Guy’s Season: Going in Blind
After ten solid practices and a couple of open scrimmages, my senior guy’s team has their first game tomorrow. Like the girls, the guys were not in a league last year, however they played an exhibition schedule which included a Toronto tournament. From that experience, I learned two key things about them:
1. They are very athletic. While I am very ground bound, several of them are flying high thanks to a couple of simple tips. Others are becoming exceptional shooters and defenders. They have a very high ceiling and it’s on me to help them find it.
2. They are super competitive and cannot get enough basketball. After a tough week of practice, they still requested a Friday scrimmage so they could get into the gym and just play. They want to run more after practice and they want to shoot more if the gym is open. If you created a 25th hour, some of them would spend it playing.
So in a season that will be close to finished in early February, I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. I think we should be competitive and I believe we will do well, but what do I know.
What am I hoping for?
I hope they do not measure success in wins and losses. Instead, they need to measure success in improvement and development. We will be tougher at the end of the season than we are now. We might get our butts handed to us on several occasions but we will bounce back each time. In the end, the team’s success should be defined by how hard we compete and how much we seek to improve.
I hope they can maintain their intensity. Through life distractions and school work, I hope they can live well, study well, and play well. They need to fight through the inevitable lulls and low moments. They cannot believe those who tell them how good they are or are not. Instead they have to stay the course and appreciate the small victories and the big picture.
I hope they have fun. From team bonding to joking around to just being guys, basketball is a sport and it’s supposed to be a positive experience. Our captain is a Cleveland fan; I loved not saying anything about last Saturday’s game against the Raptors because I knew it would drive him crazy. My center is a goofy man-child who could bench press me but also spontaneously dances during fitness class. Our bench is filled with John Mayer like guitar players and celebrity like nicknames and good hearted kids; this experience should add to their day.
In the end, I get to bring a new basketball experience to a great group. As more grey hairs form and more voices are lost, I am looking forward to the whole experience; the games, the car rides, and the non-mandatory scrimmages where I get to play. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about winning and losing. My goal is to exceed expectations. I want us to be better than anyone thinks we could be. I would also like to make it through this season without getting tossed from a game.
