What can go wrong will. Coaches call timeouts but we seldom hit the RESET button. Why would we?
A myriad of life stressors appear.
The Holmes Social Readjustment Rating Scale shares a hierarchy, led by loss, relationships, injuries, work, and social changes. Money (being fired at work) in 8th place is lower than one might think. The first three are spousal death, divorce, and separation. People need people.
Coaches are more than amateur psychologists. We manage an almost infinite number of crises, writ large and small. How we do so figures into how people judge us.
What belongs in our basketball "stressor scale?"
1. Personal problems. Coaches and players aren't immune to any of the above. We and our players have family, work, and school issues. Family illness is particularly disruptive. We faced a tragedy from which no basketball recovery was possible and that made all other problems feel small. Grief counseling goes only so far.
2. Relationship failures. Coach-player, coach-coach, player-player. There are minor disagreements and fallouts that lead to dismissals and transfers. Transfers aren't always about relationships but players seeking educational opportunity, more competition, or different coaching. But they leave a mark.
2a.Girl-boy drama. One high school girl "stole" a teammate's boyfriend. Ka-boom, a first round playoff exit for a highly ranked program.
3. Injury. Basketball is much of some players' identities. Prolonged absence can be psychologically harmful. Time usually hits the reset button.
4. Losses come in many forms. We lose a big game, endure losing streaks, being cut (fired), or reduced in status (benched). GLOBAL PANDEMIC has surely struck hard wiping out seasons.
Most resets involve 1) tactical changes, 2) personnel and role adjustments, and 3) effort-consistency. Young players may not know what it takes to win. Others see basketball as an activity not a priority. That doesn't make them wrong.
5. Jealousy. Teenagers exhibit a lot of self-indulgent/egocentric behaviors that can manifest as intense rivalries. I've heard parents counseling players to get their touches or their shots. That's the opposite of Jay Bilas' Toughness counsel we teach, "it's not your shot, it's our shot."
5a.Parents. I've discussed the Prime Directive where conflicts arise out of parental love. You've all heard the story of the Texas Cheerleader mother. "By hiring someone to kill 38-year-old Verna Heath and her 13-year-old daughter, Amber, she would assure her own daughter, Shanna, of a place on the cheerleading squad at Channelview High School."
6. Academics. They cut both ways. Some teams lose good players. We've been blessed to have many superior students. That creates good issues as players might need to be excused from practice for extra study. I can't tell players that family and school are their first priorities and then make basketball first.
7. Illness. Because basketball is a sprinting sport, asthma and respiratory illness show up on a regular basis. COVID-19 literally wiped out our season before it started. Substance abuse, including alcohol is a nightmare every coach dreads and eventually experiences.
8. Politics. In many communities, one or two sports rule the roost. I've seen situations where the rise of basketball bruised egos at the community level. Carl Pierson's The Politics of Coaching explores the many ways sports go south. When I played, the cutting of a local politician's son led to an internal investigation examining the role of sports (participation versus winning) within the community. Three years earlier, when the school won a State football championship, it was all about winning.
9. Multitasking. Many coaches and players balance sport, work, and education.
"I think we should vote again."
10.Recognition. Both coaches and players can find credit hard to take, another good problem.
Every problem doesn't have a solution. In Madeleine Blois' In These Girls Hope Is a Muscle, the two stars resolve the rivalry. That doesn't always happen.
Some relationships fracture and split teams. In higher level of women's basketball, trust is an even bigger issue with player lack of trust in the coaching staff. In some college programs sexual orientation becomes an issue resulting in factions within teams.
Finding balance between staying the course and hitting the reset button will always be an issue.
Lagniappe. Two of many hints from great Canadian coach Dave Smart:
- The “cutter” in your offense should be your weakest long shooter, they can help you by attacking inside (cutting in from the ballside wing, the top, or the weakside 45 angle).
- As a player, you always need to be a threat – ask “how am I helping the team” – if you are short, and don’t shoot well, then you better learn to cut hard while you work on shooting and/or growing.
