We tell stories. Most are not 'consequential' in the big picture. Consequential implies meaningful, making a difference. Life embeds basketball lessons when we pay attention.
Basketball leaves scars. Some are physical, others psychological. Always take the physical over the psychological scar. My first basketball injury was a fat upper lip on my own tooth in sixth grade on a rebounding collision. Geno Auriemma describes growing up poor in Northern Italy. He rolled into a fire and sustained abdominal burns. Basketball leaves scars.
Cold shooting. During a late sixties Christmas vacation, we had a basketball game in Watertown, suburban Boston. They never turned the heat on. We wore coats on the bench and the chill frosted everyone's breath. I made three perimeter shots off the wooden backboard. My coach asked whether I was aiming for the board. Sam Jones was my favorite player. "The bank is always open."
"C team." I started coaching in 1999, starting a sixth grade "C" team because my daughters didn't earn slots on the "A" or "B" team. The team wasn't very good, nor was the coaching. I trained one of my twins as a point guard because I wanted her to learn passing. She became the second best passer on her high school club. The best was Shey Peddy, a future WNBA player. Their teams went 90-6 in high school.
"Girl power." Basketball teaches life lessons - sacrifice, hard work, competition, resilience, sportsmanship. Boys always had access to these lessons while girls were often relegated to second class. Empower yourselves.
"History lessons." Preach. Develop a portfolio of stories that teach principles. Lee's victory at Chancellorsville in 1863 taught winning against overwhelming odds. Arlene Blum's ascent of 8,000 meter Annapurna taught how women could summit with audacity and also succumb to fatal avalanches. Risk and reward travel together.
"All politics is local," said Tip O'Neill. Whether it's about finding, keeping, or losing your job, politics matter. Sam Jackson reminds us, "Remember that the toes you step on today may be connected to the *** you have to kiss tomorrow."
"Endangered species." The last fifty games I coached, I don't think the zebras determined the outcome of any. When our girls played well they had a chance. When they played less well or I coached poorly, we lost. Scapegoating referees happens far too often. Point fingers at ourselves first.
"Family matters." Although coaching our children can bring joy, it's not automatic. Coaches can coach our children harder, so it can go either way.
"Faith and patience" flank the peak of Wooden's 'Pyramid of Success'. A copy watched over our locker room six decades ago. Coaching children demands belief and time. Inconsistency litters the courts of young kids. You'll ask how they can play so poorly in the morning and so well in the afternoon. Don't lose our minds over what we can't control.
"Lost in space." Most youth teams have poor spacing, allowing defenses to shrink space. Rather than make excuses about zone defense, make a commitment to space and to disrupt space with shot fakes and ball fakes.
Watch for life lessons wherever you go and help players write great narratives.
Lagniappe. Learn to self-regulate, from @booksforaspirants
Too many people self-medicate with alcohol or substances.
Lagniappe 2. Learn this skill...even if it's to play inside-out.
Rick Majerus on Keys to Feeding the Post:
— JIM BOONE 🏀 (@CoachJimBoone) March 9, 2024
1) Your Man - How is he defending you?
2) Post Players Defender - How is he being defended?
3) The Helpside Defense - Where is it coming from?
* Post Player must Yell for the Ball, and you cannot yell too loud! pic.twitter.com/VuuV8gqxQf