So what's my problem? I want them to start the game the way they finish games, by dominating and imposing their will on another team. My mentor and old coach told me that I can't coach other kids as if they were me. I know what he said is true. I agree with him so much that I try to reach the kids at their level. Even though I know what my mentor said is true, it's so hard to put that into practice once the frustration settles in.
Today for example, we were playing a team and our defense looked great. But we couldn't put the biscuit in the basket. I felt like I should just call a player over and tell them they needed to step up and make a play. If any of my coaches told me to step up when I was playing, I would have done whatever I needed to do to make a play. But I didn't say, "You need to make a play." Instead I called the point guard over and told him, "No matter what, run the offense and pound the ball inside."
The big guy ended up getting the ball, he got fouled, and scored easily. That play turned into 3 points. We got a stop on defense but the next trip down the court on offense, it was like we (I say we but I mean the 5 guys on the court) didn't know that the same big guy who scored so easily was still on the court.
I've played for a couple of coaches that micromanage the game. That ends up being a waste of time and it's not fun. Usually when those coaches were players, they needed someone to tell them what to do. My strength as a player was using the offense as a tool to showcase my talent. If we ran a play I knew how to score or how to set someone else up. I knew what my teammates strengths were and I looked to exploit the defense on every possession. I want my players to do the same.
You see? It is so tough not to coach players like they are yourself. To me is seems so easy:
- look
- watch the game
- read your teammates
- read the opposition
- make a good basketball decision.
I know that if a coach asked me to do something, I would probably shut my mouth and just do it. There were even times I gave a coach some lip but I still put my head down and did it. Today, my boys were getting after it with their effort and energy. We need to dominate on more than just effort; we need to score some points.
I gave them a few choice words in the middle of the third quarter and the boys decided to shut me up. With a new unit out on the court the boys began to make plays. They got steals, rebounds and they made layups. Once their playing time began to look in jeopardy they all began to make the best of every possession.
Thinking back to the game, it is hard for me to see what made the difference. Was it the way I talked to them? When I called a timeout just so I could yell at the ref, did that fire the boys up? Is it when I called another time out in the midst of a 4 on 1 (with my boys having the numbers in their favor) to chew them out? Do they need to hear me screaming, "I am tired of this game! Put them away now!"? Do I need to blow a gasket?
I think need to show some other than my RBF. Maybe the players think I am not happy and they are too focused on trying to please me. I'll have to be clear and let them know what makes me happy is when they play basketball effectively. That doesn't sound like a lot. But how do I get them to make that wish of mine a reality?
Maybe it's me who needs a better perspective. After all, we gave up 17 points at half time. That is pretty good. As a team we gave up only 24 total points in the game. Most people would be pleased and I am pleased about that. All but one player scored in the game. We did lots of other things well.
But I come back to my original question no matter how I look at it. How can I motivate the team to start games the way end games?
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