I haven’t had time to post for quite awhile. I’ve been busy with various things and by the time I get a few min at home to chill I don’t feel so much like writing. Games have been going on and the girls have been making progress. I’m posting after these games (and one other) have taken place…so I assume my comments will be skewed by what I’ve seen in them as a whole as opposed to my thoughts after each individually. After this set of 3 games, we played Minot Ryan again in Minot. That game will be a separate post. It’s not that I have much to say about that game, but it doesn’t belong in the same thought stream as these games.
Starting with the home game against Ryan (last post before this one) the girls started putting things together and executing very well. The final score of each game doesn’t adequately reflect how dominate the top 9ish girls on the team played over this stretch. Because they have run up the score so well and been able to handle these teams I’ve had the luxury of playing players that wouldn’t see so much time for extended min. Generally in the 1st quarter I’m very predictable with my rotation. I take out my small forward around the 3ish min mark and replace her with another player of comparable defensive tenacity. I use my small forward at the beginning of the game as my primary defender on the ball. She could probably go the entire quarter and not need a break…but there’s no reason to run her down that much. Also, around this time I start the rotation of my post players. I bring in another post to replace either my power forward or center, then at the end of the quarter the one that didn’t sit gets replaced by whomever was sitting from those 3. In the waining min or seconds of the 1st I’ll usually replace my point as well. This is to help her not pick up a cheap foul and also to give her an extended quarter break essentially.
At the end of the 1st quarter against Kenmare we had 12 to their 2. Our scoring was spread between 4 of the starters. Given a 10 point cushion I was able to break from my standard rotation at the start of the 2nd and get players into the game right away that might not see action until the end of the 2nd. This did bring down our offensive production a little bit, and I run the risk of the girls that started off well cooling off…but at this age it is very important to give everyone time while still keeping the game competitive. As parents and coaches we like to tell kids in this age group that it’s not totally about winning. We are working on building up their skill set for the next level. Ideally the entire program from 3rd grade hoopsters to Jr. Varsity feeds into the skill set that the varsity coach is looking for. Some of the skills do not necessarily translate into victories at the level you learn them…I might tell a 6th grade kid to drive and dish instead of shooting the layup every time. It’s important that they understand how the defense reacts and learn to pass. At the same time, it is important for the kids to taste both victory and defeat. They need to know what it feels like to win so they know their skills are paying off…and they need to lose so they work hard to never let it happen again. For the rest of the Kenmare game we played them fairly even. This was a product of my subbing and I’m O.K. with that. We started to pull away again in the final quarter…and that’s traditionally when I like to give my starters the nod to finish the game.
The next game was vs MLS in sherwood. It had been probably 15-20 years since I’d been in the sherwood gym. It reminds me of the souris gym…the floor is great…and nice wood floor, beautiful to play on. There are not much for bleachers on either side though, maybe 4-6 rows. Some kids from the smaller schools like playing in a gym like this. In the larger gyms you get the echo and the court feels so much bigger than it really is…in these smaller ones it’s more like what most of our kids are practicing in.
We had another pretty good start against MLS, scoring 9 to their 4. I stayed with my standard rotation for this game and we finished the half up by 6. At this age level with these girls the score doesn’t always accurately reflect how they are taking control of the game. We were harassing them well on defense and missing a few close shots. Overall though the girls were playing well and hustling all over the court. Opening the 3rd quarter the ladies started pulling away from MLS and we ended the game comfortably.
Over these past 3 games everything has clicked for the girls…they are looking up the court for the easy layup, they are working the angles to make good passes…they are moving without the ball. The girls are starting to look like the team I was hoping they could be at the beginning of the season. We’ve compared ourselves to the other teams in the area and we are in better shape over all, we dive for more balls and the girls fight harder for each and every ball. There are so many things they are doing right that isn’t recorded in the stat book, I could go on and on. The biggest single thing I’ve seen improve to this point is their desire to win games. In the beginning they seemed to want to play…but they didn’t really seem like they thought they’d be competitive. It’s not that we felt like we were going to lose, but I didn’t get the sense they felt like they were going to win. Over this stretch their attitude has changed and they are on each other to get better and better…they want to win and are working hard to make it happen. There are a few players on the team that throw themselves after the ball without thinking about that wall just a few feet beyond the side line. I don’t want anyone to get hurt…but you can’t win games if you aren’t willing to get on the floor after the ball.
The next game was a home game against TGU. I posted here before about the last time we played these guys. I wanted to win this game badly. I was really disappointed we were not able to get the win against Rugby the 2nd time we played them…and I didn’t want to see that happen again. The girls played hard enough to win against these guys the first time, and I felt that my personal history with one of the refs might have cost us the game. I didn’t like the taste that left in my mouth. I also was a huge fan of the rotation this coach uses against our 7th grade…like I said before, if someone sees every quarter in the 8th grade game I don’t feel they should see time in the 7th grade game.
We opened up well against these guys, 8 to their 2. The majority of our scoring was done by our point. I would like to see it spread out a little more…but having on person start off hot like that might open things up for the other players. I rotated through a few girls, but for the most part I kept the players on the floor that I felt gave us the best chance to win. Unfortunately, that meant that 2 girls didn’t get to see the floor for this game and 1 or 2 others didn’t get the time I would have liked them to. I think over the course of the season, it’s O.K. to be in that situation for 1 or 2 games at this age level…but not more than that. It’s justifiable to go for the win, but if every game came down to the wire I’d have to find a way to work them in better. Also, I made it clear that participation in practice was going to be a large factor in determining play time. One of the girls had blown off a few practices and a couple of games…in my mind that was justification enough to cut her play time for one of the girls that is there every practice and game.
We were outscored in the 2nd half of the TGU game. One of the big reasons was the girls getting a bit lazy on defense. They would play with their arms at their sides. On the court at any given time I have 2 if not 3 girls that are tall and long for their age. They plug up the middle really nicely and could almost shut down the offenses we’ve seen to this point…but they play with their hands at their sides. After 3.5 quarters of yelling “get your arms up”…I finally took a time out. I -hate- taking time outs. I would much rather make the other coach burn theirs…to me it’s a sign your winning if you don’t have to stop the action. Beyond that, on the teams I’ve run so far their condition has been such that it’s to our advantage to not take time outs. In this case…I had to get a point across. I called a time out…30 seconds. The whole teams comes out on the court to huddle. I tell them “get your arms up” they do…and we stand there…I don’t say a word to them. The team stands in the huddle with their arms in the air for 20-25 seconds. The first horn sounds…and we break the huddle. I believe that got my point across. A couple of the girls ran back out on the court with their arms in the air. They were yelling at each other to get their arms up. It’s too bad I don’t have detailed enough stats to see their scoring after that point…but we shut them down from the field I believe. Although we were outscored in the 2nd half, we did win the game.
Like I said earlier, the girls came alive over a 4 game stretch. With the play they’ve turned in they would be competitive with every team we’ve seen, and have beat all of them except Rugby. The girls are coming together as a team and learning that they have the makeup to be competitive with anyone for years to come. The leaders are starting to emerge both by their play and vocally to their team. It is going to be interesting to watch this group develop through highschool. The way they look now I would be awfully disappointed if they didn’t content for a shot at the state tournament for 1 if not 2 years.