There was a psychology teacher who was giving her class an oral exam on the chapter of mental illnesses. She asked the question: "What would you call a person who is exuberant one moment, pacing up and down screaming at the top of her lungs and the next moment is sitting down, head held between her hands sobbing?" A student in the back row raised her hand and replied, "A basketball coach!"
I know the feeling--total exuberance, excitement, a feeling of euphoria, the moment when all seems to come together. I know this feeling. It was the home game against West Virginia Wesleyan when all our shots fell, when the defensive timing was right, when all the players were on the same page. And then again, I felt the joy of winning in Glenville where they hadn't lost a home game, where the crowd can be a bit rough, and when they created 28 turnovers yet we still found a rhythm and a way to win.
And only a short two days later in the game against Davis and Elkins, I felt the sobs, the tears, the heartache of watching the Golden Eagles fall after two such decisive victories. It is like this for a coach and team--the coming together, the feeling of complete and utter joy when the journey takes a turn toward our goals and dreams, and then the disappointment and pain when the road seems to curve too far and the dream disappears from view.
Sometimes we forget that life is a journey and a season is a segment of life, of this journey that we are here to travel. We forget a journey is this great opportunity for growth, to extend ourselves, to create new possibilities. What we think we want is to get to the end of the rainbow, to sit at the pot of gold without taking the trip. We believe we would be content with the arrival of our dreams without the journey, but the problem with that is we would not be the people we are.
I look at the players who are on the court and I am thrilled with who they are today--who they created themselves to become. I think of Tarenna and the young woman who used to put her head down with every missed shot, who quit at the first taste of adversity and who now has the strength and maturity to push through bad shots. I remember Tiana who took every coaching critique personally and who got too angry to receive any tips from her teammates and who now can listen, shake her head in the affirmative and continue to play hard. I remember Lindsey who just a year ago when she missed a shot would quit shooting, believing she wouldn't make the next one. And now, this tremendous shooter, just keeps shooting knowing the next shot will fall. How about Ali and Katy? Ali was the teary-eyed player, who when things weren't going well couldn't get her confidence back and today she fights through the tears, not letting them fall, keeping them in check and allowing herself the ability to get back on the court and play with toughness. And Katy? Well, Katy was the player who could never make the time for the 12 minute run until this year. She was the player who couldn't play back-to-back games tough until this season.
Who would they be without the journey? Who would they be without this opportunity to get better? I am thankful for the journey, for the ups and downs, for the challenges that get placed in front of us, because in the end, we are here for the growth, for that opportunity to become better people and players. What we must learn to do is to enjoy the journey no matter where it takes us having faith our dream is still real.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Playing on Pluto
Sometimes the game can eat you up, tear up your insides, making your intestines jelly and your stomach cement. It can make you go crazy as you watch perfectly good players become aliens from another planet, substituting spaghetti for brains and tombstones for hands. When you look into the eyes of your players and they are glazed over, a sheen covering their pupils, making them appear glassy and reflective, then you know they have left planet earth and are taking a trip far, far away in a different galaxy. This is the time coaches appear insane, doing things fans believe should qualify them for the loony bin. We cajole, make jokes, plead, jump up and down, yell, and scream encouragement all while attempting to bring our players back to the court.
Last week was one such game as I watched helplessly from the sideline as the Golden Eagles forgot who they were. Every offensive principle we had taught was thrown into space somewhere orbiting Pluto. We build our offense on ball reversals and the inside-outside principle, spreading the defense, making them shift side to side until we find the hole, the split, the opening to take advantage. When we play in this fashion, we are strong, utilizing the strengths of each of our players. When we forget and start to pretend only 1/4 of the floor exists and the paint is toxic to our touch, then we don't perform as well.
Defensively was perhaps worse, if possible, than our offense, as we allowed our opponents every opportunity to do exactly as they pleased. Our defensive principles rest on the concept of taking something away the offense wants to achieve. We study their game, their individual players and come up with a plan which will limit or disrupt what they do well. When we give them what they desire, our defense falls apart.
