never gave up. When parents understand that, it makes it a lot easier for everyone. The parent(s) work with the coach to help everyone get better and everyone understands what the goal is for that child and how it fits into the team.
Not everyone is going to be an overnight celebrity (we have enough of those anyway). But if you are willing to put in the time and effort, and throw in a lot of patience, you may end up with something truly awesome.
 |
| Pharaoh - Miniature Pinscher |
As I finish this season and prepare to enter into the winter season, one conversation I'm sure I'll have to have with at least one parent, if not more, is about playing time. I've been through a few of them, and it's easy enough to deal with assuming the parent is realistic about what they are asking. I can't really help you if you are asking for something that makes little sense, like asking for 30 minutes of playing time in a 32-minute game. Not happening - not even Kobe plays the entire game. This post is not about those parents. This post is for parents that realize that most coaches are willing to work to make your job as a team parent easier while keeping the team on track to maintain and improve its level of competitiveness.
The first thing a parent has to do is realize what their child is up against. In a 32 minute game on a team of 12 players, you're going to have to earn your minutes in most cases. Granted, you may get lucky and the guy in front of you may get into foul trouble, but the average athlete doesn't like that scenario. He wants to be the kid that the coach has in his rotation and calls into the game trusting he'll be able to get the job done. It's a great feeling - but it can be tough to reach for some. Not because they aren't good, but there are 11 other people fighting for those same minutes. Sometimes, it may look like an impossible mountain to climb. It's your kid's Mount Everest. We coaches don't do it on purpose, we love that your kid comes to practice and works hard day in and day out. I love those kids more than the lazy ones who manage to dominate simply because they happen to hit their growth spurt early. Which is why I don't mind the reasonable conversations.
Sometimes though, its not that the coach made a mistake and got caught up in the game or whatever else parents say. Sometimes it's just that the kid just isn't ready for the competition. Whether he's lacking the confidence, quick decision making, or some other intangible, it's something that may just need time. It just requires patience from everyone - parents, coaches, and teammates. Some people can walk in and just pick up a ball and it just happens. They are ready to go in a few weeks. Others it takes years. All we can do, is encourage the good things, try to improve or correct the bad, and give them opportunities to keep working on their game. This is what my little guy taught me.
I knew he was a smart dog when I got him and I had a feeling that we'd get along pretty well - that's why I picked him. What I didn't know was how much work it was going to take compared to my first dog. My first dog, Shakeeta, was like that naturally gifted kid on the team - just got her home and in a few weeks she knew the schedule, was housebroken, and the like. Pharaoh was not that quick. In fact, he just got to the point where he can be left in the house all day without having an accident on the floor a few months ago. I had moments where I wanted to just give up and pass him off to someone who had the ability to just stay at home and let him out every few hours, or could play with him so he didn't find something of value to destroy while I was at work. But, we kept working - re-emphasizing the same routine day in and day out, encouraging the good with treats and stuff. Now he gets it, and he's able to do a lot of things my first dog couldn't as a result of that continued effort.
Youth basketball players tend to follow a similar pattern. Maybe they aren't the star player in 5th grade. They may even be #10 in the rotation and get minor minutes. I've seen kids go from the 10th guy to THE guy after a few years of hard work because they never gave up. Their parents, coaches, and teammates never gave up. When parents understand that, it makes it a lot easier for everyone. The parent(s) work with the coach to help everyone get better and everyone understands what the goal is for that child and how it fits into the team.
Not everyone is going to be an overnight celebrity (we have enough of those anyway). But if you are willing to put in the time and effort, and throw in a lot of patience, you may end up with something truly awesome.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
About Page
So, I've been posting for a year and never really got around to creating an about page. Slipped my mind. Well, for whatever reason I got up and decided to make one. Done.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
1.5 and 0?
Okay, so this post is also a day late. Been a bit of a slacker. Or just so mentally drained from the day-to-day grind of office work that I don't muster the strength to put something down worth reading. Either way, we've got to get back on the schedule. Fortunately, I've got a bunch of stuff to tell you about since I have two tournaments I haven't told you about.
So, I got my first high school win in the Spring, which I told you about in Undefeated! back in July. Well two Sundays ago, Coach D asked me to help him with his teams down in Lakewood since the schedules overlapped. I was a little nervous when I realized that meant I'd have to actually finish the game because unlike last time, I hadn't really been involved with this team - I didn't know the rotations, skill sets of each kid, plays they ran, etc. Going in blind. But that all went away when I realized who was on the team. Two of the kids I knew were great ballers, and would be able to help me get through it. For those that didn't hear it elsewhere, heady point guards that you can trust to run your style are arguably the greatest thing since sliced bread! The other just knew how to find ways to score, so I got settled down really quick and then just decided to focus on trying to get the other kids' rotations down and see where Coach D was using them. I don't know if he did it intentionally, but he managed to get all the others in for a few minutes and then it was halftime. We were in a tough battle, but the guys were playing defense and staying patient on offense getting good looks at the basket and taking advantage. At halftime, we had a 7 point lead. Then it was time for Coach D to leave.
I really have to work on my self-motivation. The horn goes to signify the end of half-time, the guys come up, not too worried that Coach D has left me at the helm - they had more faith in me than I did I guess. They were ready to go back out, I was telling myself, "You'd better not blow this." It's so much easier when you're comfortable, but you probably learn the most when you are extremely uncomfortable. And there's a lot of learning to be had for me.
So we go back on the floor, and all I'm trying to do is make sure we are holding tough on defense to hold this lead. Traded buckets and stops for a bit, then bang - 3 point bucket. Lead is 4. They get a stop and then the lead is 2. Now we fight the panic. I feel the nerves jumping, inside I'm screaming at myself because we are losing it while trying to calm myself down because it was just two plays with somewhere around 5 minutes left.
Break the time out and we get a good look and drain it. Up two. Force a bad shot on defense and secure the rebound, going the other way and drive to the basket...INJURY! Great. There goes one scorer (he swore the whole ride after the game that it was intentional, but it just looked like a hard foul to me). Sub comes in for two free throws while he's getting looked at by the trainer on site. Clang - missed the first. And the second. So still up two. Another bad shot and we're under a minute. Intentional foul time. Call a time out just to say one thing - "You guys know who your free throw shooters are. They are going to full court man press you, so screen for them and get them the ball. When you get it, play keep away and kill as much clock as you can." Ball in, kill about 5 seconds, foul. Swoosh - drains the front end of the one and one. Swoosh. Up four. Other team must have been in panic mode, because the next shot they got was a forced 3 that barely caught rim. We're going the other way and manage to get the ball to Strobey before the foul comes. Strobey on the line is money in the bank if you didn't know. So yeah, up 6 now. The other team pushes the ball up and gets a good drive to the basket. Back to 4, but there's less than 5 seconds left. Surprisingly, we inbound the ball instead of just letting the clock run. Fortunately Strobey got the ball and went back to the line. Up 6 with 4 seconds. The usual no foul comes from our bench as they inbound the ball and heave up a half court shot that wasn't even close. We pulled it out and won by 6.
I know there's no such thing as a half a win, but I probably wouldn't have been able to deliver a win that game had Coach D not started it and given me that cushion. Like I said, there's a lot of learning to be had on my part. So, I'll just say I got half a win that day, even if it was mostly me beating my own nerves.
So, I got my first high school win in the Spring, which I told you about in Undefeated! back in July. Well two Sundays ago, Coach D asked me to help him with his teams down in Lakewood since the schedules overlapped. I was a little nervous when I realized that meant I'd have to actually finish the game because unlike last time, I hadn't really been involved with this team - I didn't know the rotations, skill sets of each kid, plays they ran, etc. Going in blind. But that all went away when I realized who was on the team. Two of the kids I knew were great ballers, and would be able to help me get through it. For those that didn't hear it elsewhere, heady point guards that you can trust to run your style are arguably the greatest thing since sliced bread! The other just knew how to find ways to score, so I got settled down really quick and then just decided to focus on trying to get the other kids' rotations down and see where Coach D was using them. I don't know if he did it intentionally, but he managed to get all the others in for a few minutes and then it was halftime. We were in a tough battle, but the guys were playing defense and staying patient on offense getting good looks at the basket and taking advantage. At halftime, we had a 7 point lead. Then it was time for Coach D to leave.
I really have to work on my self-motivation. The horn goes to signify the end of half-time, the guys come up, not too worried that Coach D has left me at the helm - they had more faith in me than I did I guess. They were ready to go back out, I was telling myself, "You'd better not blow this." It's so much easier when you're comfortable, but you probably learn the most when you are extremely uncomfortable. And there's a lot of learning to be had for me.
