Timing And Rotation

 

Timing And Rotation

 

This is about one  of my favorite drills and two of my favorite kids! It is from April 29.
The longer I coach, the more I like rethinking methods of teaching basketball to my players. I came to WCS in 1998 and we still run the same offenses against man and zone, the same three inbounds plays, and the same press break. What has changed is the way I teach it. My estimation is that we only do about 5 % of the same drills we did when I arrived twenty years ago. My adjustment from coaching high school to middle school came in basically starting at the beginning, the way you do with little kids in summer camps. Most coaches do things the way their high school or college coaches did them or perhaps they adapt what they see at clinics/camps. You also borrow from colleagues you coach with or against. It's really a fraternity if that's permissible to say with female counterparts! The Internet has changed how information is circulated in the coaching ranks. I have coaching videos and e-mails sent to me on a daily basis. I discard what is not applicable to our team/style/level of play/philosophy and tweak what I can apply to make us better. I find great enjoyment in constantly updating the processes we employ. And there is this: the boredom factor. Repetition is good but it doesn't take long to lose its effectiveness, to where the kids can do a drill without any focus. Changing up practice keeps all of us on our toes. 

One thing I learned when I first started coaching is that standing around is the enemy of a good practice. Another truth I've gleaned is that when you change practices up, the kids have to think and figure it out. I try to have them make as many decisions daily as possible and to try to get them to think like coaches. We add at least one new drill per week and usually more. In the Spring, we don't work on defense except when we play. My belief is that it's easier and less time consuming to teach defense but offensive skills can require years of work. We do some breakdown work for post and perimeter players but mainly, we try to teach them how to play basketball. 

That brings us to the diagram at the top of the page which incidentally, took several hours to draw on my photo-shop device- hard making straight lines on the laptop! It's a passing/cutting/catching/shooting drill we added last week, one that I picked up from a college coach and modified to our needs. That's not always easy because you have to gauge distances of college males versus thirteen year old young ladies. In this drill, we emphasize hard cuts, appropriate passes, meeting the ball, and making shots. The girls picked it up quickly; we always teach it going to the right. A good drill can be run both directions but as we are all right handed, changing directions causes some hiccups. I like it and the kids like it so it will stay in our library of drills for future reference!

I talked to my 8th period 8th grade Bible class about this drill because Hayden and Aspen, two of my players, are in that section. This drill is like life in two ways.  The first is timing. Four kids have to move together and if one messes up, the sequence breaks down. It's easier for the more experienced girls because they have a better ability to see how it plays out. One late cut and all four players on the court are affected. Timing is so important in life. You like someone and they like you back but not concurrently. You want a job and they are interested in you but in separate windows of opportunity. Fortunately, God's timing is not ours! What's disappointing to us in the moment is beneficial in the long run- it may take years to come to that realization. But along with the importance of timing goes rotation, which is sometimes even harder for players this age to grasp. Where do I go next after I make this pass? In this particular drill, three kids stay and one, the shooter, moves on while another player comes in. Isn't that life? What do I do next? Where do I go next? Who is left behind? Sometimes, we get stuck in a bad situation and we struggle to leave it. I've moved a number of times since high school, never without prayer, and it's never worked out the way I thought it would or even should. But the Lord, in His infinite wisdom, has worked through my mistakes and led me each step along the highway of life. You can't draw it on a coaching clip board- too many stops/starts/turns. (My tribute to Don Meyer!) But as these drills are preparing these girls how to step on the court on a higher level, our daily lives are, hopefully, preparing us to make a difference in the much more important arena of life. One of my favorite hymns on this topic is Johnson Oatman's marvelous Higher Ground. It begins with the beloved line, "I'm pressing on the upward way....." Pressing- that's a basketball term. See what I mean? Court is in session.


