A Good Loss

Before we get into my post, have to give a quick shout out to my Bears.  The Baylor Football program produced two first round picks.  Congrats to Robert Griffin III (Redskins) and Kendall Wright (Titans).  Can't wait to see them on the field!

Sic 'Em Bears!!

Now to my post...

Some people outside of coaching may think I was crazy if I said to them I'm not at all mad if I lose that game 10 out of 10 times.  To most people, you'd want to avoid losses, possibly even go on a rant about what went wrong that caused you to lose.  But any coach who has suffered a "good loss", knows exactly what I'm talking about.

While every coach would tell you his/her team could play with anyone, the truth is that there will be some teams you don't match up well with.  Whether it's due to IQ, physical traits, or for traveling teams, the environment, sometimes one team will have an advantage that the "X's and O's" can't overcome.  Usually, the only way you can compensate is to play hard from start to finish and do you best to antagonize and frustrate the other team until they grant you with additional possessions through mistakes.  A lot of times the stronger team walks in with a chip on their shoulder and you can catch them sleeping and get them in a hole early.  Or maybe they just get mad that you are even trying to compete and then look to embarrass you while directing their own 'And1' mix tape.  In any event, as coach you just want to stick around, get as many good possessions as you can so that as you go into that last stretch you still have a shot.

Sometimes though, even with constant hustle and effort, it's just not enough.  But you know your team put it all out there, and fought together to the very end.  Times like this are what made me come up with a way to describe it to my teams: 

 Sometimes you get a mark in the loss column, but you know what we didn't lose that game.  They just won. You played hard and didn't quit.  When you quit, you lose.  If they are going to win you have to make them earn it.

 People that know me have seen both scenarios - games where we lost, and games where the other team won.  If the other team won, I'm fairly upbeat and don't really mind talking about it.  If we lost, then I'm furious and only get more angry every time I have to explain the outcome to someone else. 

This last weekend, the 15U team had one of each.   The first game that we didn't win, the team played hard for 32 minutes, and fell short to a team that was bigger and stronger.  Afterwards, the other coaches and I went outside and talked about the game for hours.  No one was mad - we were all smiling and proud.  The second game, we lost, and we lost bad.  There was no flow, no rhythm, no energy.  It stunk.  After the game there was no discussion.  We all went looking for something else to do to take out minds off of what had just happened.

Hopefully this is the last time we "lose" this season.  No one wants to watch people suffer for any amount of time, let alone have to try to coach it.  I know that we're not always going to match up well, or be on the favorable side of the match up every time, but it'd be nice to see your team fight all the way to the end no matter what the score.

Decisions, Decisions...`

Well, it's almost May already.  I mean it feels like just yesterday I was ringing in the new year, and now I've got the fifth month of the year breathing down my neck.  Which means I need to start trying to pull a 6th grade fall team together, and start trying to make a decision on what I'm going to do in the winter with rumors of two possible coaching openings within our program.  At least that's what I was thinking. I get the feeling some of the players and parents may have made that decision for me in their minds.

It's great to see players and parents wanting me to work with them some more, or based on a siblings experience, or through some other means that has led them to believe that my approach falls in line with their goals.  I can't lie - it's cool to hear parents talking with one another and hear them say that they feel I'm a good coach and they can't wait for their kid to play for me.  It's even cooler to hear one parent sell me to another parent.  I know I've got a long way to go before I consider myself a great coach, it's good to hear that people feel I'm on the right path.  That kind of support makes getting home after 10 pm four nights a week worth it, because I'm only going to continue getting better with all the exposure and coaching I'm getting this spring.

The winter season is looking like it may be a little tough, as the 4th grade team was made up of mostly 3rd graders.  I've had a couple of parents ask if their kid could play up again and stay on "my" 5th grade team for two seasons.  I was also given the idea to try to see if we could field a 5th grade AAU team to see if we could draw out some more kids.  Both approaches have their pros and cons, so its not a decision I can just make in my sleep, and depending on how well we can recruit, it may turn out to be a wash anyway.  But the big wrinkle in all of this is that my Fall 6th grade team from last year has made it very clear that they'd love for me to come back and coach them again considering the success they had at the end of their 5th grade season and throughout their 6th grade season.  Another good possibility although it too has its downside. 