So we go back on the floor, and all I'm trying to do is make sure we are holding tough on defense to hold this lead. Traded buckets and stops for a bit, then bang - 3 point bucket. Lead is 4. They get a stop and then the lead is 2. Now we fight the panic. I feel the nerves jumping, inside I'm screaming at myself because we are losing it while trying to calm myself down because it was just two plays with somewhere around 5 minutes left.
"You shouldn't be panicking yet. There's too much time, teams are supposed to make runs." "No, no, no. We had them the whole first half, Coach D leaves you with 7 points and now you have 2. What are you doing?!?"Fighting with yourself is not fun, even if you do always win. Especially if the other team comes down and ties the game while you are trying to figure out what to do. Okay, we have to settle this. The players aren't really looking panicked, so maybe I just needed to settle. Time out. I refocus, and just tell the guys that we have to make sure we're playing the tough D that got us the lead in the first half. They made a run, and it happens. We just have to stay composed, make sure we get a good look at the basket and a couple of stops and get this win. Listen to your own advice, coach...
Break the time out and we get a good look and drain it. Up two. Force a bad shot on defense and secure the rebound, going the other way and drive to the basket...INJURY! Great. There goes one scorer (he swore the whole ride after the game that it was intentional, but it just looked like a hard foul to me). Sub comes in for two free throws while he's getting looked at by the trainer on site. Clang - missed the first. And the second. So still up two. Another bad shot and we're under a minute. Intentional foul time. Call a time out just to say one thing - "You guys know who your free throw shooters are. They are going to full court man press you, so screen for them and get them the ball. When you get it, play keep away and kill as much clock as you can." Ball in, kill about 5 seconds, foul. Swoosh - drains the front end of the one and one. Swoosh. Up four. Other team must have been in panic mode, because the next shot they got was a forced 3 that barely caught rim. We're going the other way and manage to get the ball to Strobey before the foul comes. Strobey on the line is money in the bank if you didn't know. So yeah, up 6 now. The other team pushes the ball up and gets a good drive to the basket. Back to 4, but there's less than 5 seconds left. Surprisingly, we inbound the ball instead of just letting the clock run. Fortunately Strobey got the ball and went back to the line. Up 6 with 4 seconds. The usual no foul comes from our bench as they inbound the ball and heave up a half court shot that wasn't even close. We pulled it out and won by 6.
I know there's no such thing as a half a win, but I probably wouldn't have been able to deliver a win that game had Coach D not started it and given me that cushion. Like I said, there's a lot of learning to be had on my part. So, I'll just say I got half a win that day, even if it was mostly me beating my own nerves.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Go Parents!!
So, yes - I'm a day late. Had to decide what post to publish this week after an interesting weekend to say the least. This is what I decided on, the others will get a little more polish and they'll eventually find their way on the blog.
I have to say that my first two seasons as a coach were close to horrible. The first was tough because we didn't really get anywhere close to a win until the end of the season, but both were made even harder by having parents who were just tough to manage. Yes, I said managing parents was tough. Some parent's expected their kid to play more than the game situations warranted, others wanted their kids to play when clearly something else was going on (i.e.: nauseousness, headaches, sore muscles). There were so many emails to the directors that I just knew I was going to get told that my services were no longer needed. But, we live, we learn, we adjust, and we move on.
Going forward, I started having parent's meetings to let parents know what my intentions were and give them an opportunity to work with me to resolve issues in the best way for their kid and the team along with the programs' parent meetings. So far that's worked out pretty well and it's made the last few seasons exceptional. I have parents volunteering for all kinds of things, stepping up to help me out when tournament times are crazy, helping make sure all the kids are ready and at team meetings. They are actively involved with the team, actively involved with helping me to help their kids and it's amazing. I had written about not seeing a lot of spirit and support for our games a while back (not even sure it was on this blog or a failed attempt of years past) and it just seems like after that things have gotten better. I know the kids enjoy hearing the cheers, and it just pushes me to keep on a higher level.
This past weekend, the 11U team managed to gets it's first win of the season, and while they came out excited, eager, and energized - I could see and feel the energy just continue to grow as the parents got more and more involved. Every good defensive effort was met with applause and cheers and everyone knew the other kids name. Tim's mom was cheering for Tom and vice versa (not their real names by the way), which was something I never really saw much of my first year. Whenever a kid made a great pass, there was encouragement. Whenever a kid turned the ball over I wasn't the only one pushing him to keep playing and saying that he'll get it next time. It was awesome. I had a pretty rough morning that day with the 13U team missing out on a win due to a bad sub rotation (I'm still a little mad about that) and these kids and parents literally flipped my outlook on the rest of the day. It was great and I'm really looking forward to seeing that energy continue as the team continues to gel and improve.
It's so much easier to prepare, coach, and stay focus when the parents are on board with what you are trying to achieve, and you aren't having to get caught up in bleacher politics and unrealistic expectations. Its great having the feeling that the parents have your back, even when you lose a close game. After that close loss in the morning, a couple of the 13U parents heard me tell the boys that I lost that game for them and they attempted to divert the feeling from me to some team aspect of the game we didn't do well in. In my first year I could never admit to that even if it did happen because I just didn't feel that connection with the parents like I do now. This season will be a good one, and I feel that is attributed mostly to the feeling I've got another great set of team parents. It's still early though, so parents, please don't go all "Harvey Dent" on me (for you not into the DC Universe, Harvey Dent is the villain "Two-Face" from Batman who is bipolar/schizophrenic) and turn on me for no apparent reason.
I have to say that my first two seasons as a coach were close to horrible. The first was tough because we didn't really get anywhere close to a win until the end of the season, but both were made even harder by having parents who were just tough to manage. Yes, I said managing parents was tough. Some parent's expected their kid to play more than the game situations warranted, others wanted their kids to play when clearly something else was going on (i.e.: nauseousness, headaches, sore muscles). There were so many emails to the directors that I just knew I was going to get told that my services were no longer needed. But, we live, we learn, we adjust, and we move on.
Going forward, I started having parent's meetings to let parents know what my intentions were and give them an opportunity to work with me to resolve issues in the best way for their kid and the team along with the programs' parent meetings. So far that's worked out pretty well and it's made the last few seasons exceptional. I have parents volunteering for all kinds of things, stepping up to help me out when tournament times are crazy, helping make sure all the kids are ready and at team meetings. They are actively involved with the team, actively involved with helping me to help their kids and it's amazing. I had written about not seeing a lot of spirit and support for our games a while back (not even sure it was on this blog or a failed attempt of years past) and it just seems like after that things have gotten better. I know the kids enjoy hearing the cheers, and it just pushes me to keep on a higher level.
This past weekend, the 11U team managed to gets it's first win of the season, and while they came out excited, eager, and energized - I could see and feel the energy just continue to grow as the parents got more and more involved. Every good defensive effort was met with applause and cheers and everyone knew the other kids name. Tim's mom was cheering for Tom and vice versa (not their real names by the way), which was something I never really saw much of my first year. Whenever a kid made a great pass, there was encouragement. Whenever a kid turned the ball over I wasn't the only one pushing him to keep playing and saying that he'll get it next time. It was awesome. I had a pretty rough morning that day with the 13U team missing out on a win due to a bad sub rotation (I'm still a little mad about that) and these kids and parents literally flipped my outlook on the rest of the day. It was great and I'm really looking forward to seeing that energy continue as the team continues to gel and improve.
It's so much easier to prepare, coach, and stay focus when the parents are on board with what you are trying to achieve, and you aren't having to get caught up in bleacher politics and unrealistic expectations. Its great having the feeling that the parents have your back, even when you lose a close game. After that close loss in the morning, a couple of the 13U parents heard me tell the boys that I lost that game for them and they attempted to divert the feeling from me to some team aspect of the game we didn't do well in. In my first year I could never admit to that even if it did happen because I just didn't feel that connection with the parents like I do now. This season will be a good one, and I feel that is attributed mostly to the feeling I've got another great set of team parents. It's still early though, so parents, please don't go all "Harvey Dent" on me (for you not into the DC Universe, Harvey Dent is the villain "Two-Face" from Batman who is bipolar/schizophrenic) and turn on me for no apparent reason.