Applicable quote of the day # 1:
“Coaches win practices, players win games”
Pete Carril


Applicable quote of the day # 2:
“Professional coaches measure success in rings. College coaches measure success in championships. High School coaches measure success to titles. Youth coaches measure success in smiles” 
Paul McAllister

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Part Of The Plan

 

Part Of The Plan

Sometimes, it's good for all of us to get a different perspective! This is from April 10, 2014.

I saw Lizeth as she was walking into her 8th period class last Wednesday in the room next to mine. Out of the blue, I asked her if she would like to plan our basketball practice the next morning. In a voice you have to know to fully appreciate, Lizeth answered, "YEEESSSSS!!!" And she did. The next morning, I asked Sydney if she would be interested in planning Friday's practice- she was! So the last two practices of last week were planned by two seventh graders who are extremely close to each other and extremely fun to coach. They picked the drills we would run those two sessions which included competitions of the shooting variety and playing. Our scrimmaging usually involves restrictions- two dribble limit, etc.- and scoring guidelines, i.e., a point for an offensive rebound, in addition to baskets made- they selected those rules for the day. I also let them choose the color each 'team' would wear, a bigger deal than you might expect, especially when we go to three or four teams and we have to wear red or gold tops which do not get washed every night! (Here I should explain that our team consists of twelve players, the perfect number for a basketball squad, because it can be divided into two/three/four player groups.) I also let the two determine the method to begin a playing setting, either loose ball or camp jump ball. Lizeth and Sydney did an excellent job, the practices were good ones, and next week all the girls on the Lady Wildcats will be granted a day to organize our workouts.

I mentioned that I was impressed with how Lizeth and Sydney ran the show Thursday and Friday but that does not mean each of them were without an anxious moment, even if no one but me was aware of it. The problem came, and it was internal struggle, when they had to choose our teams. You see, I have a distinct advantage when I pick sides- I don't care. I don't care who wins or loses and I don't care if someone gets their feelings hurt. But Sydney and Lizeth do care- and have to care- because they were part of the teams. As competitors, they wanted to win but they also wanted to be fair and that is a slender tightrope to walk. I really believe they questioned themselves and their own motives because they could not take themselves out of the equation. I talked to them about my brother, Dave, coaching his three children- Zach, Meagan, Ben- in high school tennis and additionally. Meagan in basketball. Tennis is much easier because there are intrasquad matches to determine rankings but basketball is so much more subjective. I would guess it would be extremely difficult to coach your offspring in a sport such as basketball but I know Dave handled the situation with Meagan in a professional and objective way and I know she loved playing for him.

Lizeth and Sydney at an early age ran into an issue that adults know very well. How can we remain objective when we make decisions that affect multiple individuals, including ourselves and our friends and possibly our relatives? Based on our knowledge of the Gospels, although limited and not a day by day account of their interactions, Jesus was apparently closer to some of His apostles than He was to others. Did this play into His assigning who went with who on their mission trips? Did He make them rotate leading devotionals or were some perceived to have greater power to do miracles than their peers? The Savior obviously was accompanied by an inner circle of Peter/James/John on several key moments of His ministry, like the Transfiguration, while the other nine stayed home. But it also seems Jesus did a remarkable job of both praising and chastising the group equally, regardless of their perceived proximity to the Master. Like our team, Jesus was blessed to possess the perfect and highly symbolic number to the Jewish nation, twelve, to work with. Lizeth and Sydney are in good company but now content to return to their much more comfortable roles as players. We'll see how their teammates fare in the upcoming days.

Applicable quote of the day:
Think of new ways to do old things. You must protect against boredom in a practice situation. 
George Raveling

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Camper Of The Day

 

Camper Of The Day

Without a doubt, one of the greatest acmp stories in history! This is from June 12, 2014!

