Pep Talk

I'm still working on the photos from Boston, so this one is going to be out of order. But, just like my last entry, I don't care.

With Spring fast approaching and interest shifting from basketball to soccer, lacrosse, and baseball I knew that I was going to be competing with those coaches for practice time.  Turns out I scheduled a practice and it conflicted with half the team. No big deal - that actually works out better for me. I like to talk with my team about what's going through their heads, basketball or otherwise, just because that's what I feel good coaches should do. You aren't just a mentor on the court, but off the court as well.  So we ran some skill drills and went over defensive rotations, then I just talked with them. They didn't really have much to say, but I did.

In my last post I mentioned that I felt as though I created a demon we couldn't vanquish by using them as our "measuring stick" so I decided to try to correct that. I just came right out with it: (names have been altered)

"Guys, I'm going to level with you.  Wyckoff is not that good. Sure they win a lot, but so do we. When we win, we get over half the team in the scorebook. They don't. They need 2 people to have monster games when they play good teams like us. But you all know that. What you don't know is that you can beat them. We've done it before. You guys were hungry, you wanted to play them that day, and you showed no fear. You guys need to just dig deep, find that passion, that hunger, that courage and then the next time we play them you'll be fine.  They won't expect it, it will shake their confidence and you'll remind them who they are messing with. If you need to be like Jeff and cry a little and get mad, then do it. As much as I hate that Jeff cries all the time, I think you all need a little Jeff to come out and get mad. It's okay to get mad, but it's not okay to be scared. Scared slows you down, makes you a lesser athlete. Mad makes you better. Just don't punch anyone...that's a technical.  Find your inner Jeff and bring him to our next game. Leave that scared kid at home, I don't have room for him on my bench."

We have a couple of games before we get the opportunity to play Wyckoff again and I can't wait. I know my guys can beat them, and I want them to come out on top, even if it is just a mental victory. Honestly, I'd be perfectly okay with losing if my boys came out and played with no fear.  We had a game this morning that went well and I saw some extra spark and emotion, so maybe I got through a little. Wyckoff, we're coming for you.