Watching the Wide-Eyed Freshmen

After 20 years of being a head coach, I know one thing is a certainty: the freshmen are going to get overwhelmed, their brains exhausted from information overload. As I watch our newcomers this season, Chrissy, Tianni and Emma, try to keep up with our incessant teaching, I can't help but laugh at their wide-eyed stares. Their brains are cooked, drained and completely fried from our first eight practices.

When Tianni feels as if her I.Q. has dropped below double digits, Lindsey Kentner will say, "I've been there. It will get better." When Emma will look at me as if I'm speaking Russian, Katy Arick will interpret my words. When I yell at Chrissy for not remembering to hedge the screen, Lisanne will say, "Hang tough! We've all been through it." When I expect the seemingly impossible, loading another play upon them or worse, a new defensive rule, and all the fresh faces cannot believe there is more to learn, Tarenna or Ali will knowingly pat them on the back.

I know it is a difficult transition coming into the Golden Eagle program, because it is my philosophy to teach. I have rules for everything from offensive spacing to using screens to transitioning to defense to coming off the court to sitting on the bench. With initial entry into the Eagle program, players become confused, their feet stuck on a message that is trying to get from their brain down their legs. They become paralyzed from being analyzed. I understand their pain and would love to simplify the teaching but I also know the teaching is what will eventually make them better than they ever could have conceived.

With each practice, their feet will become more automatic, moving on muscle memory rather than brain focus. Their understanding of the game will make them smarter and this game intelligence will create confidence. I know this to be true because I have seen players evolve from their first year through their senior year. Each year they become better as their skills have improved. I see them adopt an attitude of belief in self and team. They become not only good but great.

So for Chrissy, Tianni and Emma, they will have to believe what the upper class players tell them. If they can live through this year, this self doubt, they will become phenomenal players. This I have witnessed year after year after year.