I've coached in many, many basketball camps at various times and in different states but today was a first for me. At our WCS basketball camps, which I have now worked for sixteen years and I would guess 80+ sessions, we always give a Camper Of The Day for each team, announced in a little closing ceremony every morning and afternoon. The award is based on the word of the day, printed on the campers'/staff t-shirt. (Monday is attitude, Tuesday is effort, Wednesday is fundamentals, Thursday is discipline, Friday is tenacity.) The plan was put into place twenty-one years ago by then camp director/boys' basketball coach, Greg Glenn, and carried on by his successors, Russell Carr and Trey Austin. Traditionally, the director leads a short discussion of the word of the day as each session begins and the campers/staff all clap each time the word is used in demonstrations. It's a neat tradition.

This week, we have about fifteen kids in the morning session, which is entitled Hard To Guard Camp. Of the fifteen, only two are girls and both of them are my team, which we named after my college squads, the York College Panthers! The Panthers also include my voluntary assistant coach, Lizeth, who plays for me on our school team and who will be an 8th grader this August. Yesterday, as we did a shooting drill, I made a point to my campers, Faith and Dru, that when we are rebounding, the ball is sort of like a baby- you never let a baby fall and hit the floor. You have to pursue the basketball and catch it in the air! Being a little bit silly, I asked the duo if they were of the mindset that we should give the ball/baby a name. They were! Babies have to have a name and Dru immediately christened our new teammate Charlotte. It became a big thing. They started saving a place for Charlotte when we would sit waiting for instructions and once when Trey told all the campers to put the balls in the racks, one the girls told me they were putting Charlotte in her crib. It may seem very silly but they got into it which is what is all about, especially with very young kids and these are very young kids.

Today as I came into the gym, I asked Valerie, a senior to be who handles all the non-coaching details of our camps, if there was an extra t-shirt I could borrow. She graciously granted permission and I went into the locker room and got an adult large. I stuck one of our blue and gold basketballs inside the shirt, Lizeth made a name-tag, and the physical Charlotte came into being. Faith was absent today due to a family commitment so Charlotte became Dru's best buddy and accompanied her wherever Dru would go. Dru decided Charlotte might like a boyfriend so Chuck came onto the scene. and she would place another ball beside Charlotte. She also thought Charlotte and Chuck might someday get married and have kids- she named them Christina/Chris/Chiquita. Then came the matter of Charlotte's last name; logically, we settled on Ball. It just fit for some reason. The Panthers, even short handed, had a terrific day! When we did shooting contests, we merged with the Ligers (think Napoleon Dynamite!) Late in the morning, Valerie came up to me and asked who should be Camper Of The Day. She suggested Charlotte....and Dru was so excited for her new teammate/friend! And so, Charlotte Ball became the first camper of the day to be round, painted blue and gold, and to be formed out of a rubbery substance. You can see Charlotte posed in all her splendor with her award, in a candid shot taken by Valerie. I was almost emotional.

Now, you may think this whole story is silly and a waste of time but it isn't. First, it makes absolute basketball sense. Players today are extremely careless with the ball and treat it nonchalantly while the ball is the most important thing in the game. If you never relinquish possession, you cannot lose because your opponent can't score. But there is also a spiritual implication. All of us have been careless at one time or another with the things that really matter; our health/family/morals/purity/study/prayer life/benevolence. We treat these treasures nonchalantly the way campers treat a basketball in a hot gym on a June morning in Houston, Texas. Proverbs 19:16 teaches us that:
He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, But he who is careless of his ways will die.
I don't want to ever be accused of being careless with my soul! I should watch my soul like Dru watched over Charlotte, and that's closely. At the end of camp, I asked Dru if she wanted to take Charlotte home with her. She was hesitant about springing that on her mom- that's quite a bit of responsibility for a little girl!- so Charlotte is spending the night in the locker room. I bet she misses Dru; she could not ask for a better friend.

Applicable quote of the day:
 "Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy, the sense of order imposed on the disciplined adult intelligence."
 Norman Podhoretz

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Linden, Plus Five

 

Linden, Plus Five

 The following is about one of the young ladies who played for one of the various versions of the Lady Wildcats. It is from October 25, 2007.