This happens once or twice a year when perfectly good players are lost in their own bodies. It is a phenomena every team experiences; it is not limited to the Golden Eagles. A coach only hopes it occurs on a night when the opponent is weak enough her players can fight through it and still claim a victory.
The danger in playing such a game is players tend to start believing the bad game is who they are--not all the other games when they played as somebody else who inhabits their body on a daily basis. What does a team do to recover? How do they go back and ask their bodies and brains to operate on normal?
This is the million dollar question--the one if I answered correctly would net me a book deal, a new house in Montana and early retirement. While I do have an answer, it is not easy to provide because it requires players to manage their thoughts--to listen intimately to their daily inner conversations, and to change the negative thoughts which swirl around their brains telling them such nonsense as they are not fast enough, smart enough, quick enough, etc. The mind is a powerful tool and we rarely spend time cultivating it, tending to it as if it were a beautiful garden providing us with all the nutrition we would ever need.
The power is always in the thought. Those players who are great BELIEVED they were great long before any coach or parent or sibling told them so. They knew it to be true. I tell my players all the time how good they are, what talents they possess, how they can become better, feeding them positive words for their garden, but if they can't hear me and always answer with a but then I can't help them. For example, if I tell them they are a great three point shooter but when they hear me, they add "but only when I am wide open and get three seconds to shoot the ball" then they have limited their belief system.
Since I couldn't get into their brains to rewire them, I did the second best thing and asked to write down 10 positive things they gained from the loss, 10 ways they played better when they were enthusiastic and motivated, and to list each of their teammates and a great thing about them and then the one thing which if they changed would make them better. I then had them share their thoughts with one another, hoping the words on paper would filter through into their brains.
We have not played a game since departing planet earth, but we have practiced and the team appears normal . . . at least as normal as they can appear with a crazed coach pushing them to get past their self-imposed limits.
Last week was one such game as I watched helplessly from the sideline as the Golden Eagles forgot who they were. Every offensive principle we had taught was thrown into space somewhere orbiting Pluto. We build our offense on ball reversals and the inside-outside principle, spreading the defense, making them shift side to side until we find the hole, the split, the opening to take advantage. When we play in this fashion, we are strong, utilizing the strengths of each of our players. When we forget and start to pretend only 1/4 of the floor exists and the paint is toxic to our touch, then we don't perform as well.
Defensively was perhaps worse, if possible, than our offense, as we allowed our opponents every opportunity to do exactly as they pleased. Our defensive principles rest on the concept of taking something away the offense wants to achieve. We study their game, their individual players and come up with a plan which will limit or disrupt what they do well. When we give them what they desire, our defense falls apart.
This happens once or twice a year when perfectly good players are lost in their own bodies. It is a phenomena every team experiences; it is not limited to the Golden Eagles. A coach only hopes it occurs on a night when the opponent is weak enough her players can fight through it and still claim a victory.
The danger in playing such a game is players tend to start believing the bad game is who they are--not all the other games when they played as somebody else who inhabits their body on a daily basis. What does a team do to recover? How do they go back and ask their bodies and brains to operate on normal?
This is the million dollar question--the one if I answered correctly would net me a book deal, a new house in Montana and early retirement. While I do have an answer, it is not easy to provide because it requires players to manage their thoughts--to listen intimately to their daily inner conversations, and to change the negative thoughts which swirl around their brains telling them such nonsense as they are not fast enough, smart enough, quick enough, etc. The mind is a powerful tool and we rarely spend time cultivating it, tending to it as if it were a beautiful garden providing us with all the nutrition we would ever need.
The power is always in the thought. Those players who are great BELIEVED they were great long before any coach or parent or sibling told them so. They knew it to be true. I tell my players all the time how good they are, what talents they possess, how they can become better, feeding them positive words for their garden, but if they can't hear me and always answer with a but then I can't help them. For example, if I tell them they are a great three point shooter but when they hear me, they add "but only when I am wide open and get three seconds to shoot the ball" then they have limited their belief system.
