Evening like tonight's - where I have a "night off" and actually find myself at home in MY kitchen cooking rather than one of many drive thru's on the way home after practice - only remind me of how much commitment is required to make a season successful. But it takes so much more than just showing up, which I think may be forgotten in a time where people are trying to be everywhere and doing everything.
To be successful takes work, and I don't think everyone will argue that. It takes showing up to every possible practice and giving it your all for the entire practice, whether you are a player or coach. It means showing up to games and tournaments (you'd think that would be obvious...). For a good team though, there's a lot that has to happen outside of the aforementioned items. In this entry, I hope to shed some light on a few of those things.
For a player, they'd need to be committed to their coaches ideals, schemes, and philosophy. I've seen too many times where players talk back to their coach, or get frustrated and question their coaches ability simply because they don't understand why they were substituted out. If they were committed to their coach, there would be no way they would think their coach was an idiot or didn't have a legitimate reason to sit them. Once they take the time to learn and comprehend their coaches way of doing things, the players usually better understand their roles, which just helps with chemistry and game plan execution - two things that can make a huge impact on a record. Players also need to take time outside of practice to make sure they are reviewing the plays and skills focused on during the practices. When you only practice a few hours a week, there will be times where you'll get a lot of information put before you. Most coaches will try to give you reps to help ingrain the play into your head, but sometimes there just isn't enough time, so you may need to grab some cups, coins, or other odds and ends and review at home. Ten minutes off the court may make the difference between a bewildered look when a play is called and flawless execution. Lastly, players have to be committed to one another. Working to help build up your fellow teammate - challenge them to get tougher, stronger, faster, and smarter - is not just just the responsibility of the coach, but the other players on the team. At the risk of being cliche - you are only as strong as your weakest link.
For a coach, you have to be willing to make that personal sacrifice of time - the late nights putting together upcoming practice plans, watching film, planning tournament itineraries, and communicating schedules. Just as I said players have to commit to their coaches philosophy and strategy, a coach needs to commit to his/her players and find ways to incorporate the skills of the team into his/her philosophy. There has to be a level of trust from a coach that believes that the players can get it done if you've given them the proper tools for the job. He also has to be committed to his philosophy even when things get rough. I honestly believe that because I have yet to establish a philosophy to build of of, that is a big factor in why I have yet to see the kind of success I would like. You can't build a house on sand, and that is why I am working to develop a philosophy that I can explain and stand behind.
Lastly, there has to be a commitment from parents. This is the one I think that gets the most overlooked. As obnoxious as they may be, I envy the support that teams like Hackensack and P.W.C. get from their parents (although they have way to many backseat drivers) because they show up in FULL FORCE to every game and cheer from start to finish no matter what the score is (I've seen P.W.C. down by 40 and the parents went wild on every basket as if they had just tied the game or taken a late lead). I know it's tough to cheer when the deficit looks enormous, but don't you think your son or daughter no matter how old, would love nothing more than to hear the crowd erupt when they do something well? I've seen first hand, when the parents get behind the players, they go after more loose balls, they play harder, smarter, faster and its just more fun even when we lose a close game. As a parent, why wouldn't you want that feeling for your child? But before all of that happens, parents really need to commit to getting their child to practice and games and encouraging them to give it their all every time the step on the court, help build the trust in the coach and his philosophy. Lastly, parents should be willing to commit to realistic expectations and open lines of communication with the coach. Many of our players in the program are too young to articulate their problems and if the coach and parent can work together to resolve the kid's problems, then the end result is usually much better than one trying to do it on their own. I had the pleasure of such a parent - coach meeting and I think it served everyone better and that player had a new feeling of purpose on the team which helped him to contribute as we closed out the season.
I know this post is a bit lengthy, but hopefully it shed's some light on just how much commitment is needed to have a truly successful season. Some of it is obvious, but there's a lot that I think people on all sides - players, coaches and parents - may overlook, myself included. At the end of the day its all about the kids, so parents coaches, lets step it up, the kids will follow.
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