There are so many different ways to play this upcoming summer and fall in preparation for the winter.  At some point, I need to sit myself down and figure out what is not only going to be the best approach for me in terms of progressing my coaching career, but for the kids.   As I said earlier, I know I have more growing and learning to do, so the last thing I want to do is take a good group of kids and end up "wasting a season" of their development.  I also know that I still haven't won my league championship, which I'd really love to do.  I'm also in the process of trying to build a coaching philosophy/identity, which also weighs into which direction I could go.  Maybe one day while I'm on the road we'll really weigh this out.  For now though, I am going to just keep working on helping the spring teams get to Nationals and learn as much as I can.

No Backseat Driving

The spelling - horrendous...the concept - perfect

We all enjoy being the Monday Morning Quarterback, flaunting our 20/20 hindsight vision around the water cooler or at the coffee shop.  It's natural and probably takes severe restraint to not let the idea even creep into your head.  I have no problem with that, and I'm sure most coaches wouldn't be opposed to talking through some of their decisions in those places.  Unfortunately, some parent's just don't understand that there is a time and place for everything.

I don't have a problem discussing the game with parents from time to time.  Having sat on the bench as a head coach, assistant coach, and in the stands as a spectator, I admit that you see different things at different times, and that additional perspective can usually help.  That discussion doesn't happen until after the game and the players have been dismissed from the post-game meeting.  It is not a welcome discussion in the middle of a game while I'm trying to put my strategy in play.  Thew players already have enough to worry about without conflicting voices coming across the court yelling two different ideas.

For instance, yesterday our Freshman team is playing a taller team in the second game of a back to back game morning.  While the boys were capable of playing them in a man to man defense, the coach decided to go with a 2-3 zone to try to give us an early advantage in the rebounding department and hopefully keep the little height we do have out of foul trouble.  Two minutes into the game, after a couple of bad zone rotations and uncontested three pointers, a couple of the parents are yelling to their kids to play man to man.  Fortunately, these are high school kids capable of tuning out their unruly parents, but it's still frustrating for a coach.  And in my case, when you've got a 5th grader who may not be so bold as to intentionally tune mom or dad out, its really frustrating because it changes how they play.  Needless to say, we fixed the rotation issues and there were less wide open looks at the basket and we ended up winning the game.

I'm all for parent's cheering on their kids and using positive feedback to help them play better.  If you disagree with the coach's strategy, that's okay too.  But save it for another time and place.  In the game your job is to support your child, his team, and his coach.  I will let you do your job, if you let me do mine.  If not, I can always have you removed from the facility...

"The little things can make the biggest differences" - Me

Some Stuff On My Mind

Just some stuff I wanted to share...

The "Center Stage" at the Under Armor Zero Gravity Hudson Valley Showdown

The Texas part of me kind of misses views like this...

The eventual 17U Zero Gravity Hudson Valley Showdown Champions between games.

As a Baylor Bear Fan and Alum, I can't help but smile seeing ads and the glory that the program gets.  Check out the latest Adidas commercial featuring the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner -

If you have time and want to help out a good cause next Friday -

Last but certainly not least, please come out if you can to support our AAU teams as we make our push to the AAU National tournament, and get your "Nom On" at our Pancake Breakfast -

On Safari - The Target: Zebra

I promise I will catch up this month.  I will count tonight to see how many posts behind I am, and I will do what I have to so that come May 1, 2012 I will have at least 17 posts for 2012.   To start...let's talk about the zebras.

For those not caught up on all the lingo and "hip" terms, I am not referring to the horse-like creature with black and white stripes native to Africa and your local zoo.  I'm referring to the man or woman who tends to move less gracefully up and down the court during a basketball game with black and white stripes, officially known as referees.  Don't get me wrong, I know that not all of them are bad, and generally they tend to do a decent job.  But there are just some things I don't see eye to eye with that seem to be common practice in the games I've been involved in.