Since I couldn't get into their brains to rewire them, I did the second best thing and asked to write down 10 positive things they gained from the loss, 10 ways they played better when they were enthusiastic and motivated, and to list each of their teammates and a great thing about them and then the one thing which if they changed would make them better. I then had them share their thoughts with one another, hoping the words on paper would filter through into their brains.
We have not played a game since departing planet earth, but we have practiced and the team appears normal . . . at least as normal as they can appear with a crazed coach pushing them to get past their self-imposed limits.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Blessings of Being a Coach
Sometimes as a coach I feel absolutely blessed by the members of my team. They make me smile. They make me laugh. They make me feel young. They make me proud. During the game against Ohio Valley last Thursday night was one of those nights when I was in such a state.
We were not playing well, shooting the ball rather poorly, slow to transition to defense, forgetting to box out. We were in the gym physically but had left our brains somewhere on the rather slow-moving van ride in the sleet and snow between Charleston and Vienna. The athletes from Ohio Valley were giving us all we could handle, bringing their best and making us sweat.
Tarenna and Tiana, two of our consistent starters, were struggling with their shots, feeling a little out of sorts and beginning to feel the consternation which comes with doing less than their best. Their attitudes started to falter and they began to look toward the negative side of themselves and teammates. A year ago, Tarenna would have continued the down slide letting herself tumble into the abyss of negativity. She would have doubted her skills and performed at a lower rate. Tiana would have gotten angry, mad at her teammates and coaches and would have shown frustration on her lips, eyes, jaws, on every limb and every particle of her being.
BUT that was a year ago. This year that is not who they are. They have been transformed into strong women, women who believe in their abilities, who see the power of enthusiasm. After half time, they came out dressed in smiles, determination and self worth. They carried themselves differently, taller and stronger, powerful women in maroon shorts and shirts.
During the second half, they left all doubts behind and became the heart and the strength of the team. They encouraged others and stepped up their games. They played with the heart of warriors, battling for rebounds, sprinting the floor on transition, and taking the ball to the hoop without fear.
I sat back on the bench and smiling felt that parental feeling which comes when a child does well, when she reaches an apex, an epiphany, the top of the world. I felt that way then, the parent loving the child, loving what the child had become. They gave a gift to me that day--the gift of emotional maturity, of a child growing into a woman, and I felt blessed.
We were not playing well, shooting the ball rather poorly, slow to transition to defense, forgetting to box out. We were in the gym physically but had left our brains somewhere on the rather slow-moving van ride in the sleet and snow between Charleston and Vienna. The athletes from Ohio Valley were giving us all we could handle, bringing their best and making us sweat.
Tarenna and Tiana, two of our consistent starters, were struggling with their shots, feeling a little out of sorts and beginning to feel the consternation which comes with doing less than their best. Their attitudes started to falter and they began to look toward the negative side of themselves and teammates. A year ago, Tarenna would have continued the down slide letting herself tumble into the abyss of negativity. She would have doubted her skills and performed at a lower rate. Tiana would have gotten angry, mad at her teammates and coaches and would have shown frustration on her lips, eyes, jaws, on every limb and every particle of her being.
BUT that was a year ago. This year that is not who they are. They have been transformed into strong women, women who believe in their abilities, who see the power of enthusiasm. After half time, they came out dressed in smiles, determination and self worth. They carried themselves differently, taller and stronger, powerful women in maroon shorts and shirts.
During the second half, they left all doubts behind and became the heart and the strength of the team. They encouraged others and stepped up their games. They played with the heart of warriors, battling for rebounds, sprinting the floor on transition, and taking the ball to the hoop without fear.
I sat back on the bench and smiling felt that parental feeling which comes when a child does well, when she reaches an apex, an epiphany, the top of the world. I felt that way then, the parent loving the child, loving what the child had become. They gave a gift to me that day--the gift of emotional maturity, of a child growing into a woman, and I felt blessed.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
A Team Player
Every coach who coaches a team sport understands the challenge of getting players to buy into the concept of team. Players, by nature, want to be individually successful. They want to start, to get playing time, to score points, to grab rebounds, to be the one who made the assist. They want to feel important.
