GL vs WK

Yesterday was GL’s big match up against the defending league champions, WK. We played a valiant game, but in the end came up short. The problem with the game has less to do with any players playing and more to do with my coaching.

I had written down my planned subs for the first 3 quarters in advance. With my having placed a lot of self pressure to be more competitive than we were when we scrimmaged them last year (and got killed), I wanted to make sure that I got every player the quality playing time they deserved. I then would ad-lib the 4th quarter depending on where we were at.

The first half goes remarkably well. We are up by2 at half, 19-17, in large part thanks to good free throw shooting. This has been a real emphasis with the team this year, since most of them are strong enough to shoot a set free throw without having to jump, so it’s nice to see that practice and instruction paying off.

Bad coaching part 1 comes at the start of the 3rd. The way I did subs was sub at 7:00, 4:00, and 1:00 minutes each quarter. With the exception of a couple of odd 1 minute shifts players were basically playing 3 or 4 minutes at a stretch. Well to start off the 3rd quarter I put in a group of Jack M, Andrew, and Cameron at the same time and WK just ate them alive. I knew I was potentially asking for trouble with that grouping, and sure enough there just wasn’t enough talent on the court. I thought about calling a time out, but frankly didn’t know what I could say to stop the momentum. When their shift was up we were down by 9.

However, going into the 4th we had managed to narrow the lead to 2. Bad coaching part 2 now comes into effect. I send out my best 5, which that day was David, Justin, Scott, Lucas, and Brian to start the quarter. Except, and knowing that they’re going to press, I don’t really define what role each player would play. After two quick baskets, I call a time-out and explain their roles.

Basically the 4th quarter is a see saw. However, with Jack P not at the game, I don’t make any subs for too long (bad coaching part 3). I do get Dante in there for Lucas, who just had nothing left (he’d already played a house league game). Problem is that based on how long he’d played I knew I’d have to sub for Justin at some point. Did I? Nope. And so basically I have four kids who sit on the bench for most of the 4th quarter. Tom and Cameron don’t care and start some spirited chants while we’re on defense. Andrew and Jack M? They are both clearly unhappy after the game and my guess it’s about not having played in the 4th, and since they’ve both been on the bench a lot during 4th quarters I guess I don’t blame them too much.

We ended up losing by 6, but it was really closer than that as with about a minute left we were down by only 2. WK scored a basket, using their considerable height advantage to full effect, something they’d done all day.
So I coached to win, something I don’t regret too much. However, I did a poor job of doing even that while also not spreading around the playing time, and when giving playing time not giving the players a chance to be successful.

Next week we have a HP practice Saturday morning followed by a game that afternoon. Sunday GL has a noon and 2:30 double header, so fatigue will likely be an issue once again. Hopefully I will do a better job of coaching though.