Allow me to explain:

1. Delay of game? Really?

I've seen it time and time again, while on the winning end and the losing end, that the referees seem to make up new rules as the lead gets larger in the name of 'sportsmanship'.   For instance, many youth tournaments and leagues have this rule where you can't press (apply full court defensive pressure) if you are ahead by so many points.  For starters, that rule in itself is an issue if you ask me and its not an official rule in any governing body of basketball.  We can't teach our kids how to lose now can we....but I digress.  The rule is there, and I can't change it.  Cool, I'll follow it.  My issue is the enforcement of the rule.  For instance - Team A is not allowed to press because of this rule, and when a player from Team A shoots and misses, Team B gets the rebound.    A player on Team A is getting back to play half court defense, and makes an attempt to steal the ball as he is getting back to his place in the half court defense.  Said player is issued a 'Delay of Game' warning.  I want that kid to make an attempt at the ball.  Playing defense is all about being opportunistic, aggressive, getting the offense to make a mistake.  But if you are a good team, you have to take it down a notch and can only go at 100% once the other team has advanced to half court.  Now how exactly do you tell a kid, " Give me one hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time, except when we are up by 20."  In most cases, because we've coached them to be aggressive and play tough defense (or at least try to), it's pretty much impossible to stop this swipe at the ball - it's borderline instinct by the end of the season.  However, they also tend to realize what the rule is and that's why it is limited to a swipe.  So now, we're going to punish Team A for playing good defense and being into the game all the way through, and award Team B with Technical Free Throws and the ball because of it.  It gets worse.  I've seen Team B actually pass right in front of Team A, who again, out of being taught proper defensive principles, reacts and gets what should be an easy steal.  Nope.  "Dead ball, possession Team B.  Team A can't press."  It makes no sense.  Ah, well...there are no rules in high school about pressing...at least not officially.

2. The rules at the end of the game need to be the same ones from the beginning

 

I've seen some games where this "no press" rule didn't exist, so the referees made up their own.  I've even heard a ref admitted that it happens.  "If you are up by 20 or so and are still pressing, the whistles get a little quicker."  Really?  So the same little one hand check that was allowed at the start of the game and that coaches were told is allowed is now not allowed, simply because one team is better.  I've had one ref tell me I'm not allowed to play zone defense after 3 quarters because the other team couldn't break it and were losing by so much, or to sub a guy out because he was "too" good to be in at that point in time.  But it was completely legal to play zone defense, and this kid wasn't breaking any rules by playing.  I've watched a kid clearly step out of bounds, travel, and double dribble, and when I asked the ref why no whistle was blown, he looked at me with a straight face and said just one word: "Scoreboard."  What the heck does that mean?  "Hey play bad to start the game, and out of pity, rather than correct these mistakes and force your coach to correct this during practice, I'm going to let you play worse and get away with it."  There's no place in college, NBA, or international basketball (that I'm aware of) that says that referees can purposely change the game to make it a more competitive event.  In fact, it's illegal and usually referred to as "fixing".  Why is it allowed in youth sports then?  On the other hand, you can't let a game get very physical and "let the boys play" and then try to get the game under control when you notice tempers starting to flare.  Do your job, and manage the physicality by calling a fair game from the start and keeping it that way.  Easier said than done I'm sure, but that's why you went to referee school and work in teams.

3. You are a referee, not a Harlem Globetrotter

 

One thing that annoys me, especially with younger teams, is that brothers and sisters come along and think every time out and quarter intermission is a sign for them to run out and chunk air balls at the rim.  While I'd love for parents to do their job and tell their kids to sit down and chill, it's also the referees job to manage the game, include time outs and intermissions.  While by most rules it is the home teams responsibility to keep the courts clear, the referees could minimize this by doing what they are supposed to - issue a technical to the home team.  Obviously with youth games, there's more division and fans tend to sit with their respective teams, so you can issue the technicals accordingly, but again, do your job and manage the game.  Instead, what do I see?  The referee playing with them and missing just as bad!  You are there to referee, so do that.  The games usually only last an hour.  So for one hour, resist the urge and leave the courts be.  Let the coaches talk to their players without having to contend with your lame excuse for entertainment as you miss layup after layup trying to impress a 4 year old.

Okay, so yeah that was a little longer than I thought it would be, and I'm sure I could go on and on, but I have practice to get to.  Like I said, in general, refs are okay.  Their human, and make mistakes, which I can live with.  But let's try to be a bit more official, Mr. Official.