Monday, September 17, 2012
My Letter to Those Who Fell Just Short
Dear Athlete,
I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from today - I just ask that you give me a few moments of your time to share some things with you that may help. I know you aren't happy with the decision and there's little I can say to change that. What I can do is leave you with some food for thought and fuel to drive you forward.
Before you blame me and fill yourself with hate and anger towards me or the program take a look at yourself. This was a tryout after all, and as coach I'm looking for a lot of different things - talent, work ethic, and "coachability" just to name a few. Did you perform at your best? When corrected, did you respond positively? Did you always work at your highest gear? If you honestly answered yes to those questions, then perhaps you have some more developing to do skill-wise. The other thing to remember is that the game of basketball does have a strategic piece to it and perhaps the team would be too shallow in a key position to take you although you are skilled.
Don't settle for excuses, it's a bad idea in general and will do very little to help you in basketball and life. One thing I hear a lot is that a player was injured during tryouts. Unfortunately I have to make a decision based on what was presented before me, and if your injury kept you from performing for most of the tryout I may not have seen enough to take you on the team. Such is life sometimes, and there's not much you or I can do about it, other than to get healthy and hope to avoid the same bad luck next season. The other thing is that a player was on the team last year. That should not be your cue to take it easy. I know what you can do well - so I want to see it done better. I know what you struggled with - I want to see improvement there too. As a returning player, you should have the mindset that you have to work harder to keep your spot on the team. Remember, the people who last season sat in your very same seat today and didn't get selected painted a target on your back to take that spot away from you, and succeeded.
What this decision should do for you is fuel you. I would love to see you come back next year and show me that you deserve to be on the team. Let this decision fuel you to get stronger, faster, more attentive. You've been through the tryout routine so you know what kinds of skills we'll be looking for next year. Work on your mechanics, your weak hand skills, and the like so that next year you are not on the bubble - you are a shoe-in. I absolutely encourage you to paint that target on any one of the backs of my current squad just as you had a target on yours. Challenge them to be better by accepting the challenge yourself - and meeting it with fervor and enthusiasm.
What this should not do is drive you away from the game if you truly love it. Trust me. I took that path after getting cut in 7th grade and gave up on trying to get better. Sure I goofed around with a basketball, but I never really took it seriously after that until it was too late to really consider playing competitively. I don't have many regrets in life, but the decision that I made in the parking lot of Zachry Middle School that night is one that will haunt me for the rest of my days. Please don't make the same mistake. There is no worse feeling that seeing what could have been years from now.
Again, I know that this may not lessen the blow caused by today's decision. I just hope that it inspires you not to give up on the game that you love and gives you some insight into how tough a decision this is for coaches.
Sincerely,
Coach Robert
I know I'm probably the last person you want to hear from today - I just ask that you give me a few moments of your time to share some things with you that may help. I know you aren't happy with the decision and there's little I can say to change that. What I can do is leave you with some food for thought and fuel to drive you forward.
Before you blame me and fill yourself with hate and anger towards me or the program take a look at yourself. This was a tryout after all, and as coach I'm looking for a lot of different things - talent, work ethic, and "coachability" just to name a few. Did you perform at your best? When corrected, did you respond positively? Did you always work at your highest gear? If you honestly answered yes to those questions, then perhaps you have some more developing to do skill-wise. The other thing to remember is that the game of basketball does have a strategic piece to it and perhaps the team would be too shallow in a key position to take you although you are skilled.
Don't settle for excuses, it's a bad idea in general and will do very little to help you in basketball and life. One thing I hear a lot is that a player was injured during tryouts. Unfortunately I have to make a decision based on what was presented before me, and if your injury kept you from performing for most of the tryout I may not have seen enough to take you on the team. Such is life sometimes, and there's not much you or I can do about it, other than to get healthy and hope to avoid the same bad luck next season. The other thing is that a player was on the team last year. That should not be your cue to take it easy. I know what you can do well - so I want to see it done better. I know what you struggled with - I want to see improvement there too. As a returning player, you should have the mindset that you have to work harder to keep your spot on the team. Remember, the people who last season sat in your very same seat today and didn't get selected painted a target on your back to take that spot away from you, and succeeded.
What this decision should do for you is fuel you. I would love to see you come back next year and show me that you deserve to be on the team. Let this decision fuel you to get stronger, faster, more attentive. You've been through the tryout routine so you know what kinds of skills we'll be looking for next year. Work on your mechanics, your weak hand skills, and the like so that next year you are not on the bubble - you are a shoe-in. I absolutely encourage you to paint that target on any one of the backs of my current squad just as you had a target on yours. Challenge them to be better by accepting the challenge yourself - and meeting it with fervor and enthusiasm.
What this should not do is drive you away from the game if you truly love it. Trust me. I took that path after getting cut in 7th grade and gave up on trying to get better. Sure I goofed around with a basketball, but I never really took it seriously after that until it was too late to really consider playing competitively. I don't have many regrets in life, but the decision that I made in the parking lot of Zachry Middle School that night is one that will haunt me for the rest of my days. Please don't make the same mistake. There is no worse feeling that seeing what could have been years from now.
Again, I know that this may not lessen the blow caused by today's decision. I just hope that it inspires you not to give up on the game that you love and gives you some insight into how tough a decision this is for coaches.
Sincerely,
Coach Robert
Monday, September 10, 2012
Timing is Everything
So we finally made all the selections on the players who would be joining the Wolfpack family last night. How fitting that these quotes would show up on my Twitter feed -
I once had an instructor tell me something similar - "If you're going to do it wrong, then do it all wrong." Being in the position that I'm in now, that makes a lot more sense. Some of the greatest discoveries were mistakes. Take Columbus and the West Indies - he just knew he was headed in the right direction and had found a new route to India but he wasn't even halfway close. At the end of the day you are going to be scolded for a mistake whether its a small one or a big one and you might as well earn the scolding! Do we want reckless decisions, no. Do we want self-imposed limiters because you are afraid of making a mistake, absolutely not!
With my roster, I see the potential to open up and be a bit more aggressive which only makes it more important that we go full speed from start to finish and be all kinds of fearless. It all starts tomorrow. And that's just the beginning. When we get back together on Thursday, we have to look to be better than we were Tuesday. Every time we take the floor we have to be making strong steps forward, looking at our past body of work to compare against. Yeah, we may win a few games, but content teams are dead teams. To prevent that I'm going to constantly drive my players to push harder, run faster, jump higher, and think smarter than they did the time before.
I'm excited to get underway with this first week of practice, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of competing in a bold tournament in week 1. It's time to go to work... #dowork!!
"In reality the opponent is always us - that's who we're proving ourselves to every time we step on the field."-Art Briles (Baylor Head Football Coach)
"I want him playing fearless, walking on the edge, erring on the side of making a mistake." - Art BrilesAs I get ready to start up with the new 13U team for what should be an action-packed season, these quotes couldn't have popped up before me at a better time. Coach Briles is all for getting his players to just play loose and at "full speed+" which is what inspired those quotes. To get the most out of my team, I am looking to do the same. We can't play tense, we can't play overly cautious. We have to trust in one another - each player, each coach - to do their part and should we mess up along the way have the faith that we can recover.
I once had an instructor tell me something similar - "If you're going to do it wrong, then do it all wrong." Being in the position that I'm in now, that makes a lot more sense. Some of the greatest discoveries were mistakes. Take Columbus and the West Indies - he just knew he was headed in the right direction and had found a new route to India but he wasn't even halfway close. At the end of the day you are going to be scolded for a mistake whether its a small one or a big one and you might as well earn the scolding! Do we want reckless decisions, no. Do we want self-imposed limiters because you are afraid of making a mistake, absolutely not!
With my roster, I see the potential to open up and be a bit more aggressive which only makes it more important that we go full speed from start to finish and be all kinds of fearless. It all starts tomorrow. And that's just the beginning. When we get back together on Thursday, we have to look to be better than we were Tuesday. Every time we take the floor we have to be making strong steps forward, looking at our past body of work to compare against. Yeah, we may win a few games, but content teams are dead teams. To prevent that I'm going to constantly drive my players to push harder, run faster, jump higher, and think smarter than they did the time before.
