"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
See the world as it is. A teenage boy explained his universe. "I'm not the most popular kid, but I know one thing, geeks run the world."
The 2020 basketball season pivots not on the Achilles Heel of Kevin Durant but how the pandemic plays out.
Find a storytelling recipe. Novelist Salman Rushdie presents one in his MasterClass. Every season is its own story and Ron Howard counsels us, "the director is the keeper of the story."
Whose story are you telling? Practice partition among player development and team integration edits the story. Committed players or casual ones? We'd rather cook with a filet mignon than oxtail. But that doesn't preclude cooking a tasty meal with a less expensive cut.
A mix of different spices flavors core ingredients. The coach refines them with available yet not always known techniques. Scoring and salting an eggplant draws out the bitterness. Water, butter, a teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of white wine vinegar transforms carrots into glazed magic.
What is the story? In our local season, fans are currently excluded. 2500 fans have petitioned to have that revoked.
How do we play? Choose among structure and spontaneity, control and freedom, scripting versus excavating. All have a place in our narrative.
Will the team play fast or controlled, man or zone, extended versus packed defense, or combinations? When I coached this group in middle school, athletic but short on size, we played fast.
Clarify philosophy, identity, and culture. The Marines build a brotherhood around improvise, adapt, overcome.
Why are you telling the story? Coaching is a giving profession. Coaches work to change our small piece of the world. Help young people to become the best version of themselves.
Kahlil Gibran shared his wisdom in The Prophet.
When and Where? 2020 presents unique challenges. Not in a century has the phrase, "you can't foot Mother Nature" meant as much. No program remains untouched by illness. Five of twenty-four girls missed tryouts locally because of COVID-19 illness or quarantine. We can't separate competition and the public health condition.
Studies examining vaccine effectiveness in children are likely to begin in January 2021. You might ask, "why should we immunize children as few are severely affected?" Children have the ability to transmit illness to peers, older, and compromised family and community members. This week in Massachusetts, over a thousand children and staff have been affected.
The size of the signature rippling out from these cases are a fraction of the overall problem. More Americans (3561) died from COVID-19 on Wednesday December 16, 2020 than on any day since the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 or the Civil War Battle of Antietam of 1862.
Regardless of our league or level of competition, "make it the big time."How are you going to tell the story? Can you tell a compelling narrative? We destroy a great story by telling it poorly. "Never be a child's last coach." No matter what we do, some will criticize our methods, substance or style. Coaching girls, I believe in communication and transparency. Quoting Amos Alonzo Stagg, I'll know how they turned out in twenty years if I'm lucky.
Great coaches help players tell an exceptional story.