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...

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...

Hogwarts

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!!

 

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.

Undefeated!

Sorry this is late - I had every intention to post yesterday after work.  I promise!  I got home, walked the dog, fed him, booted up the computer, and made myself some dinner.  Next thing I know, food is all over my floor and it's 9:57 pm.  Apparently, I fell asleep while eating.  Fortunately, not while chewing - the last time was kinda scary and my 9 pound min pin is not about to save my life if I do end up choking next time.  So rather than risk falling asleep in a chair mid post, I opted to go to bed and post today.

Good news - I'm pretty close to making a decision on which team I want to coach in the winter.  Not quite 100 percent decided, but a solid 90 for now.  I'm also pretty sold on my coaching philosophy.  So hopefully, I will be back in a championship game or two and actually win.   Looking forward to that.

In other good news, I was able to coach a couple of the games for the Freshman squad - and we won both!!  So I guess technically I'm undefeated in high school.  Granted, I'll admit that the competition in the first game was a little suspect, but the most recent one I'd call decent.  It was a team from Maryland, who I'd seen play a little in a game earlier in the day that was decent.  And with only 5 guys for the whole game in a hot gym that could make a sauna feel like an ice box (okay so maybe that was an exaggeration, but it was pretty hot) you can't really afford too many mistakes.    I even had some parents wondering how we would manage in the heat with five aggressive players without our head coach.   Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous.  I almost had to coach the 7th grade team for a game and it made me really nervous.  But I went in, the guys asked me how we were going to play this.  No fear, no stutter, no uncertainty.

Before I answer that, lets get all the sentimental mumbo jumbo out of the way.  I appreciate you guys coming back.  Some of your teammates didn't feel the same way and aren't here.  Because of tournament rules and a ref with a short fuse, Coach Kevin couldn't be here either.  But you are, and I thank you.  Now that that's out of the way - we're going to play our game, our way.  Yes, we only have 5 guys and most coaches would look to zone up to protect you.  Screw that.  We are going to play the normal man-to-man like always.  Only thing I'm going to ask you to do is be smart.  Don't tone down the physicality or the aggression.  Tone down the gambling.  No crazy reaching in, no showtime blocks.  If you have a good look at forcing a turnover, go.  If you have to think more than a second, just play him even.  Let's go get this W.

We came out and just took our time.  Zone defense from the opposition, no problem.  Pass, pass, drive, pass, open 3-pointer, swish.  Man to man?  Even better.  Blow by, pull up jumper. Find a mismatch, entry pass, low post move, swish.  The opposition tried to make a run, but I called timeout.  Just said, "Ok sit, drink, and back to work.  I know you are tired and I know that's where the mistakes are happening."  Half time rolls around and we just relax a little, talk about some minor adjustments and emphasize closing out strong.  Second half was more of the same.  I almost felt bad for the other team, but such is life in the game of basketball.  I will say, that the boys pretty much handled the game on their own, but I did throw out some things that instantly turned into points or a forced turnover, so I can take a little credit.  The referee who had seen our games from the day before even said he felt like the guys played better.  Not sure how much of that was really my doing, but it was nice to hear.  Parents that doubted us, came and admitted that they were wrong.  Also good to hear.  It's kinda cool being 2-0 in high school.

I will say though, that tournament was so poorly run.  The 15U pool started with 6 teams on day 1 of the tournament.  Cool - that's two pools of 3.  Winner of each pool goes to the championship game.  Great.  Only problem is that in the second pool, only one team showed up.  Rather than do the obvious and redo the set up and qualifying conditions, the director gave that team an automatic slot in the championship game.   Needless to say the one game they did play, they lost by 25+.  And you let them play in a championship?  Every other team played 3 games, they played one and got to go to the championship.  Talk about undeserving!!  Maybe I'm just mad because had the pools been adjusted as logic would dictate, we should have been in the championship game and maybe more of the players would have shown up for the second day of the tournament.  And it's not like this was a new tournament making rookie mistakes.  It's been going on for years, and from the sound of it, it has been trash for years.  Hanging out in Atlantic City for the weekend was cool, but not to play in a crap tournament.

Oh well - I got my second win in high school games, and I feel super excited about the upcoming Fall season.  Not to mention the trip to Orlando in a few weeks to participate in the AAU National Tournament.  Let's go!!!

Have A Little Pride

It's been a pretty nice week and a half for me, and being that today is a day where Americans put on their red, white, and blue, throw some good ol' American hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, and bubble over with pride for our great nation, I decided to delay my own proud post for such an occasion. 

If you didn't know already, I love my Baylor Bears.  I love it even more when we do great things that even ESPN and the other sports networks, who loved to bash and hate for years, have to give us props for.  Like putting 3 players in the NBA this year.    Sure North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, and the other big "powerhouses" do that year after year.  But for Baylor this is big.  And I love that Quincy Acy got drafted.  He's a guy with tons of heart and a motor that doesn't stop.  A blue collar baller in an age where it's cool to where shirts that say, "Lazy But Talented." I wish Curtis Jerrels would get picked up already, but we'll just keep waiting for that and wish him the best in Spain.  Still, BaylorNation is proud when we see things like this.

And of course, with the latest edition of EA Sports' NCAA Football hitting shelves next week (July 10th to be exact), I'm very proud that Baylor University has a "cover athlete."  Even more exciting is that he is sharing the cover with Barry Sanders, a legendary figure in the running back community, and collegiate dominance.  It's good stuff.  Not quite ready to jump on the Redskin bandwagon, but RG III is going to be a household name.

But of course, I'm not just going to talk about how great my Bears are doing without throwing in my two cents on the matter.  These guys, and those who had success before them, had such pride that helped drive them.  It wasn't all just natural talent and gifts.  They were driven.  Driven by wanting to uplift the community that gave them the platform to showcase their talents and cherished them as family.  Respect for the hard work of the people who wore the uniforms before them that went unnoticed yet continued to strive for excellence among the haters and nay-sayers.  Moved by the understanding that every game was bigger than themselves.  For too many kids, its about the name on the back of the jersey, rather than the people they represent on the front.  I guess we have the likes of Chad Ochocinco, Terrel Owens, to thank for that.  Too many times have I seen kids get upset that they didn't score any points in a win, but be ecstatic that they dropped 10 in a game we'd lose.  You have to play with pride when you compete.  Talent can only take you so far, but pride will get you through those hostile arenas, help fight back from what most would call insurmountable odds.  Pride is what keeps you from being complacent and being stagnant.  Talent brings championships, but legacies are built on pride.  The old school teams that would win champions back to back to back wouldn't get lazy in the off season.  Nope they'd be looking at where they could grow because they knew everyone would be gunning for their spot.  When was the last time an NBA team won back to back titles?  In most cases, the champion got eliminated from the playoffs really early, if they made them at all.

It's something you have to have every time you put on the gear.  Every time you touch the ball, every time you break a sweat.  All the things I've been talking about this season - commitment, team identity, toughness - comes from that sense of pride.  If you don't have it, your just wasting time.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!  And of course, SIC 'EM BEARS!  :)