LOSING GAMES AS A HEAD COACH
I had lost more games this season that I had the previous two combined as a head coach. I did not like losing but winning was not at the top of my list, player development was. Little did I know, that was about to change because if I did not find a way to win games, the entire town was going to hunt me down with pitchforks!
When you think of elementary basketball, you probably thinkof children taking their first step in their basketball careers. Learning all the basics from how to properly shoot, pass, dribble, and so many other things taught at that age that is where I come into the picture. The year was 2005, and I was going into my third season as the boy’s head basketball coach. I loved coaching. I had played all through school and always wanted to coach; therefore, when I was offered the position rightout of high school, I jumped at the opportunity!
Working and helping the kids develop into fundamentally sound players was an amazingfeeling, the only thing I can relate it to is parenthood, just a parent of fifteen boys. The group of boys that I had that year were all amazing kids, they loved basketball and worked so hard for me at every practice and game. So, you can probably understand thedisappointment when we had a record of 2 wins and 9 losses on the season! I do not think the losing bothered the kids that much; after all, they just wanted to play. As for me, I wanted to win but it was not a top priority for me. Little did I know, winning was about to take precedent.
I remember sitting at home working on a college paper when the phone rang… it was the principle. He wanted me to come in for a meeting at 1:00, he would not tell me what over the phone, just that we needed to talk… after the meeting I was sick to my stomach! He had informed me that several of the parents were very angry with me for losing so many games, and they were calling for my resignation. The parents where the least of my worries, it was the administration I was worried about. The same people that told me that winning was not important at that level, just two years prior, were now threatening to fire me for not winning. I guess keeping the fans and parents happy is more important than developing young players. They were kind enough to give me the rest of the season to get back on track, I just had to figure out how to do that?
I canceled practice for a week and took the weekend to sort through what had just happened. Sleeping was impossible for a couple of days. I thought about quitting a lot, butI could notgivein to a bunch of crazy fans, was I going to let them best me? No, I was not!I was doing a good job, at leastthat is what I told myself daily. I called an emergency meeting with the parents and told them I was not going anywhere and if they wanted my job, they could have it at the end of the season. I went back to the drawing board. I decided to put in some new drills and extend the practice by another hour, and guess what? we still lost games. However, we did manage to win a few more games and as the season closed, I was let go as the head coach. At the time I was devastated, but I was proud of myself for sticking with it and that I continued to work. I would be lying if I did not question myself for years after that, but that changed in 2010 when that same team as seniors won the district championship, the last championship won here to be exact, and some of those same parents approached me afterward, thanking me for working so hard with their children.Also, I must have done something right all those years ago because in 2016 I was offered the same position I was fired from. In a way, I have come full circle.