What the Flock?

I was totally disappointed with training today.

I was disappointed on so many levels - With myself, this team and the self-depreciating attitude that is festering among our 2nd year A's. We talk the good talk - we want a lot; to get in Premiers, to win games, to be fair to our teammates and go to tournament - but we are not willing to walk the walk - build skills through fundamentals or do the extra work outside school.

I was disappointed that players by their disruptive nature, not only stopped practice with their constant questions and bickering, but also denied themselves and their team mates the opportunity to get more done today.

I was disappointed with myself for not taking a tougher approach to discipline although this team has tested my patience so many times. As those who know me can attest, I have an extremely high tolerance level to most things (thanks to several years of judging and organising tournaments). But I am wary of the time we have left and what we have to learn. I am very close to going back to old school style trainings (all run, no fun, drill, drill, drill) to get things done.

It has never been my intention to make Robots. Anyone can make Robots. We could easily drill and scrimmage until the cows come home but that doesn't make real players in my opinion; because there is no path to achieve incremental success.

However, it has always being my philosophy to develop players; real players with real skills that can think for themselves and play anywhere, anytime. Maybe I was dreaming to think that Under-16 Girls would want the same thing for themselves. Maybe all they want to do is scrimmage and have a good time, which is fine, but we won't win any games doing that. Maybe there are deeper issues at play, only time will tell.

Still, I promised myself that I would never push a team so hard that we would need puke bins at half court like in the old days and I also promised myself that I would not became a 'factory' coach making Robots for the masses.

Right now, I feel we are a Flock without a Shepherd. The Sheep are running around everywhere and the Big Bad Wolf called the Grading Round is waiting to pounce. If they can't work for each other, they'll never get home and if I don't get them home, they're going to get eaten. I can't have that. Not this year. Not on my watch. Time to Shepard-up and get it done.

A win-win for all

It’s been a productive week although it's taken a long time to bring it all together. We finally got our first Junior training off the ground, our Senior squad had a strong game vs. the top team in the Social league and things are well underway for Western Heights.

Thursday was our first Junior run and as expected, it was simple and a little choppy in terms of pace. I was quietly impressed with our work through the core drills (Pass and Cut on Offense, Stance and Closeouts on Defense), how quickly they picked up complicated sets and how hard they were willing to go during our rebounding work.

Looking at my practice notes, there is an obvious need to work on Scoring (Shooting and Finishing), Rebounding (Angles and Boxing) as well as core fundamentals (notably footwork and ball-handling). In conjunction with some of the ‘Four Birds’ feedback I got from the girls today, we will be increasing the pace with short burst drills (1-2 minutes) and short rests (30 seconds) in-between – A Basketball version of HIIT – High Intensity Interval training.

Our mission next week will be to get the rest of our short burst drills in to really get the most out of training time. Funnily enough, the Reaction drills for the Read and React are only 1 minute long each side so we should be able to blaze through the core Five for Layers 1-3 in less than 15 minutes! More time for working on defense, transition and scrimmaging which sounds like a win-win for all.

Time is of the Essence

25 days.

That's all the time our Seniors have left to prepare for one of the toughest pre-season tournaments in the Country; the Western Heights Invitational. Unlike other Tournaments that are usually Zoned or restricted, Western Heights have an open entry policy; meaning if you can make it there, pay the entry and fulfill the requirements, you can play. What this creates is a super-tournament featuring several sports; Rugby, Netball, Football, Basketball, Badminton, Golf, Hockey, Motocross, Equestrian, Squash, Small-bore Rifle Shooting, Theatre Sports and Debating.

But that's not all, on the teams front for basketball alone, entries read like a program at Nationals: Avondale, Cambridge High, Dilworth, Fraser, Hamilton Boys and Girls, Hauraki Plains, Hawera HS, Kristin, New Plymouth Girls, Palmerston North Boys and Girls, last years Boys National champs Rosmini, Rotorua Boys and Girls, St Cuthberts, St Johns, St Pats Kilbirnie, Waikato Diocesan, Wellington College, Westlake Boys and Girls as well as the hosts, Western Heights HS.

Our Senior Girls have done a lot of work up front to prepare for this by playing in the WBA Thursday night league, working with Wellington U19 reps, being involved with Summer codes on top of their work at School trainings. This tournament will be a great measuring stick to see just how far they have come in two months but more than that, it will show the path to Nationals and fulfillment of the Dream.

It is what it is, thats why we do what we do ...

From next Monday, we will be officially four weeks to the end of Term one. Even though we have named the first of three junior squads this week, we have not had our first training run due to scheduling constraints. This almost puts us in the same predicament we were in last year; a late start with a new team that had to learn as it played.

Our School is big on options but limited on resources; probably more so than any other school I know of. Not that I'm against options; I personally think it’s great that our Girls have so many sports to choose from; that they can develop skills in sporting endeavours of their own choosing. Nonetheless where we fail is in the way we deliver these options to our kids. We have one Gym, one usable outdoor Netball court, two tennis courts and no real field of any size or description. The sheer fact that our teams play and compete successfully is a testament to our Code coordinators and the countless volunteers who go above and beyond every week.

Every season, we are encouraged to pursue success while building a love of sports in our respective squads. However, given our resources, I feel we are on the back foot before we even start. Take for instance, this year’s Junior A Team; It is one of the strongest we’ve had on paper since the 2009 squad that took out Division 1. We have Speed everywhere, a broad range of skills from multiple codes and a very positive team culture. However to be successful, we need to work. Work on Chemistry. Work on Strategy. Work on Execution. And we need somewhere to do that; somewhere that is not only available but allows the Girls to train regularly without intruding on their education or life outside school. In order to be competitive this season, from Game 1 in May to Winter Tournament in September, we have to go to work; and to be honest, the sooner, the better.

Would've been nice

Still gutted we got bumped today. Would've like to get the team together for our first run. Monday Lunchtime meeting maybe?

All in a good cause but not happy about it

After what looked like a promising start to the season tomorrow came crashing down when I got a call from the Sport Co-ordinator this morning. Seems like the Handball people want to have the Friday morning spot we were initially promised and being a in-season code, we have to give them precedence.

Although I completely understand that in-season sports are higher in the pecking order when it comes to the schools limited resources, it stilll bothers me to no end that we can't get going any sooner than next week. At this current rate, we'll be where we were last year; Three weeks to the holidays trying to get stuff ready for a grading round two weeks following.

Honestly, the school needs to look at other venues for sports because quite frankly, I can't see how we're suppose to be competitive if we don't have sufficient time to prepare. Made the more difficult by having new Girls in the mix this year so not only skills but chemistry to work on as well. We don't want to be still installing stuff going into the competition rounds like we were last year but thats route we're heading methinks. Better start adjusting that Season plan now :(

Junior A's announced

We announced the 2012 Junior A Squad in a new first for us, using social media to post the team selection on-line. Although, I have my reservations about using this method for broadcasting such important announcements, its reception was well recieved and the players involved were openly excited in their selection.

However, personally, I feel that these announcements - making it or not making it as the case maybe - were always one of those special moments in sports best shared in person, with people you know and care about. To think that players who didn't make it, were doing so without of their friends or family to console them, really makes the experience inpersonal IMHO.

I'm thinking after a night of sleeping on it, we may get some real feedback about wether this is a good way of doing things in the future. Definitely in the internet age, it seems like the logical way forward but like most other things about the web, the people factor seems a lot more removed.