I'm excited to get underway with this first week of practice, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of competing in a bold tournament in week 1. It's time to go to work... #dowork!!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Goals
They say if you don't know where you want to go, you'll never know if you're on the right path or if you're even heading in the right direction. Heading into the fall season, I have some personal goals, some team goals, and once the team gets set, I'll encourage the kids to set their own individual and team goals. Why? Because everyone wants to compare wins and losses, but sometimes, that's not what really determines a good season. Maybe you had an intense schedule and injuries, does that make you a bad team? Not if you have other things to measure yourself against. What if you don't get a lot of strong competition to measure yourself against, what can drive you to keep working when you're in the midst of a double digit win streak? The way I see it, if you set achievable goals that help contribute to winning championships and the like, and accomplish enough of them, then you're in position to get that title. If you just aim for the big prize with no little victories along the way, you're risking discouragement and a team break down if you hit serious opposition early on.
Here's what I'm shooting for on a personal level, in no particular order. Some are easy, some are repeats from previous posts, but if I write it down, I have to be held to it (per my new years resolution hence why I've tried to stay more consistent with posts):
Here's what I'm shooting for on a personal level, in no particular order. Some are easy, some are repeats from previous posts, but if I write it down, I have to be held to it (per my new years resolution hence why I've tried to stay more consistent with posts):
- Put together practice plans prior to each practice
- Establish open lines of communication between the parents, the players, and me
- Make time to analyze games in a timely manner
- Maintain a positive turnover differential
- Advance out of pool play each tournament
- Play the 32nd minute just as hard as the 1st
- Limit the opposition to no more than 5 offensive rebounds a game
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Workout Recap
Okay, now that I've gotten my head back on straight, we can get down to business.
Last week we held a workout for interested players just to help get them back in basketball mode and get a feel for how much interest our efforts had generated. I was given the reigns for the 5th and 6th grade workout. It was non-stop motion. I was told the purpose was to drill, drill, drill and then drill some more and that's what we did. Basic stuff - dribble with your dominant hand, switch to your weak hand, between your legs, layup, pick and roll, pass. Yes you can fill two hours just working on that, and that's what I did. It was probably the most organized I've been in a long while, and it felt good. Incentive to keep that level going I guess. I felt good, parents seemed to be pleased that it was a good two hours (you could tell there were some skeptics when they arrived about what kind of "workout" it would be), and the players realized that we were serious about basketball and met the intensity of the workout with positive energy. Win for everyone.
For those that have been following my posts for a bit already knew I was amped to start this season. Add to that the fact that I will have my own team - I'm overjoyed. Then give me this workout where I'm pushing these kids hard, and they aren't backing down. I see some of them making things harder than they need to be and make minor adjustments to correct it, and they are doing it. Yes, they took my advice and made that adjustment and put it on the floor. As a project manager, I deal with teams and delegating and adjusting to situations daily. But grown men don't even make this adjustment that fast! Now I'm not just excited, I'm constantly thinking about how great it is going to be and counting down the days to our first tournament (22 days and counting).
I was also involved in the 7th and 8th grade workout session. It was a little harder to get those guys to focus, but that's because most of them have played two seasons together, so it was more of a reunion and lots of "Hey coach! Is so-and-so coming back?" They still put in a good workout though. I also ran into a lot of parents who were overjoyed to hear I was sticking around. I'm not going to lie. Two years ago, when I started this journey, I never really expected anyone to care what I was doing, let alone ask me to coach their kids. I wanted to be that coach that people wanted, I just didn't think it'd happen yet. Don't worry, it won't go to my head. Just two months ago, while at Nationals, I saw just how little I was. Being in the arena with D-1 college coaches that get their own entrance, concession stand, seating, and security will do that to you. It was nice though and I will do what I can to live up to those expectations. They don't ask for you by name unless they believe you can give their athlete something, and that's what I've set out to do.
Tryouts are coming up, my age group is Wednesday and Friday night. I'm double checking the equipment, and working on the tryout plan. I'm getting the goals for myself on paper and internalized. Ladies and gentlemen, in the words of Coach D, "It's time to do work!"
Last week we held a workout for interested players just to help get them back in basketball mode and get a feel for how much interest our efforts had generated. I was given the reigns for the 5th and 6th grade workout. It was non-stop motion. I was told the purpose was to drill, drill, drill and then drill some more and that's what we did. Basic stuff - dribble with your dominant hand, switch to your weak hand, between your legs, layup, pick and roll, pass. Yes you can fill two hours just working on that, and that's what I did. It was probably the most organized I've been in a long while, and it felt good. Incentive to keep that level going I guess. I felt good, parents seemed to be pleased that it was a good two hours (you could tell there were some skeptics when they arrived about what kind of "workout" it would be), and the players realized that we were serious about basketball and met the intensity of the workout with positive energy. Win for everyone.
For those that have been following my posts for a bit already knew I was amped to start this season. Add to that the fact that I will have my own team - I'm overjoyed. Then give me this workout where I'm pushing these kids hard, and they aren't backing down. I see some of them making things harder than they need to be and make minor adjustments to correct it, and they are doing it. Yes, they took my advice and made that adjustment and put it on the floor. As a project manager, I deal with teams and delegating and adjusting to situations daily. But grown men don't even make this adjustment that fast! Now I'm not just excited, I'm constantly thinking about how great it is going to be and counting down the days to our first tournament (22 days and counting).
I was also involved in the 7th and 8th grade workout session. It was a little harder to get those guys to focus, but that's because most of them have played two seasons together, so it was more of a reunion and lots of "Hey coach! Is so-and-so coming back?" They still put in a good workout though. I also ran into a lot of parents who were overjoyed to hear I was sticking around. I'm not going to lie. Two years ago, when I started this journey, I never really expected anyone to care what I was doing, let alone ask me to coach their kids. I wanted to be that coach that people wanted, I just didn't think it'd happen yet. Don't worry, it won't go to my head. Just two months ago, while at Nationals, I saw just how little I was. Being in the arena with D-1 college coaches that get their own entrance, concession stand, seating, and security will do that to you. It was nice though and I will do what I can to live up to those expectations. They don't ask for you by name unless they believe you can give their athlete something, and that's what I've set out to do.
Tryouts are coming up, my age group is Wednesday and Friday night. I'm double checking the equipment, and working on the tryout plan. I'm getting the goals for myself on paper and internalized. Ladies and gentlemen, in the words of Coach D, "It's time to do work!"
Monday, August 27, 2012
No New Post Today
While I am very pleased with the turnout we had at the workout sessions last week, and excited about tryouts next week - I can't seem to compose myself enough to actually put together a coherent post. My mind has been all over the place the last couple of days - craziness at work, confusing situations at home, and various internal conflicts have me a little preoccupied. I started two posts trying to get one together, but its a no go. Sorry folks, I will try to get my head straight and crank one out later this week - I hope.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Caoch's Dilemma - The Practice Player
As I get my equipment together, wash the pinnies, re-number my cones, put air in the balls, draw out plays, and all the other things coaches do (or make someone else do) to prepare for the season, there is no doubt that I am excited to start the Fall season. If I don't end up with a team of my own, I must have really made the ruling power(s) of the universe mad somehow. I can't wait and I'm sure the other coaches and returning players are just as excited. For some, it will have been a year since playing together - different towns, different seasonal sports preferences and the like have kept these guys apart since last November in some cases. I'm anxious to see old faces and what they've done in the time off, they're anxious to see what new stuff the coaches have prepared to add to their level of play, and parents are anxious to cheer on some really competitive basketball. It's all gravy...almost.
With all this excitement, for me, comes a small, but difficult problem. It's one thing that I try my hardest to be mindful of, and this season may make that a little tougher. I prefer to carry a roster of 10 players - makes practices easier and game management less of a concern. But I learned this spring that the level of competition may impact minutes awarded to players (we strive to put the players in situations that play to their strengths to reduce unnecessary stress, which hopefully should reduce mistakes), some people don't realize that AAU may require more travel than the local travel teams did, and the next thing you know you are struggling to put a team on the floor about half way through. Fortunately, the other coaches anticipated this and carried more guys to compensate. I am really considering doing the same depending on which players return. Fortunately, I had really reliable parents last season and they were ride or die for their sons, the team, and were supportive of the program as a whole. If I get another group like that I'll have nothing to worry about. But when you carry 12 or more guys, you have to rethink some things, and one thing that was surprising, albeit valid, is that you can't always determine playing time based on practice.
In the past I tried to use practice as the basis for playing time. I guess I just got really lucky that it worked out that way. But thinking back, this last year I've broken that rule but never really noticed it or given it a thought. Broken...such a strong word, let's go with bent instead. The general idea was if you want to play a lot of minutes you have to go hard in practice. Good practice meant good amount of playing time assuming you stayed out of foul trouble or weren't building houses with bad shots. But in some cases, some players got minutes even though they had a less than stellar week of practice. Like I said, I never really noticed it until this season when I noticed it happening on the other teams. One day, I just decided to ask why. Names have been changed for obvious reasons.
