I've probably run hundreds of miles without experiencing a "runner's high." But tonight I think I felt "coach's high."
You see, as of last night I was still trying to come up with an offense. It seemed like a generally good use of my time, since we have all of two hours' worth of practice time left until our first game. The offense I'd tried last week was OK, but it seemed congested. Late last evening, somewhere between the time that Dena came home from her church activities and I started watching re-runs of Law & Order, some ideas started to grow... a kind of inside-outside offense where the guards rotate in a circle whenever the forwards have the ball, and the forwards rotate whenever the guards have the ball.
By the time I was within an hour of the start of practice, I was still fuzzy on how to actually teach this thing.
So we started by doing a shooting drill from the outside, from the left wing and the left corner, the two prime spots in the offense (each team has 2.5 minutes to make as many as they could, with me as all-time passer and the other team rebounding). Not only did it work out that the contests were very close and therefore spirited and fun, but I also discovered a couple of kids that were surprisingly good gunners!
After that we practiced just the guard rotation part of the offense, which was simple enough, and then the forward rotation by itself. Then I braced for chaos as we prepared to do both at the same time.
It worked like clockwork! I was stunned. Eventually we tried taking a few shots out of the offense and that worked too.
Oh, and get this -- I started practice by asking them how often they'd like to practice. They unanimously said twice a week, and the few parents who were there were all supportive.
So, the team is not only happy, but eager to practice more and surprisingly (to me) quick learners. For all I know, we may still be the lousiest team in the league, but they are the best team in my world at the moment!
Now, if I can just get more than six to show up, I can see how well things work against a defense...
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