Rewind to 2007-2008 and some background info: 2007 I'm right out of college, young, energetic and hungry to prove myself that I belong as a coach. But in reality I thought coaching was all about Winning. My first year as JV Head Coach we went 3-15 (very humbling, lol). My first year as a Varsity Head Coach we started out 0-9 (a lot of youth). We won our first game over Christmas Break in the Frank Spencer vs Parkland. We went on to finish that first season 9-17 (so it was a good turnaround once we got the first win).
During my 2nd year as a coach I had been involved in a coaches bible study through Coaches Outreach at our school with other coaches. This is when I started maturing both as a coach and as a Christian and better recognizing that coaching isn't all about Wins and Losses. I already had good relationships with guys on this Varsity team, but knew I needed to invest more and grow relationships better. I wanted our good relationships to be great. I wanted the guys to know I thought more of them than just as a player on the court. That (2014) season I saw something online, or read an article and wanted to apply it to my coaching. It simplified to this: "You're not a four year investment, you're a forty year investment". That's the approach I wanted to take as a coach, teacher, mentor etc. I started applying it the best I could. Every year at our coach/player/parent meeting it's something I would always mention. And I did my very best to keep that perspective. Fast forward to now and I honestly feel like my relationships with players have grown stronger and stronger. During these past several years I've also been blessed to have guys who are great to be around, funny, hard working and talented. Since that first season I've been able to experience with these guys 4 Conference Championships, 3 guys win Conference Player of the Year, several All-Conference, All-Tournament and All-District players. It all sounds great, but you may have heard it from other coaches too, I didn't enjoy the Wins as much as I should. Part of that is because Wins aren't long term fulfilling. Neither is money, possessions, etc. Only God can fill the void that inside each of us. For me I know teenagers have a lot of struggles, temptations and opportunities that can lead them in the wrong direction. That's why Now our team discussions are more geared towards things in life beyond winning a trophy or an award. I've actually told my players I'd take every basketball trophy in the case and trash them all if it means they grow up and make good life choices, grow their faith and eventually become good husbands and good fathers. I absolutely LOVE coaching basketball. And admit it use to be all about the Wins and Trophies. However by continuing to grow in my faith, having to experience former players and students who've made poor choices and got in trouble, continuing to stay involved with Coaches Outreach, having absolutely great family support and prayers I now have a better understanding of why I coach. This has always been a personal goal, and now God has helped me recognize he wants to use me as a tool to help my players learn more than the game. I hope my players know I love them and I hope they understand I want nothing more than to see them grow up and be successful. I want them to know one of the things that gets me most excited is when they randomly call me on the phone, send a text or come to watch a game! Coaching them isn't 4 years and we're done. It's 4 years of investing, growing, learning together so the next 40+ years are more memorable and more fulfilling than the 4 years of high school. #ALLIN #PUSH #40over4 #WhyICoach (First Go at a true BLOG so please forgive grammatical errors and typos. After all I am a Math Teacher, I'm only use to dealing with numbers.)
Yes...I said it. Zones are for Zombies. If you are a youth basketball coach what is your goal? To win a plastic golden trophy or teach kids about the FUNdamentals of basketball? Personally all of my trophies pre-high school are in a plastic box somewhere in my parents basement. They hold no weight or value. It's not like I'm going to set up a display in my Man Cave of 30+ trophies that show I won a Basketball or Baseball Little League Championship. If all you teach to 2nd-8th graders is how to stand on the Elbows, Blocks and in the Middle of a 2-3 Zone then what have they learned? To play like Zombies, hold their hands out and stand in a spot? Plus you're not helping the opposing team work on the skills they need like Dribbling, Passing and Shooting. The goal of a Zone is to really hope teams settle for Three Pointers... and from my experience 99.9% of those kids aren't anywhere close to being physically ready to shoot that far out. So by little league teams playing Zone we have kids who are "chunking" the ball as hard and as far as they can hoping they might hit the rim. None of those kids have learned about "Ball-You-Man" or how to defend a pass and cut action, or how to help if someone drives to the basket, or how to box out (it's harder to box out in a zone than it is man to man). For long term success youth player need to be taught Man to Man Defense. As they learn those basic concepts and then get introduced to "SHELL DRILL" concepts they will have a better understanding of how to play defense. Plus at the same time, you can be working on Offensive Spacing, Awareness, Passes and Cuts. Teaching Man to Man is a WIN-WIN! So instead of having little league games with everyone standing around with their hands up playing like Zombies, let's teach them how to play real DEFENSE. Build up by teaching the proper Stance, Footwork, Angles, and Actions to take. As Youth Coaches let's teach them how to see ball and man, deny a pass, not get face cut, etc. Years down the Road they'll appreciate that more than their 2nd Grade Basketball Trophy that was broke anyways after an epic Nerf Gun battle (Speaking from experience)! Down the road by the time these players are competing in middle school/ high school basketball they'll be a time where a Good Zone Defense looks like Man to Man, and a good Man to Man Defense will look like Zone (i.e. Virginia's Pack Line Defense). If you're a youth coach/ travel team coach and need help implementing man to man defense click the contact page! Elite Athletic Training is excited for 2019 and the launch of a 14U Boy's Travel Team.
Team Info, Tryout Dates, etc will be made available soon. This team is for Middle School players in the Yadkin Valley Area! Team Elite will focus on individual and team basketball development. We will play in Regional Tournaments around the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point and Charlotte areas. Boys and Girls 3rd-9th Grade are invited to this years RAM JAM BASKETBALL CAMP!
Players will work to improve their footwork, agility, speed, ball handling, passing, defense and shooting. Current Ram basketball players and coaches from the men's and women's teams will help instruct campers and show them the skills that will help them be a better player! The Mountain Valley Athletic Conference has released the All Conference and Honorable Mention recipients for the men’s and women’s 2017-2018 basketball season. Starmount had a great showings on the court. The Starmount men’s basketball team was awarded the regular season conference championship. The Rams also had the Coach of the Year, Rocky Horton, and the Player of the Year, Griffin Cass. The Rams finished the season 24-4 Overall, 13-1 Conference. Starmount advanced to the NC 1A ELITE 8 with victories over North Rowan and Pine Lake Prep before falling to defending State Champs Lincoln Charter. MVAC Men’s basketball All Conference and Honorable Mention: Varsity Conference Champions – Starmount Player of the Year – Griffin Cass (Starmount) Coach of the Year – Rocky Horton (Starmount) All Conference Griffin Cass (Starmount) Trey Dezern (Starmount) Eric Wiles (Starmount) Honorable Mention Brendon Eads (Starmount) Charlie Smythers (Starmount) MVAC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Tavis Bridges (Starmount) Trey Dezern (Starmount) |
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