I'm sure no coach likes having to make that decision, but it has to get made in competitive basketball. It helps to have open lines of communication and positive reinforcement, but it's still a very delicate situation. Add more players to juggle minutes between, and an expectation to be competitive in every game, and you've got serious work on your hands. But, as coaches, we wanted that. Maybe we're a little crazy. I'm probably really crazy, because I'm actually looking forward to overcoming this challenge of managing more guys, instilling confidence in guys like "Tony", and getting game level participation from "Travis". It all starts in 48 hours...
With all this excitement, for me, comes a small, but difficult problem. It's one thing that I try my hardest to be mindful of, and this season may make that a little tougher. I prefer to carry a roster of 10 players - makes practices easier and game management less of a concern. But I learned this spring that the level of competition may impact minutes awarded to players (we strive to put the players in situations that play to their strengths to reduce unnecessary stress, which hopefully should reduce mistakes), some people don't realize that AAU may require more travel than the local travel teams did, and the next thing you know you are struggling to put a team on the floor about half way through. Fortunately, the other coaches anticipated this and carried more guys to compensate. I am really considering doing the same depending on which players return. Fortunately, I had really reliable parents last season and they were ride or die for their sons, the team, and were supportive of the program as a whole. If I get another group like that I'll have nothing to worry about. But when you carry 12 or more guys, you have to rethink some things, and one thing that was surprising, albeit valid, is that you can't always determine playing time based on practice.
In the past I tried to use practice as the basis for playing time. I guess I just got really lucky that it worked out that way. But thinking back, this last year I've broken that rule but never really noticed it or given it a thought. Broken...such a strong word, let's go with bent instead. The general idea was if you want to play a lot of minutes you have to go hard in practice. Good practice meant good amount of playing time assuming you stayed out of foul trouble or weren't building houses with bad shots. But in some cases, some players got minutes even though they had a less than stellar week of practice. Like I said, I never really noticed it until this season when I noticed it happening on the other teams. One day, I just decided to ask why. Names have been changed for obvious reasons.
Coach A: Tony's dad keeps telling me his kid should play more, maybe even start. I just can't do it though.At that point, I was beat. He was right. Unfortunately for Tony, he wasn't better than the alternatives, and while he would get some minutes for his efforts during practice, his confidence level minimized the reward. Some would argue that the confidence to perform would come had he been given opportunities, but this is AAU basketball we're talking and the competition would have destroyed him and the bond with his teammates, which poses the risk of destroying the team. The last thing I want to do is have a kid despised by his teammates - it's a tough season as it is, why make it tougher by spending it with nine guys that can't stand you. So maybe I hold back some minutes and just keep praising the kid for the good play on the floor hopefully helping to boost his confidence so that one day he'll get the minutes he deserves.
Me: Why not? Look at this kid. Diving on the floor, running hard. Even picking up this new press pretty well. Maybe not a starter, but could be decent defensive help off the bench. He hasn't been turning the ball over so he wouldn't hurt on offense unless you needed points.
Coach A: That does me no good if he only does it in practice though. You have the stats, he's not the same kid come game time. He's a good player, but he's scared. I can't teach him swagger, but until he gets it, I can't really put him in tight games either.
Me: Fair enough. What about Travis. He is only going 75% in practice every day, no matter how much you, me, or even Coach D talk to him.
Coach A: He's the opposite of Tony. He's slacking now, but same story - look at the stats. He's a rebounding machine and is tough to score on in the post. And if I take him out, who do I put in his place. I can't go small and give up all those rebounds.
I'm sure no coach likes having to make that decision, but it has to get made in competitive basketball. It helps to have open lines of communication and positive reinforcement, but it's still a very delicate situation. Add more players to juggle minutes between, and an expectation to be competitive in every game, and you've got serious work on your hands. But, as coaches, we wanted that. Maybe we're a little crazy. I'm probably really crazy, because I'm actually looking forward to overcoming this challenge of managing more guys, instilling confidence in guys like "Tony", and getting game level participation from "Travis". It all starts in 48 hours...
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
August Newsletter
Check out the latest edition of the Wolfpack AAU Newsletter!
August Newsletter
For the full posts adapted for the newsletter, check out Welcome to Orlando and A Job Well Done.
August Newsletter
For the full posts adapted for the newsletter, check out Welcome to Orlando and A Job Well Done.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Back to Work
So now that the trip to Orlando is complete and the Spring season at a close, I now turn towards the Fall season. For those interested, here's a link to information on the tryouts -
Tryouts Info
All the work, time, and effort put into the Spring season would be for naught if I didn't take anything away from it to better myself as a coach. I figured I might as well talk about some of those things here to help cement the ideas, share them with any future players should they be bored enough to dig through the archive, and to look back on when I make it big like Coach K and win the Olympic Gold Medal Game. Okay, so maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch, but if you don't reach, what are you doing?
One thing I learned in the Spring is that you need an identity. In the past, I figured that I didn't need to have an identity - I'd let the players form it on their own. I don't get to pick from the best players that match my style, that's reserved for private schools and colleges. So I'll get the best that walks through tryout and just figure it out. While I had some minor success with that approach, I have to admit I didn't meet my own expectations and I was my own obstacle. While the other teams may have still beaten us, I can't help but feel that if my teams had established an identity maybe we would have pulled through with the win. I saw it several times this past season, and in the couple of games I stepped in as coach it made it that much easier.
The Spring also confirmed that I need to put more of an emphasis on man-to-man principles. I had been going back and forth on this leading into the Spring - do I sacrifice instant competitiveness for future growth? Obviously the answer is yes, but I wasn't sure how to make it work. Playing basketball isn't really cheap, and parents expect wins in exchange for all the time and money they put into their child's time on the team. We may lose a couple of games, but I've been convinced that I need to do more man-to-man work and use it in games. In addition to that, I will be a bit more aggressive on the court. Normally I would settle into a half court defense, and slowly bring the ball up the court. This spring made me want to speed all that up. Full court defensive pressure, up tempo offensive attack - it's on like Donkey Kong!!
But all of this means nothing if I end up without a team again. I decided to personally reach out to all the people I've coached in the past, people I've met, and all that to try to make sure we get a good turnout. I had already established an email address for all things related to coaching, and I've recently set up up a Twitter account (Follow me!) - Facebook is next once I figure out how to post to my personal account and my coaching one from my phone. Why? Perhaps I am biting on Coach D - he has all of those to keep in touch with his players and he manages to get so much out of them as a result of that relationship (mentioned in this post from a few weeks back). It also gives me another medium to reach their friends, winter teammates, as well as give me some insight to their mental state coming into games. Sounds like nothing but good can come of it if managed correctly... Only time will tell. I'm also considering getting some kind of card or something (cards seem to equal legit in the human mind) to hand out at tournaments and other events so that the word gets out about our program and me as a coach. Networking is very important, more important than I thought when I started or I would have done more about that earlier.
Like I said, changes are happening and I have a few weeks to get all the things lined up before the next tryouts. I just hope it's all beneficial for the teams and my future and not just perceptual improvements. I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me and the success that it brings.
Tryouts Info
All the work, time, and effort put into the Spring season would be for naught if I didn't take anything away from it to better myself as a coach. I figured I might as well talk about some of those things here to help cement the ideas, share them with any future players should they be bored enough to dig through the archive, and to look back on when I make it big like Coach K and win the Olympic Gold Medal Game. Okay, so maybe that last one is a bit of a stretch, but if you don't reach, what are you doing?
One thing I learned in the Spring is that you need an identity. In the past, I figured that I didn't need to have an identity - I'd let the players form it on their own. I don't get to pick from the best players that match my style, that's reserved for private schools and colleges. So I'll get the best that walks through tryout and just figure it out. While I had some minor success with that approach, I have to admit I didn't meet my own expectations and I was my own obstacle. While the other teams may have still beaten us, I can't help but feel that if my teams had established an identity maybe we would have pulled through with the win. I saw it several times this past season, and in the couple of games I stepped in as coach it made it that much easier.
The Spring also confirmed that I need to put more of an emphasis on man-to-man principles. I had been going back and forth on this leading into the Spring - do I sacrifice instant competitiveness for future growth? Obviously the answer is yes, but I wasn't sure how to make it work. Playing basketball isn't really cheap, and parents expect wins in exchange for all the time and money they put into their child's time on the team. We may lose a couple of games, but I've been convinced that I need to do more man-to-man work and use it in games. In addition to that, I will be a bit more aggressive on the court. Normally I would settle into a half court defense, and slowly bring the ball up the court. This spring made me want to speed all that up. Full court defensive pressure, up tempo offensive attack - it's on like Donkey Kong!!