She walked up to me Friday night after our Homecoming football game. We were hosting a Fifth Quarter party in our school cafeteria, a get-together for WCS alumni, students, teachers, and parents to share food and unwind after the big game. She was with Russell, one of our seniors, and she asked if I knew her. Even though there was a familiarity, I was stumped. Seeing my confusion, she told me she was Linden. Then I saw it. Linden had been one of my middle school basketball players in seventh grade. She was only at WCS for one year before transferring. She's a senior at a big public school and I have not seen her in the intervening five years. Now as tall as me, Linden is gracious and confident and I really enjoyed catching up with her. I reminded her that she always responded with, "Okey dokey" when I gave her coaching points. She reminded me that I used to harp on her not being precise in her approach to the game. Haley and Taraka, two of my current players, came by as we were speaking. Linden's advice to the pair was to keep playing basketball, which she gave up after her ninth grade year. I hope Taraka and Haley were listening....and I hope I see Linden again.

I pray on a daily basis for every girl that has played for me at WCS. This is what I find strange about my reconnecting with Linden last weekend: I've prayed for her every day since the start of her seventh grade year and I still failed to recognize her. For the past nineteen hundred or so consecutive days, I have mentioned Linden to the Lord, right between Kristin and Athena, and I still didn't know who she was. When I close my eyes, I can see twelve year old Linden but there was no age progression in my mind. When face-to-face with the grown-up version, I struck out. Maybe I do that more than with just prayer lists and former players. It's easy to classify someones spiritual development and confine them to one category, not giving them the chance to mature and strengthen their walk with the Lord. I was shocked to see Linden, but I shouldn't have been. She simply grew into a lovely young lady while I wasn't looking. It isn't so hard to imagine that many former students do the same academically, socially, and spiritually when out of my eyesight. I may still see them at the point they departed, which sometimes was their low-water mark. I remember their ebb tide and fail to foresee the high tide that is still possible in the life of a young person. Gravity from the moon pulls the waves to the shore. Influence from heaven pulls the young man or woman back to the proper course. Fortunately, my forecasting skills can't get in the way of the Lord's plans, either with nature or with teenagers. He seems to do fine without me. Just ask Linden.

Applicable quote of the day:
"Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends on the tides of the mind."
Alice Meynell 

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

24

 

24

When I penned the following entry, on May 30, 2007, both of my parents were still alive. With their passings, I have found out, like many of you, what it is like to lose a loved one. I know much better what it means than when this was written.

I was there the first time and so was Ben. In 1996, I was the assistant coach and Ben Johnson a freshman substitute during Friendship Christian School's initial trip to the Tennessee high school baseball state tournament. We thought we had a great shot at winning the Single A crown but we went out in two games. Last Friday, Friendship was once again in the state tourney but Ben and I were finishing up the year as teachers/coaches at Westbury Christian School in Houston. Ben was getting updates via cell phone as the Commanders took on Jackson Christian School in the championship game on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. Ironically, the same schools with the same two coaches and many of the same young men battled it out for the state football crown back in December. Last fall, Jackson Christian prevailed by a 19-13 margin. On the diamond, the tables were turned as Friendship took the title, 13-3. My only real connection remaining with the program is Coach John McNeal, my six year coaching partner. But even if I wasn't particularly emotionally involved, I was thrilled on another level. Jon Miller is why.

He was only a third grader when I moved to Texas so I don't know if Jon would remember me. His parents and I worshipped together and I coached with and against his dad, Ricky. Kids grow significantly in almost a decade. Last December, Jon Miller was the quarterback for the Friendship football team and led them to a perfect 14-0 mark heading into the title game, also played on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University. On that day, Jon tied a state record he would like to forget by throwing six interceptions in the six point defeat. Even in high school, quarterbacks tend to be lightning rods for credit and blame so I know Jon took it very hard. Fairy tales aren't supposed to end that way. What a sense of redemption for Jon, who played left field defensively, to lead his team to the pinnacle in May by slamming four home runs in the tournament along with a slew of runs batted in. Can one triumph trump a heartache? Does one cancel out the other? I guess Jon could answer that better than most but at least it put an ice pack on the sting.