While this is what I want my players to desire, I also want them to accept the role which most benefits the team. Those roles when viewed by outsiders appear to be less significant but in the scheme of the team, they are of high value. Every team needs a player willing to be the screener, the one who gets the shooter open or a defensive stopper who refuses to allow the opponent's number one scorer to get her points or a rebounder who boxes her player out every time so a teammate can grab the ball. None of these stats are charted nor noticed by the media, but they are instrumental to the success of a team.
Every single player is of value to a team whether they are practice players who hustle every drill or scorers who get the nod for player of the week. In a team, every individual has to note her significance and build on it to create the unity needed to accumulate victories.
I think for the most part, we have team players but there is one player who has over the years bought into the team concept totally without remorse. After our game against Davis and Elkins, Katy Arick came to me asking if the possibility existed she could rest in our next game knowing our opponent was one who had yet to win a game. She has played throughout most of her career with knee pain, still throwing her body on the floor after any loose ball and taking charges even when the player dribbling toward the basket is thirty pounds heavier than her.
When I told her I would allow her to rest if she knew she needed it, but that the possibility existed she could potentially score a thousand points this year if she played in 30 games. Without hesitation she said, "Scoring a thousand points would be nice but it is simply not that important. Winning is important."
I knew she meant it. She left the idea of statistics behind her first year on the team, realizing winning was more fun than scoring a few points. She has been the ultimate team player since, doing what she can for the team, sacrificing her body and being the ultimate team leader. I am thankful for Katy's attitude and effort, for her willingness to play through pain, and for her recognition that what she does on and off the floor is incredible. She has made my life on the coaching floor so much easier.
Thank you Katy!
While this is what I want my players to desire, I also want them to accept the role which most benefits the team. Those roles when viewed by outsiders appear to be less significant but in the scheme of the team, they are of high value. Every team needs a player willing to be the screener, the one who gets the shooter open or a defensive stopper who refuses to allow the opponent's number one scorer to get her points or a rebounder who boxes her player out every time so a teammate can grab the ball. None of these stats are charted nor noticed by the media, but they are instrumental to the success of a team.
Every single player is of value to a team whether they are practice players who hustle every drill or scorers who get the nod for player of the week. In a team, every individual has to note her significance and build on it to create the unity needed to accumulate victories.
I think for the most part, we have team players but there is one player who has over the years bought into the team concept totally without remorse. After our game against Davis and Elkins, Katy Arick came to me asking if the possibility existed she could rest in our next game knowing our opponent was one who had yet to win a game. She has played throughout most of her career with knee pain, still throwing her body on the floor after any loose ball and taking charges even when the player dribbling toward the basket is thirty pounds heavier than her.
When I told her I would allow her to rest if she knew she needed it, but that the possibility existed she could potentially score a thousand points this year if she played in 30 games. Without hesitation she said, "Scoring a thousand points would be nice but it is simply not that important. Winning is important."
I knew she meant it. She left the idea of statistics behind her first year on the team, realizing winning was more fun than scoring a few points. She has been the ultimate team player since, doing what she can for the team, sacrificing her body and being the ultimate team leader. I am thankful for Katy's attitude and effort, for her willingness to play through pain, and for her recognition that what she does on and off the floor is incredible. She has made my life on the coaching floor so much easier.
Thank you Katy!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Letting Go and Believing
What does a coach do when she knows she has the makings of a great team but the team hasn't fully bought into that knowledge? I believe the Golden Eagles have the intelligence, the athleticism, the work ethic, the team chemistry, and the leadership to be awesome, yet we sometimes play as if we are tentative, afraid of what the outcome of the game might be, fearful perhaps there will be dire consequences. I've never seen a player shot for missing a basket, nor one executed for making a mistake.
Here is what I understand. I understand we are good but we are sometimes not aware of our own talents. This is not a new concept; it is the oldest play in the book. It is the card of unworthiness we all pull out on occasion, believing somehow we are not good enough to receive blessings. It is the negative drum beat we play, beating the same rhythm of unworthiness some coach or teacher or friend sold us when we were younger.
