"All things being equal..." get over that. They aren't.
I got into coaching because my identical twin daughters couldn't make the local "A" or "B" travel teams. That meant I coached the newly minted "C" team.
They're the twelve year-olds in the middle, flanking a cheer coach. First rule? You can't teach height. Second rule, get a better coach. I did the best I could with the limiting beliefs I had:
- "The ball is gold" Take care of the ball.
- Get the best shot possible.
- Teach man-to-man defense.
- Learn to handle pressure.
- "Player development is job one."
Train to need. "Identical" doesn't mean the same. I trained Karen to be a physical inside player and Paula to be a pass first point guard, realizing that would change later.
Too many scales. What does that mean? Critics, naysayers, and disaffected don't matter. Remember The Four Agreements. Number 2. "Don't take anything personally." I'm sure that some parents were in disbelief when our daughters earned varsity spots as freshmen. They were projects, but tall ones.
Not enough thumbs. Coaches don't want fair, we want to put our figurative thumbs on the scale to weigh in higher. Make player development the top priority in the development setting. More skill, more strategic understanding, more physicality, more psychological resilience.
"Mentoring is the only shortcut to excellence." Get a coach. Everything about the process is expensive.
- AAU (travel basketball)
- YMCA membership
- Athletic training
- Higher level AAU (invited to play on Boston elite team, big props to Shawanda and Eric Brown who were WNBA player Sheylani Peddy's coaches)
- Bigger compete level (sometimes practiced against boys)
- "Camp driveway"
Shooting games.
- Around the world. 10 spots out, 10 spots coming in.
- Elbow to elbow with a rebounder. Catch-and-shoot at the elbow, sprint to the other elbow. Goal is making 10/10
- "Bill Bradley" or "beat the pro"...game to 11, one for a make, 'Bill' gets three for a miss. You have to make 11/14 minimum to win.
- 100 free throws. Track them on 'graph paper' (now spreadsheets)
- Family free throws (alternate 1 at a time... family record was thirty-three consecutive). Adds an element of pressure.
- Horse. Early on it was "Pig" (me) versus "Hippopotamus" (them)
Ultimately, it's not the parent who makes the players, it's them...with the "Unrequired work" the "Champions do extra" mentality.
They became All-League players and as a family we had a blast, win or lose. I never became a good photographer.
They never won a state title but still won a lot (90-6 in four years) and made many lifelong friendships.
