In the interest being more open about my journey as a coach, I decided to make this post about what happened over the last year. Maybe not all at once because that might be a REALLY long post and no one has time for that.
So we last left off with a good run in the Zero Gravity National Tournament and I was pretty happy with how we'd done considering the drama off the court and the competition we drew. Later that summer, I was asked to come on staff as an assistant coach for Wayne Hills High School. I had every intent to post that gem of great news once it became official with the school board. But then the Fall AAU season started and I began to get frustrated by what I perceived as a lack of commitment by a lot of players on the team. At that point I began to get frustrated by the lack of progress we were making as a team and I decided it was better to keep that to myself rather than turn this into a soap box.
Maybe I was wrong about what was going on. The numbers at tryouts were low and I had several multi-sport athletes on my team with no backups to cover the inevitable conflicts. Practices were draining as it felt like we just kept rehashing the same concepts over again since consistent attendance on a team level was nonexistent. I was trying to lead that team to some kind of tangible success to keep up with the rest of the program, while working a full time job and helping with the high school and adjusting to those guys. I was spread thin (admittedly, by my own choice) and it felt like the parents and players didn't care. I put so much energy and effort into trying to be a great coach for their kids and I practically had to beg people to show up. We showed up to one game with 5 players just in time for tip off, and of course one guy gets hurt and we have no subs. What do I do there? He's devastated because he feels like by getting injured he let his team down. The rest of the team battled hard but when you are a man down in basketball for an entire half it's not going to end well most times and is upset at the people who didn't show. I did my best to keep the focus on the positives of that game and let our injured teammate know that no one hates him for getting hurt playing his heart out. But on the inside I'm livid. I was ready to be done with that season and I rarely ever want that.
In hindsight perhaps it would have worked out better not to have a team with so many people fighting conflicts. We recruit out of an athletic area of Jersey and our only makes sense that the younger kids take their turns art every sport to see where they can and want to excel. I get it. I do, but I'm a basketball coach and I can't say I don't want people that are just going to play basketball. As we approach another Fall season, this does with on my mind a bit. So much so I almost told our director I didn't want a team just because I was dreading having that scenario unfold two years in a row (that is for another post).
I think that's enough for one post. We'll get back to this soon...
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