Mitch Albom has a new book out although I haven't read it. The author of Tuesdays With Morrie has published For One More Day, already scheduled to be a made-for-television movie later in the year. The gist of the novel is this: 

what would you do if you could spend twenty-four additional hours with a loved one who had died? 

I am sure the point is to not wait until it's too late to make peace and share our love. I got a jolt today when reading the obituaries in my hometown newspaper revealed the passing of the fathers of two childhood friends. The mortality of your friends' parents implies the mortality of your own folks. Jon Miller was granted a rare reprieve, to at least partially rectify a painful segment of his young life. In Acts 20, Paul calls together the elders from Ephesus to tell them good-bye, knowing he will see them no more this side of eternity. We don't have that luxury Paul was afforded or the Mitch Albom fantasy to have a do-over once the heart stops beating. The phone is available. If you still can, call your folks. Someone's waiting for you.


Applicable quote of the day:
"Love each other or die."
Mitch Albom


God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Mom And Dad And The ATM Card

 

Mom And Dad And The ATM Card

I am no financial wizard as you will see in this devotional from June 17, 2014.

This may seem archaic to you but I applied for an ATM card this past weekend. It was really on the advice of two wonderful people who don't know each other but who work together through me, Ann Stone and Mike Tune. Ann is our church accountant and handles the finances for my mission trips to Vietnam. Mike is the son of Tom Tune, the missionary who started the church I work with in Can Tho. Mike has taken over the reins of his father's vision and coordinates my trips in terms of what I need to be doing in Vietnam.The issue came up because my friends and biological family and church family have donated in excess of my expenses for my trip so I'll be taking some funds to leave and distribute with the brothers and sisters for use as they see fit. Ann and Mike expressed concern with my carrying more than a nominal amount of traveling cash and while not exactly insisting, strongly urged me to get an ATM card from my Chase Bank branch. Last Saturday, I did just that and am expecting delivery in a few days. Chris, my personal banker according to his business card, walked me through the process and explained fees from using overseas ATM machines. He was non-plussed when I told him I intended to deactivate the card when I returned in early August. Chris suggested a few options for future considerations- we parted with me knowing more than when I came in.

I would guess my views and habits on money come consciously and subconsciously from my folks. We did not have a great deal and they were careful with what we did have. But they taught us the Lord came first, even with money. When I was very small, our allowance was 15 cents per week with 1/3 saved, 1/3 spendable, and 1/3 in the collection plate. We would skip meals and give the money saved to missionaries. I was not fond of that but it stuck with me. Mom and Dad went through a stage where they gave us a little spiral notebook and had us write down every penny we spent. After fourth grade, no more allowance and if I wanted money, I had to earn it. Thus began a stream of get it yourself employment opportunities; raking leaves, shoveling snow, mowing grass, detassling corn, paper routes, working on a farm, carrying groceries/running the register at the Jack & Jill Supermarket, waxing floors at York College. I learned to value of currency. When I wrecked our Karmann-Ghia, I paid for the repairs. When I wanted to go to basketball camp at the University of Nebraska, the money came from my checking account. So when I go to college and beyond, I knew the value of a dollar and how to repeat my folks' strategy- STAY OUT OF DEBT.

That brings me back to the ATM card. I have never wanted easy access to my money so I write checks and keep a limited amount of cash in my wallet. The only thing on my credit card is my phone/Internet bill and my once a year plane ticket to Vietnam. I'm not belittling anyone else- I know it would be different with a wife and kids- but it works for me. My parents never gave me an elaborate gift- they could not have if they had wanted to. And yet they did. They taught me contentment with what I had. I have struggles but envy has never been a big issue. I was never jealous of classmates getting new cars or even students getting new cars- I just considered them blessed. But it hit hit me the other day as I was driving- they did give me an elaborate material gift. After their passings and the dividing of the will, I went to Russell and Smith Honda in Houston and paid for a brand new Honda Fit in cash with the money my mom and dad had worked for as teachers and as a preacher and as a marriage counselor, then saved and judiciously invested. The concept of inheritance is common throughout the Scriptures, both in the materialistic way but more importantly, as it deals with eternal life. Jesus preached the laying up of treasures in heaven; if you knew my parents, you know they did. And in doing so, they also provided for their earthly offspring. In doing so, they gave me the best of both worlds. 