We have several players who can knock down the three pointer and shoot it with such consistency opponents have to respect them. We have intelligent players who can read screens, anticpate the defense and get an open look off reading a fade or a slip or a curl. We have a low block player who no defensive player can get around because her feet are so quick. We have players who can penetrate to the basket or stop and pop the jump shot. We have good free throw shooters and rebounders who can fly close to the rim. We have defensive players who can play opponents to their weaknesses. We truly have enough to be one of the best.
It is not the mistake or the error which haunts us; it is our ability to it go. It is not that we are not an awesome team; it is our ability to believe it. It is not the lack of skills our players have; it is our lack of recognition of those skills. We are so close to being great, to finding the winners within our bodies I get giddy with anticipation. If the team can hold onto the thought of greatness, let go of past mistakes, and believe in our talents, then we can create the future we so much desire.
Here is what I understand. I understand we are good but we are sometimes not aware of our own talents. This is not a new concept; it is the oldest play in the book. It is the card of unworthiness we all pull out on occasion, believing somehow we are not good enough to receive blessings. It is the negative drum beat we play, beating the same rhythm of unworthiness some coach or teacher or friend sold us when we were younger.
We have several players who can knock down the three pointer and shoot it with such consistency opponents have to respect them. We have intelligent players who can read screens, anticpate the defense and get an open look off reading a fade or a slip or a curl. We have a low block player who no defensive player can get around because her feet are so quick. We have players who can penetrate to the basket or stop and pop the jump shot. We have good free throw shooters and rebounders who can fly close to the rim. We have defensive players who can play opponents to their weaknesses. We truly have enough to be one of the best.
It is not the mistake or the error which haunts us; it is our ability to it go. It is not that we are not an awesome team; it is our ability to believe it. It is not the lack of skills our players have; it is our lack of recognition of those skills. We are so close to being great, to finding the winners within our bodies I get giddy with anticipation. If the team can hold onto the thought of greatness, let go of past mistakes, and believe in our talents, then we can create the future we so much desire.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Joy, Laughter and Success
This team is unique and different as all of my teams have been, but this one seems to generate energy off of fun and laughter. When they laugh together, they find unity and when they find unity, they play well. So in lieu of my usual intense self, I've had to relax with them and just enjoy the moment which quite frankly has made my life easier and less stressful.
As they have discovered fun, they have become stronger in their play. In our most recent two games, both of our opponents made hard runs at us, closing the gap within the final minutes, pushing us to change our tempo and our approach to the game. During timeouts when the game got tough, I looked into the eyes of our players and I didn't see fear or anxiety but the relaxation which comes only through faith and joy.
Some teams get angry at one another when things get tough, some scream and yell, others panic, or find fault with their teammates, but this team has decided somewhere in that vast mysterious part of the body called the brain to reach for joy. In the game against UPJ, as I gathered my coaches away from the bench during a timeout to discuss strategy, the players had already decided what they wanted to do and had found some manner of lightness with which to present it. By the time I got to them, I could see they had already made the resolution and pact to win, yet they politely gave me their attention as if trying to make me feel good about my efforts.
Winning to them is important but more importantly they want to feel good about what they are doing. They want to love the game and to love playing the game. By doing this, they have found the true key to success which is passion for what they are doing.
I am happy to be a part of what they are generating on a day-to-day basis. I have to keep reminding myself of who they are and how they operate--that they are fun-loving people who want the best from life. So the most important thing we can keep doing as a group is to continue to have fun, to laugh, to find the joy of doing our best and to allow those things to flow through us. I believe by doing this, success will simply flow and we won't have to strive hard for it.
As they have discovered fun, they have become stronger in their play. In our most recent two games, both of our opponents made hard runs at us, closing the gap within the final minutes, pushing us to change our tempo and our approach to the game. During timeouts when the game got tough, I looked into the eyes of our players and I didn't see fear or anxiety but the relaxation which comes only through faith and joy.