But all of this means nothing if I end up without a team again. I decided to personally reach out to all the people I've coached in the past, people I've met, and all that to try to make sure we get a good turnout. I had already established an email address for all things related to coaching, and I've recently set up up a Twitter account (Follow me!) - Facebook is next once I figure out how to post to my personal account and my coaching one from my phone. Why? Perhaps I am biting on Coach D - he has all of those to keep in touch with his players and he manages to get so much out of them as a result of that relationship (mentioned in this post from a few weeks back). It also gives me another medium to reach their friends, winter teammates, as well as give me some insight to their mental state coming into games. Sounds like nothing but good can come of it if managed correctly... Only time will tell. I'm also considering getting some kind of card or something (cards seem to equal legit in the human mind) to hand out at tournaments and other events so that the word gets out about our program and me as a coach. Networking is very important, more important than I thought when I started or I would have done more about that earlier.
Like I said, changes are happening and I have a few weeks to get all the things lined up before the next tryouts. I just hope it's all beneficial for the teams and my future and not just perceptual improvements. I'm looking forward to seeing where it takes me and the success that it brings.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Doers and Watchers
So I had contemplated writing about Nationals again, but decided that two posts would be enough as I'd only end up repeating the same things over and over. It was a good trip, and although I'll never tire of revisiting those days, I'll give you all a pass. But, since I lost my camera, I will borrow a pic of the team outside of ESPN's Wide World of Sports -
And that brings us into today's post....
While at the Field House of ESPN's Wide World of Sports, I noticed that along the walls are little banners, defining the term "doer". Obviously, its not a dictionary type definition, but just a few things that doers would do. For instance, "Doers play to the whistle. Doers practice as hard as they play the game. Doers get stronger as the game goes on. Doers deliver in the clutch." Everyone wants to be a doer - at least you'd hope so - and if the team does these things consistently, then there's a pretty good chance we'll see some form of success. Makes sense.
Just the night before making the trip to the WWS complex, I decided to download a free book from Amazon (thanks to lifeonthejtrain for telling me about that). In this book the villains are called "Watchers" because, well they are lazy and just, um...watch things happen. They just watch the victim, staying out of the way, patiently waiting on the sidelines until a large enough window of opportunity appears before they make a move. Essentially, the less work, the better for the watcher.
I've seen my share of both doers and watchers in my short time coaching, and the crazy thing is that all teams need a some of both. I know, you are probably wondering what coach wants a "watcher" on their team. I do - remember there's a time and place for everything.
Teams obviously need doers on the court. In a perfect world, you've got 10-12 (sometimes more but I'm still not sure why) doers that every time they step on a court, they come with the intent to put in work. Not that half way, "I had a long day at school, coach" work either. Focused, determined, inspired to become better than they are, and if that means someone on the other side gets a loss - so be it. Putting it all on the line from the start of practice to the meeting prior to dismissal, from tip to final buzzer, anything less that 100% just doesn't exist. But you've also got a coaching staff that is locked in ready to go. They have work to do, too. Whether its keeping stats, helping the head coach reemphasize a point, or managing personnel, coaches have to be doers to. Maybe it starts a little earlier than the players and last a little longer - such is the life of a doer. Just as players have to come to practice ready to work, coaches have to come to practice ready to lead the work and help channel the energy in the right direction. Everyone wants referees who are doers - they'll call the game right, utilize proper mechanics, maintain control of the game, etc. We've all had that one game that came down to a referee who either did or didn't blow the whistle on a clear foul... Lastly, you need fans that are doers. They'll cheer their team on the whole way and afterwards show their support for the team's efforts. Doers are only good though when they stick to their roles.
Fans, and bench players, when they aren't cheering, need to be watchers. I already talked about that in April (if you missed it - click here), so I'll just say that you don't need to be coaching, and you put your team in danger of a technical foul if you are bothering the referee too much with obscenities and the like. They also don't need to be on the court during halftime or time outs, as that's distracting and rude. All they need to do is cheer and show support. If you aren't doing that, you are watching - waiting for your opportunity to cheer again. The players on the floor, when they aren't playing need to also watch. No trying to referee the game, no talking back to fans - just play the game. If you think you got a foul, but there was no whistle, you aren't allowed to stop and beg for a call - doers play to the whistle, remember. When there is a whistle, you become a watcher - waiting for your opportunity to strike, whether its a rebound on a missed free throw or executing an inbounds play. Coaches, being tasked with the responsibility of the team, get to blur the lines a little, but being a doer, they'd know how far they can push the limit. But generally, they don't do a lot of officiating, they leave the scoring to the players, and you can't always cheer - sometimes you just have to get in some one's face and tell them to wake up. If it's not your role, don't be a doer. Be patient and your time will come...
I really got to appreciate this at Nationals. I saw some games where there were a lot of Doers staying in their lanes - fulfilling their, and only their, roles. There were some games with a little of both, and some games felt like the Watchers had taken over. I definitely didn't like those games of the latter type. I know sometimes I don't live up to the "doer" standards - I am human, after all - but this trip and, for whatever reason, the signs around the building about what a doer is just makes me want to push harder to live up to it, because the one thing that I didn't see on the wall that day is that "A doers job is never actually finished. Doers are never satisfied."
And that brings us into today's post....
While at the Field House of ESPN's Wide World of Sports, I noticed that along the walls are little banners, defining the term "doer". Obviously, its not a dictionary type definition, but just a few things that doers would do. For instance, "Doers play to the whistle. Doers practice as hard as they play the game. Doers get stronger as the game goes on. Doers deliver in the clutch." Everyone wants to be a doer - at least you'd hope so - and if the team does these things consistently, then there's a pretty good chance we'll see some form of success. Makes sense.
Just the night before making the trip to the WWS complex, I decided to download a free book from Amazon (thanks to lifeonthejtrain for telling me about that). In this book the villains are called "Watchers" because, well they are lazy and just, um...watch things happen. They just watch the victim, staying out of the way, patiently waiting on the sidelines until a large enough window of opportunity appears before they make a move. Essentially, the less work, the better for the watcher.
I've seen my share of both doers and watchers in my short time coaching, and the crazy thing is that all teams need a some of both. I know, you are probably wondering what coach wants a "watcher" on their team. I do - remember there's a time and place for everything.
Teams obviously need doers on the court. In a perfect world, you've got 10-12 (sometimes more but I'm still not sure why) doers that every time they step on a court, they come with the intent to put in work. Not that half way, "I had a long day at school, coach" work either. Focused, determined, inspired to become better than they are, and if that means someone on the other side gets a loss - so be it. Putting it all on the line from the start of practice to the meeting prior to dismissal, from tip to final buzzer, anything less that 100% just doesn't exist. But you've also got a coaching staff that is locked in ready to go. They have work to do, too. Whether its keeping stats, helping the head coach reemphasize a point, or managing personnel, coaches have to be doers to. Maybe it starts a little earlier than the players and last a little longer - such is the life of a doer. Just as players have to come to practice ready to work, coaches have to come to practice ready to lead the work and help channel the energy in the right direction. Everyone wants referees who are doers - they'll call the game right, utilize proper mechanics, maintain control of the game, etc. We've all had that one game that came down to a referee who either did or didn't blow the whistle on a clear foul... Lastly, you need fans that are doers. They'll cheer their team on the whole way and afterwards show their support for the team's efforts. Doers are only good though when they stick to their roles.
Fans, and bench players, when they aren't cheering, need to be watchers. I already talked about that in April (if you missed it - click here), so I'll just say that you don't need to be coaching, and you put your team in danger of a technical foul if you are bothering the referee too much with obscenities and the like. They also don't need to be on the court during halftime or time outs, as that's distracting and rude. All they need to do is cheer and show support. If you aren't doing that, you are watching - waiting for your opportunity to cheer again. The players on the floor, when they aren't playing need to also watch. No trying to referee the game, no talking back to fans - just play the game. If you think you got a foul, but there was no whistle, you aren't allowed to stop and beg for a call - doers play to the whistle, remember. When there is a whistle, you become a watcher - waiting for your opportunity to strike, whether its a rebound on a missed free throw or executing an inbounds play. Coaches, being tasked with the responsibility of the team, get to blur the lines a little, but being a doer, they'd know how far they can push the limit. But generally, they don't do a lot of officiating, they leave the scoring to the players, and you can't always cheer - sometimes you just have to get in some one's face and tell them to wake up. If it's not your role, don't be a doer. Be patient and your time will come...
