Turning Point

November 25th, 2013 | Uncategorized

I still vividly remember the national anthem playing on my senior night last February. And then every national anthem during our amazing playoff run, hoping each time it wouldn’t be my last. The roller coaster of accepting that your time playing basketball has ended is a steep one. I had so accepted this as reality that the prospect of playing this year, essentially emerging from my emotional retirement, was confusing. Now deep into the season and close with my new teammates, I find myself approaching that tipping point again.

 

Today I had probably my first real coaching experience, and it ended in disappointment. Shelby was at an away game, so I was the solo coach for the U17 match this afternoon. We made some adjustments to their 3/2 zone and maintained a 10 point lead for most of the game. In the final few minutes, however, the other team came back and went up by 2. We ended up getting an open look to tie on the buzzer and the girls played really well under pressure but this one just wasn’t meant to be.

 

On the ride home, my adrenaline still pumping, I was talking to Hugh about how challenging it is to coach in those situations. As a player, I know instinctively what I would have done in that situation. Yet as a coach, all you have is the power of words and a white board (according to FIBA rules you have to wait til a dead ball to call a timeout—so coaches are even more powerless). Coaching is the logical next step for all of us former players, yet it takes so much more than basketball IQ. Learning to shift those instincts into a coaching framework is both exciting and challenging.

 

Although we didn’t get the outcome we hoped for, I think everyone got a little bit better today, myself included.

 

One of my girls Katie instagrammed this photo last night when I was shoulder-deep in financial analysis, and it made my day! Get it–Ganser means goosekeeer in German, HAHAH.

 

 

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