Some teams get angry at one another when things get tough, some scream and yell, others panic, or find fault with their teammates, but this team has decided somewhere in that vast mysterious part of the body called the brain to reach for joy. In the game against UPJ, as I gathered my coaches away from the bench during a timeout to discuss strategy, the players had already decided what they wanted to do and had found some manner of lightness with which to present it. By the time I got to them, I could see they had already made the resolution and pact to win, yet they politely gave me their attention as if trying to make me feel good about my efforts.
Winning to them is important but more importantly they want to feel good about what they are doing. They want to love the game and to love playing the game. By doing this, they have found the true key to success which is passion for what they are doing.
I am happy to be a part of what they are generating on a day-to-day basis. I have to keep reminding myself of who they are and how they operate--that they are fun-loving people who want the best from life. So the most important thing we can keep doing as a group is to continue to have fun, to laugh, to find the joy of doing our best and to allow those things to flow through us. I believe by doing this, success will simply flow and we won't have to strive hard for it.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Where Did They Go--The Dynamite Kids?
What happened to the dynamite kids, the ones who loved the anticipation of the last second of the game to see who won? Did they disappear into Christmas cheer? Did the holiday spirit envelope them? Did they forget the essence of who they were during their seven days of vacation?
Let me first determine I am okay with change. Change is inevitable as people evolve and these young women have evolved! Wowser! All of a sudden, there was confidence, an inner glow of knowing, of assurance, of the awareness they were good. It was as if they suddenly understood their talents.
In the first game after the winter break, we became the team that the Golden Eagles are known for--an intense, focused team with great defense, offensive play centered on togetherness, and players who knew their roles and performed them to perfection. We had inside-outside play with Tarenna solid in the low block, great three point shooting from Lindsey, Ali, and Chrissy, penetration to the basket from Tiana and Chrissy, substitutes coming off the bench to keep the momentum flowing and fast break lay-ups from a variety of players.
Defensively, we started to play our scouting report, defending the opponents to their weaknesses, and making them do things out of their comfort zone. Finally, we are talking more on defense, rotating to the open player and feeling comfortable getting out in the passing lane to get deflections and steals.
I am not sad the dynamite kids have disappeared or at least gone on furlough for a while. I am comfortable winning by twenty points, sitting down at the end of the game, breathing regularly and allowing everybody on the team to get playing time. For a moment, it felt to me like the teams I coached in 2005 and 2006 who played with such force and determination they regularly defeated opponents by 20 points. I liked that moment, watching the players on the court perform as I knew they could, watching them moving with ease and confidence, free of self doubt and full of passion for the game.
I hope the Dynamite Kids stay on vacation replaced by these women I saw on the court. While I loved the thrill and excitement of hanging onto the edge of every game, I'm okay with watching confident players doing what they do best.
Let me first determine I am okay with change. Change is inevitable as people evolve and these young women have evolved! Wowser! All of a sudden, there was confidence, an inner glow of knowing, of assurance, of the awareness they were good. It was as if they suddenly understood their talents.
In the first game after the winter break, we became the team that the Golden Eagles are known for--an intense, focused team with great defense, offensive play centered on togetherness, and players who knew their roles and performed them to perfection. We had inside-outside play with Tarenna solid in the low block, great three point shooting from Lindsey, Ali, and Chrissy, penetration to the basket from Tiana and Chrissy, substitutes coming off the bench to keep the momentum flowing and fast break lay-ups from a variety of players.
Defensively, we started to play our scouting report, defending the opponents to their weaknesses, and making them do things out of their comfort zone. Finally, we are talking more on defense, rotating to the open player and feeling comfortable getting out in the passing lane to get deflections and steals.
I am not sad the dynamite kids have disappeared or at least gone on furlough for a while. I am comfortable winning by twenty points, sitting down at the end of the game, breathing regularly and allowing everybody on the team to get playing time. For a moment, it felt to me like the teams I coached in 2005 and 2006 who played with such force and determination they regularly defeated opponents by 20 points. I liked that moment, watching the players on the court perform as I knew they could, watching them moving with ease and confidence, free of self doubt and full of passion for the game.
I hope the Dynamite Kids stay on vacation replaced by these women I saw on the court. While I loved the thrill and excitement of hanging onto the edge of every game, I'm okay with watching confident players doing what they do best.
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