I really got to appreciate this at Nationals. I saw some games where there were a lot of Doers staying in their lanes - fulfilling their, and only their, roles. There were some games with a little of both, and some games felt like the Watchers had taken over. I definitely didn't like those games of the latter type. I know sometimes I don't live up to the "doer" standards - I am human, after all - but this trip and, for whatever reason, the signs around the building about what a doer is just makes me want to push harder to live up to it, because the one thing that I didn't see on the wall that day is that "A doers job is never actually finished. Doers are never satisfied."
Monday, July 30, 2012
A Job Well Done
They always say that you want to close out with some positive momentum. It gives you a happy memory to go out on, a positive feeling to build on, a symbol of what is on the horizon. The boys did just that with their final day of play at the AAU National Tournament.
There were some great moments during pool play, but we were unable to pull out any wins, with opposing teams feeling like they were going to walk away with easy wins before even warming up. The stage may have seemed like it was a bit too grand at first, but we slowly adjusted and when Saturday's elimination games rolled around, it was all out war.
In the first game versus Florence Sports Academy, the team played very well from tip to finish. We rebounded well (29 total by my count), limited our turnovers (9 by my count) while forcing the other team to give us the ball (8 steals). Everyone played well with great play from our point guard (arguably his best performance all season in terms of game management) and solid play from our big men, we controlled the game and dominated, causing the other team to break down and implode, arguing with one another and just filling themselves with negative energy. Can't really blame them, when you shoot 40% from behind the arc, 47% from the field and almost 70% from the free throw line, its frustrating. We rolled to our first Nationals win and made a pretty impressive statement to the opposition as well as to ourselves. We were ready to play.
The second game of the day was against the Tennessee Future Stars. This game proved to be a battle, with momentum swings galore. Again, we had great play from our point guard and it was nice to see other players break out of their slumps and produce in big moments to keep the game close.We shot lights out from the field this game too thanks to patience and great team ball movement (62% from the field, 64% from the arc, 62% from the line) but that wasn't enough. Though we made a strong push to force the game into overtime, and bring it within seconds of a second overtime period, we fell four points shy of the win.
Having driven half the team all week following our other losses, this last one was different. Once the pain of the tough loss had subsided, the understanding of how great they had just played set in and the ride wasn't the normal awkward silence. They laughed, smiled, and just enjoyed the feeling that they had set out to do great things back in March, and although it ended a little early, they had played hard, played together, and played well on one of the biggest stages in high school sports.
This was the kind of finish coaches dream of. Sure we didn't come away National Champions, but we also didn't fall apart and go out in a ball of blazing glory. All the little things Coach D had been preaching and focusing on all season, the faith to keep going and not give up on the team when we hit rough patches, all proved to be worth the time, the effort, the sweat, and the tears when we got to see our name on the big screen at Nationals and played some of the nations best to the wire. Almost every player and coach said right then and there, that we'd be back, ready to do work in the Fall - ready to build on what had just taken place to be stronger, faster, better.
September can't come fast enough...
There were some great moments during pool play, but we were unable to pull out any wins, with opposing teams feeling like they were going to walk away with easy wins before even warming up. The stage may have seemed like it was a bit too grand at first, but we slowly adjusted and when Saturday's elimination games rolled around, it was all out war.
In the first game versus Florence Sports Academy, the team played very well from tip to finish. We rebounded well (29 total by my count), limited our turnovers (9 by my count) while forcing the other team to give us the ball (8 steals). Everyone played well with great play from our point guard (arguably his best performance all season in terms of game management) and solid play from our big men, we controlled the game and dominated, causing the other team to break down and implode, arguing with one another and just filling themselves with negative energy. Can't really blame them, when you shoot 40% from behind the arc, 47% from the field and almost 70% from the free throw line, its frustrating. We rolled to our first Nationals win and made a pretty impressive statement to the opposition as well as to ourselves. We were ready to play.
The second game of the day was against the Tennessee Future Stars. This game proved to be a battle, with momentum swings galore. Again, we had great play from our point guard and it was nice to see other players break out of their slumps and produce in big moments to keep the game close.We shot lights out from the field this game too thanks to patience and great team ball movement (62% from the field, 64% from the arc, 62% from the line) but that wasn't enough. Though we made a strong push to force the game into overtime, and bring it within seconds of a second overtime period, we fell four points shy of the win.
Having driven half the team all week following our other losses, this last one was different. Once the pain of the tough loss had subsided, the understanding of how great they had just played set in and the ride wasn't the normal awkward silence. They laughed, smiled, and just enjoyed the feeling that they had set out to do great things back in March, and although it ended a little early, they had played hard, played together, and played well on one of the biggest stages in high school sports.
This was the kind of finish coaches dream of. Sure we didn't come away National Champions, but we also didn't fall apart and go out in a ball of blazing glory. All the little things Coach D had been preaching and focusing on all season, the faith to keep going and not give up on the team when we hit rough patches, all proved to be worth the time, the effort, the sweat, and the tears when we got to see our name on the big screen at Nationals and played some of the nations best to the wire. Almost every player and coach said right then and there, that we'd be back, ready to do work in the Fall - ready to build on what had just taken place to be stronger, faster, better.
September can't come fast enough...
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Welcome to Orlando
So we finally made it. Back in April, we set out on a goal, albeit large and obstacle-ridden complete with doubters and nay-sayers (myself included at first), and now we're here.
Though we had at least three teams qualify (14U, 15U, 17U, and possibly the 13U - not sure), due to outside factors, only the 17U team made the trip. As I said last week, I was offered the opportunity to go, and even though we haven't had a game yet, it has been awesome. The two days of the trip so far have been great for chemistry among the players and coaches, and we've all just had a blast.
Whether its standing in line and having these girls from Argentina follow us around and giggle as we pass them, or the van rides where the guys in my van attempt to make their own "Call Me Maybe" video, or just the team meetings, we are all finding out a lot about each other. We'll get to something that was said in a team meeting in a second, but of course you can't come to Florida without posting some pics...
Our house is nicely decorated, spacious and cool once we got everything figured out. The coaches each got their own rooms, and the nine players are split among four other rooms. My room is nice but no one has really spent much time in their rooms, we've been chilling in the living room talking, laughing, joking, and all the things teams do.
We went to the Universal Studios Islands of Adventure park yesterday and the guys had a great time. We found out that two players had never been on roller-coasters at all and to the coaches' surprise everyone went on the Hulk as soon as we went into the park. While there were jokes about jumping ship as we passed the emergency exists, those guys didn't want to leave the team, and the other players were working to keep them in the line as well. It was good to see. It may be cliche, but its true. Teams do things together, they back each other up, don't leave a man behind. For most of the day, our 12 man mob walked the park, joking, laughing, getting soaked, and probably slightly sunburned, but it was a great time with these guys. They made the park more fun. I've been to Universal a couple of times, and this one was probably the best because it was just non stop smiles and laughs.
Some other pictures from our time in the park - then the meeting...
Okay, so at last night's meeting (there was one on Monday, but I was too tired to make it - not enough sleep leading up to the trip, I guess), Coach D. asked every player a question, and then asked one to everyone. Two were really good, and were answered well. Paraphrased, but hopefully the meaning is caught...
While it may not have been the most elaborate answer, it speaks volumes as I think that has brought this team through some tough times. At times where they fell into a slump, they never really got too down on each other and just continued to push each other. It wasn't always smiles and rainbows, but it was never to the point where guys shut down. It's a fine line, and without chemistry, knowing and trusting one another, you will find yourself on the wrong side of it more often than not.
I could not agree more. I think it's great for a coach to be involved off the court/field. You are asking your team to battle full bore game after game after game. You are asking them to play through hits and not be "soft". You are asking them to take all the tools you lie in front of them and trust that they will be of great value to their game. And then after each game and practice, you disappear. In what world does that make sense? The chemistry needs to be there between the players, but it also has to be there between the players and coaching staff. Without it, you just can't unlock the full potential of your team, because they are going to hold back. You can't ask someone to be "ride or die" without their full buy in that you aren't going to just send them on meaningless suicide missions constantly. I would love to do that with my teams, but it's also a little harder due to school and work. Maybe I need to find a way...No, I NEED to find a way.
