What it means to be a Coach

Obviously before meeting my team I was nervous.  Nervous about, not only if I would like them but if they would like me. I was nervous that I couldn’t reach them. I knew I had the basketball knowledge and skills to teach them the sport. Coming from a basketball family where my father and brother are coaches and even my mother was a coach at one point, I believe I have an incredible understanding and basketball IQ that would help me to instill in my team. The only reason that I have that IQ though is because of all the hours and days that I’d listen to my father and watch him in his workplace. Even when we would go home, we would either watch games or fall asleep on the couch till the late night watching drill videos and strategy videos of transition offense and defense drills or how to breakdown a 1-3-1 zone from coaches like Tom Izzo, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Self and Jay Wright. It was some of the most memorable times of my life and I loved every second. Getting a little off track but as said before I have the knowledge to make these kids better basketball players but all that knowledge could be wasted if the other side does not want to listen or take that information. I have been blessed though with a team that has been receptive to my sessions. They really try to take everything I say and try to use it in their games.

The most rewarding part of coaching these young men is the ability to be someone and make a difference in their lives. The basketball court is somewhere you should come to improve and get better, yes, but it is also somewhere that should be fun and exciting and help you to release any troubles you’ve had during that day. Playing the sport should be a blessing. When it isn’t fun anymore to you, I believe, is when you should stop being around it. Therefore I try to make the sport enjoyable as we work hard. Don’t get me wrong, we have fun but I push these players because as Tom Izzo once said “If I don’t push you, I’m cheating you.”  And I believe that these players that I am coaching want to get better therefore I try to get the most out of them and try for them to see their full potential.  Many people of a newer generation say that winning isn’t everything, and I agree with that too a point but at some point losing makes a sport unbearable. And to be quite honest, winning is fun, especially when you’re doing it the right way!!! That is why even when coaching to win I make sure that my players understand that we will either win or lose with class and always have sportsmanship and a high character while trying to crush the other team.

While coaching, I try to make points that relate to them and make them understand that basketball correlates with real life situations. That basketball teaches you how to work hard with discipline, it teaches you how to battle adversity, it teaches you how to be selfless and give yourself for the greater good. One of the many lessons I preach in practice is to do everything with a purpose and with passion.  Whether it is taking a shot, taking a dribble, making a pass, studying for a test, or helping your parents in the yard or in the kitchen, it should all be done with a purpose and passion. When you do these tasks or anything you do it first should be with a purpose.  For example, with studying the purpose is to get a 100, with taking a dribble it should be to get yourself open for a shot or to help get a teammate open for a shot, and with helping your parents it should be because you want to be a good son or daughter.  Once you have a purpose then to fulfill that purpose you must need passion and to give it all you have.

When I started coaching these Neptune U14 players I had three goals. I’ll start with the third one and that was to obviously win. I wanted to try to make this season enjoyable for them and winning helps that. I wanted them to win the league, make the postseason and be competitive in every game. Secondly, they are young so I wanted to make them better players. I wanted to improve their skills, open them up to new teachings, new moves,  and new drills so that they could take them when I leave and improve for their future careers. But most importantly, my last goal was to make them better young men and be a role model for them. I truly hope as our season is ending that I’ve been able to accomplish this last goal. I believe I have accomplished the first two as we are in second place in the league and have made the postseason and have a chance to make the All Ireland’s and I believe I have improved their skills and have opened their minds to new strategy and drills. The last goal though I hope I’ve accomplished as well.  It is difficult though to really know if I have because it can’t be marked by statistics or data but can only be marked by intangible aspects and known by my players.

I’ve had a blast coaching these kids and I hope they have loved playing for me. Hopefully what I have taught and what I’ve said will stick in their minds for the future of not only their careers but  their lives.