Trending Success

[ol' gus]

I saw in the paper where a coach, probably several coaches, were recognized down at the alamodome during girls basketball finals. He had racked up quite a few years and wins at his school.
I was wondering if any of you could share what you think could build such a perennially successful program.
1. I think the most important is if a coach is given shear time to build. Way too many one-and-dones. John Wooden took 16 years at UCLA.
2. Another thing is if a coach can teach all the PE classes then he's basically grooving his future athletes. Better not leave this key element in the hands of all the pee-wee moms and dads if you don't want them screwed up. It can take up to 7 years to correct erroneous thinking. That's why it is so hard for a first yr coach to turn things around in that first year. Unfortunately it's some of those pee-wee moms and dads that screwed things up that are now on the school board expecting a miracle.
Sorry, I digress.
What else might contribute to long term success?

 

[BE]

Focus. Having a priority. Being good and being the best on a perennial basis is a sign that it is part of the community's culture. Basketball is a part of the town's fabric, it's woven into everything everyone does. It's the same as any other priority someone can have. It's like washing and vacuuming out your car; it's going to church every time the door is open; like sitting down for supper every evening; like showering before bed or before work, or both. Routine. It's required behavior. It's expected.
Nazareth girls play 40, 50, 60 games every summer. Okay, so do lots of teams. But that is not enough. The gym is open 24-7. Everything else is an off season for basketball. Go in their gym almost any time it is open and you will find not just high school and junior high boys and girls, but their moms and dads, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and granddads. It is part of their culture.

When the Van Dykes' dad was looking for a job, people in Nazareth knew he was and someone there hooked him up. No impropriety whatsoever, no ethical question. Anyone anywhere could have offered him a position. The dynasty was reloaded.

I have been told their 8th grade girls have never lost a basketball game. Its a culture of being darn good at basketball. The rest of us up here have a choice, recognize their formula, or get use to their success.

Huh, where have we seen this same picture before?

 

[ol' gus]

I guess Naz doesn't waste their time with Volleyball?

 

[freeagent]

I guess Naz doesn't waste their time with Volleyball?

Not sure. I did notice when we visited Strawn a year or so ago that there weren't any volleyball lines on their court. That, I guess, is every school's choice -- and if your school has a cheerleading program, well, the young ladies can be pretty busy anyways.

But Poth, which I think is now a 3A school has done pretty well with the gals playing both Volleyball and Basketball. They've made state in both sports -- several times in the same year. And it's more-or-less the same girls playing both sports.

Like I say, club sports are the work of the devil's second cousin. But let's save that for another day.

 

[coachjdjones]

Nazareth no longer has a VB program (haven't for a while), but I do know they have a state championship or two in that sport, as well.

 

[ol' gus]

What else can cause success to become a trend?

 

[coachsatcher]

I haven't been anywhere long enough to be considered a perennial threat, but turning a program around, or helping them get over the hump, boils down to changing their rate of satisfaction. If the community, school district and players, are satisfied with being a .500 program, they'll be mediocre forever. Trying to come in a get them to realize they're much better than they ever realized is part of the battle. Most don't want to believe or to dream that Championships are a possibility, because if they aim low, and always meet that expectation, they'll never be disappointed. I want to be miserable after a loss, and I want them to see it. That doesn't mean to forget it's just a game and that there are more important issues in our society. I just want them to work so hard, and be so prepared and become so invested, that losing becomes unexpected, rather than acceptable and expected. I want the bitter taste of a loss to become so foreign, that they never want to experience that taste again; so they fight until the final whistle, fighting their hearts out and leaving it all on the field. After every game, I tell my kids there is no other player on the other team I would take to replace even one child in our huddle. I love my kids, no matter when or where I've coached them; and the goal is that they learn to win in life, just as much as on the gridiron. I remind them it's okay to be miserable over a loss until midnight, but any thoughts of that loss the next morning takes the focus off the following week, which makes it selfish to not be 100% focused on the next opportunity to get that taste out of our mouths. I'm definitely not the best coach to be speaking on this topic, but I know what has worked for me in the short time I've been here and hope it helps someone else down the road.