All in all it's been a great two days, and I'm looking forward to our first game tonight at ESPN's Wide World of Sports facility. Let's go!!
Though we had at least three teams qualify (14U, 15U, 17U, and possibly the 13U - not sure), due to outside factors, only the 17U team made the trip. As I said last week, I was offered the opportunity to go, and even though we haven't had a game yet, it has been awesome. The two days of the trip so far have been great for chemistry among the players and coaches, and we've all just had a blast.
Whether its standing in line and having these girls from Argentina follow us around and giggle as we pass them, or the van rides where the guys in my van attempt to make their own "Call Me Maybe" video, or just the team meetings, we are all finding out a lot about each other. We'll get to something that was said in a team meeting in a second, but of course you can't come to Florida without posting some pics...
Our house is nicely decorated, spacious and cool once we got everything figured out. The coaches each got their own rooms, and the nine players are split among four other rooms. My room is nice but no one has really spent much time in their rooms, we've been chilling in the living room talking, laughing, joking, and all the things teams do.
Some other pictures from our time in the park - then the meeting...
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| Hogwarts |
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| Talking pictures?!? |
Okay, so at last night's meeting (there was one on Monday, but I was too tired to make it - not enough sleep leading up to the trip, I guess), Coach D. asked every player a question, and then asked one to everyone. Two were really good, and were answered well. Paraphrased, but hopefully the meaning is caught...
Coach D: "What do you think is the teams greatest strength?
Strobey: "Our chemistry. We get along well and we like each other."
While it may not have been the most elaborate answer, it speaks volumes as I think that has brought this team through some tough times. At times where they fell into a slump, they never really got too down on each other and just continued to push each other. It wasn't always smiles and rainbows, but it was never to the point where guys shut down. It's a fine line, and without chemistry, knowing and trusting one another, you will find yourself on the wrong side of it more often than not.
Coach D: "Do you guys think that my level of communication with you all was too much or did you appreciate it. Some coaches would only talk to you about basketball, but I have tried to make myself available to you through social media and just other interactions outside of basketball. How do you guys feel about that?"
Siggy: "I think its great because I know I can trust you. You have my back, so it makes me want to play for you. [Other places], I would just play for myself to get better, but for you I want to play to harder because of that trust.
C: "I was new to the team and instantly felt like I belonged here because of the interaction. The team is like a family and you really made me feel welcome and I wanted to work harder because of it."
I could not agree more. I think it's great for a coach to be involved off the court/field. You are asking your team to battle full bore game after game after game. You are asking them to play through hits and not be "soft". You are asking them to take all the tools you lie in front of them and trust that they will be of great value to their game. And then after each game and practice, you disappear. In what world does that make sense? The chemistry needs to be there between the players, but it also has to be there between the players and coaching staff. Without it, you just can't unlock the full potential of your team, because they are going to hold back. You can't ask someone to be "ride or die" without their full buy in that you aren't going to just send them on meaningless suicide missions constantly. I would love to do that with my teams, but it's also a little harder due to school and work. Maybe I need to find a way...No, I NEED to find a way.
All in all it's been a great two days, and I'm looking forward to our first game tonight at ESPN's Wide World of Sports facility. Let's go!!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
What Light Does...
It get's me all kinds of crazy excited for the NFL season and watching RGIII continue his career. It also makes for a cool commercial...
T minus 5.5 days to Orlando. If you can't find something to get "crunk" about...you got problems.
One More Week
I've been on a mission at work to make sure that come Friday afternoon, I can focus purely on basketball. The last thing I want is to be chillin' out poolside after a win and have THAT phone ring. It's THE National Tournament. It's what we've been working for all season long. And I have to worry about what's happening 14+ hours away and listen to someone yell about how they aren't happy about something? Nope. Not happening.
I am so very excited about the opportunity to go to Nationals. I've been to some pretty big sporting events like college conference tournaments, the NCAA Sweet 16, high school playoffs, so I know how crazy it can get. But I was just a spectator then. Now I'm on the coaching staff. I'm there to watch and provide insight that may mean the difference between a win and a loss, national recognition or going home as a participant. Honestly, I must admit I'm surprised I was invited to go. Like I said, its a big deal and carries substantial meaning. I only have 2 full years of coaching under my belt, and while that's a lot of games and practices, it's minuscule in comparison to some of the other coaches. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the opportunity, just things are happening so much faster than I thought when I first signed up (more detail on that in a later post if I remember).
We are one of nine teams representing the state of New Jersey, and for some that's just a blah stat. No one cares, yadda yadda. Those people don't know me. For me that means that we need to show up and represent well. It means I need to be on my game and help in whatever way Coach D. and Coach K. need me to. It means sitting down to review plays and old stats to see what last minute tweaks we could possibly make. I've probably said it about ten times - this season has been a great learning experience - and this tournament is like a college final. It's like Coach D. decided to test me, I have been watching and learning all season, lets see it get applied on a pretty big stage. As I said a few posts ago, its about pride. Pride for the parents who didn't know you were even a coach but are nice enough to make sure you don't go thirsty at games or on road trips. Pride for the coaches who were kind enough to share their knowledge and let me be a part of their teams when I had none. Pride for Coach D. who two years ago, without even meeting me or knowing anything about me gave me an opportunity to join his coaching staff. I have a lot to learn, but you can count on this. I intend to represent my fellow coaches, the Wayne PAL, Coach D. and myself well this trip and hopefully I'll be able to tell you guys about a few wins from sunny Orlando.
Lastly, it's one more week before I get to sit on a plane and finalize my coaching philosophy and begin preparing my season opening documents. I think the best thing I ever did was put together a parent's packet at the beginning of the last two seasons. Parents knew who I was, how to contact me, where games would be before the first practice. And they generally stayed out of my way. With a written philosophy, I hope that it will not only give me something to adhere to, but also answer a few of the "What does my kid need to work on ?" conversations. You'll know from day one what I'm looking for out of the team and the direction its going. If you don't like it, at that point its still early enough to fill the vacancy. Maybe I'll post that sometime soon too.
Well, time for bed - got another long day to knock down tomorrow. Might need to go to bed.
I am so very excited about the opportunity to go to Nationals. I've been to some pretty big sporting events like college conference tournaments, the NCAA Sweet 16, high school playoffs, so I know how crazy it can get. But I was just a spectator then. Now I'm on the coaching staff. I'm there to watch and provide insight that may mean the difference between a win and a loss, national recognition or going home as a participant. Honestly, I must admit I'm surprised I was invited to go. Like I said, its a big deal and carries substantial meaning. I only have 2 full years of coaching under my belt, and while that's a lot of games and practices, it's minuscule in comparison to some of the other coaches. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the opportunity, just things are happening so much faster than I thought when I first signed up (more detail on that in a later post if I remember).
We are one of nine teams representing the state of New Jersey, and for some that's just a blah stat. No one cares, yadda yadda. Those people don't know me. For me that means that we need to show up and represent well. It means I need to be on my game and help in whatever way Coach D. and Coach K. need me to. It means sitting down to review plays and old stats to see what last minute tweaks we could possibly make. I've probably said it about ten times - this season has been a great learning experience - and this tournament is like a college final. It's like Coach D. decided to test me, I have been watching and learning all season, lets see it get applied on a pretty big stage. As I said a few posts ago, its about pride. Pride for the parents who didn't know you were even a coach but are nice enough to make sure you don't go thirsty at games or on road trips. Pride for the coaches who were kind enough to share their knowledge and let me be a part of their teams when I had none. Pride for Coach D. who two years ago, without even meeting me or knowing anything about me gave me an opportunity to join his coaching staff. I have a lot to learn, but you can count on this. I intend to represent my fellow coaches, the Wayne PAL, Coach D. and myself well this trip and hopefully I'll be able to tell you guys about a few wins from sunny Orlando.
Lastly, it's one more week before I get to sit on a plane and finalize my coaching philosophy and begin preparing my season opening documents. I think the best thing I ever did was put together a parent's packet at the beginning of the last two seasons. Parents knew who I was, how to contact me, where games would be before the first practice. And they generally stayed out of my way. With a written philosophy, I hope that it will not only give me something to adhere to, but also answer a few of the "What does my kid need to work on ?" conversations. You'll know from day one what I'm looking for out of the team and the direction its going. If you don't like it, at that point its still early enough to fill the vacancy. Maybe I'll post that sometime soon too.
Well, time for bed - got another long day to knock down tomorrow. Might need to go to bed.
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