Ode to Joy

Play the game. Bring energy. Radiate joy. Share. Love being with your teammates. Appreciate the experience. 

Protect your culture and values, "...the most important one is probably joy-he wants us having fun", Luke Walton said of the values that Kerr pushes to the team. 

How we treat each other ultimately defines who we are...not the scoreboard and especially not the scorebook. How we communicate and connect determines what our players become. 

Is our team a TEAM? Pete Carril observed, "How do you know if your team has camaraderie? I can tell by the way they walk off the floor at the end of practice. You can feel their happiness vibrating; you can see how they work out together." 

We started practice by having one group (working inside each three-point area) on dribble tag and the other playing 'capture' the flag. After two minutes, they switch. They have to get loose...and I want them to be 'loose'. This should be their favorite two hours of the day. It's my favorite two hours of the week (until the next practice). There's some subtlety involved. "Play is children's work" and dribble tag or 'capture the flag' signals that we're playing. 

One concept I've believed in for a long time in medicine is the "patient experience." I know that it won't be perfect but we must work to make it the best it can be. At my level (middle school), the player experience and the team experience matters...a lot. I want everyone involved to believe that it's time and money invested not spent. 

How do we make it better? At times it felt a little chaotic Monday night. The players worked hard with a high tempo, but I think we can do more with 'stations', which will also get my assistant coach more involved. 

One of my goals is to get every player at least 150 shots per practice. This is especially easier with more hoops to work at and an assistant. When you play a game, how many shots do you get? Some players might not get any. But you keep score! We keep score during a lot of the shooting drills - "4 minute shooting", "30 buckets", "Spurs Catch and Shoot", and so on. If you want to compete, bring it on at practice...with joy.