Applicable quote of the day:
Folks can't carry around money in their pocket. They've got to go to an ATM machine, and they've got to pay a few dollars to get their own dollars out of the machine. Who ever thought you'd pay cash to get cash? That's where we've gotten to.

Bill Janklow

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1

Wonderful World

 

Wonderful World

My favorite camp word of the day is ATTITUDE which has many components but part of it has to do with being a good teammate. This post is about a famous player and his favorite teammate. It is from June 13, 2013.

Last week, I ran Bill Walton's tribute to John Wooden, his basketball coach at UCLA, a man many consider the greatest ever. This afternoon, I listened to a Sports Illustrated interview with Walton as he shared some thoughts on basketball and his own Hall Of Fame career. He made the point that he considered Larry Bird the best player he ever played with and Kareem Abdul Jabbar the best player he ever competed against. But what really impressed me was his statement that the best teammate he ever had was Maurice Lucas, who played with Walton on the Portland Trailblazers in the mid to late 1970's. I remember Lucas as a very good player but more of an enforcer type than someone who puts others in front of himself for the good of the group. It helps having the perspective of someone on the inside.

As I've mentioned, last week was the first of three weeks of basketball camp at Westbury Christian School with morning and afternoon sessions. As always, I'm assigned to coach girls. In the morning, our team was named the Cowgirls and the afternoon squad was the Thunder. In my career, I've coached boys in baseball and girls in basketball. This is a generalized statement that some of you will disagree with but in my experience, girls make better teammates than boys. It might be simply that girls tend to be more mature than boys. Or, it could be that girls cooperate more than compete, one reason some coaches become frustrated working with girls. My afternoon group, the Thunder, was one of the best camp teams I've had. They were outnumbered, only six girls in a camp of fifty, but they were a joy. The six are about to enter sixth, seventh, or eighth grades. They encouraged each other with a minimum of silliness. They took coaching as advice to make them better, not as criticism meant to demean. We actually won a camp-wide shooting contest, team versus team. In one of the last rounds, it was the first team to three baskets in shots from the free throw line. We made our first three attempts and sat down, the signal for finishing. The fourth shooter was Brittany who will be a WCS sixth grader this August. Miss Brittany made one of the best statements I've ever heard a youngster make:''I didn't get to shoot but it doesn't matter because we won.''
Not everybody is unselfish enough to be a good teammate and not everyone wants to be. But in that short sentence, Brittany told me everything I need to know about her athletically. If she can put the other girls ahead of herself in a thrown together for five days camp team, I have no worries she will put others before herself in things that really matter. It's a foreshadowing.

What if we all lived like that? What if employers put their employees before themselves? Or spouses put their mates first? Or coaches and teachers put their players and students first? Or politicians put their country and their fellow citizens first? Or Christians actually did as we are commanded and put the whole world first? To quote Sam Cooke-Lou Adler-Herb Alpert, 'What a wonderful world this would be!' Who do you think we should start with?

Applicable quote of the day:
"In short, he was a very, very complete player and a joy to coach, a totally dedicated team player whose only concern was winning.”
Dr. Jack Ramsey, NBA coach, assessing Bill Walton

PS: In his interview, Bill Walton asked for prayers for his old teammate, Maurice Lucas, who is battling cancer. That's a good place to start.

To hear Sam Cooke sing Wonderful World which he co-wrote with Adler and Alpert, PLEASE Click the link below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYQFTbLKNcg

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1