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.