Jazz 3/1/2008

The season finale! This was a good game and a fine way to end the year.

We had a fun week of practice, for starters. Monday's practice provided a special treat when the usual crowd of hangers-on were not present to distract us by using half of our court (sparing me from having to clear them out, which I was prepared to do). The week was a series of contests involving our revised game plan for the rematch against the undefeated Sixers: pack the lane with a 1-3-1 defense; rebound aggressively; help the point guard against the half court trap. Before the Wednesday practice, the boys had started up a shooting contest on their own, and it was a partial fulfillment of my vision when I decided to coach: a bunch of young men enjoying each other's company while getting exercise and learning to play as a team.

I could also tell that our mentality was short of where it would need to be in order to make up the 25-point defeat we'd faced the prior week. I set some reachable goals and laid them out before the game:

1. Ignore the official scoreboard. The scoreboard I'm using starts out 25-0 Jazz. Our goal was to protect that 25 point lead (and on that basis, the game ended up a perfect tie!)

2. Complaining = bench time. Complaining included to teammates or to the refs. I did have to pull one player at the end of the game, but our composure was night-and-day better from last week.

3. Make them beat us from the outside. This worked very well, as we got a ton of rebounds and even drew two of their players into fouling out (versus us fouling out two people the prior week). They shot poorly, except for their superstar who scored at least 25 points.

Every player on our team scored! My proudest moment of the game was when Josh (who wouldn't pass to save his life earlier in the season) passed to Phillip in the post (and Phillip had not played post all season), who passed to Devon cutting to the basket (proving that he listened to me in practice this week), and he made the shot (which is a 20% proposition at best, especially in a strange land like the free throw lane). I pumped my fist like we'd won a million dollars.

After the game, the players shook hands with each other in congratulations on a good season. Some parents, coaches and YMCA staff all thanked me for my conduct as a coach, which was another main reason for serving this year... to be a positive male role model for the boys. A couple asked me if I'd be back next year. I remember hearing that when his NBA seasons ended, Larry Bird wouldn't touch a basketball for two weeks. I'm ready for the seasonal break myself, but I'd say there's a decent chance I'll be back on the sidelines next year. I've learned to deeply appreciate well-run programs. The YMCA program was well-organized, the staff responsive and respectful. YMCA's stated values are Caring, Honesty, Respect, and Responsibility... and those were lived out through its actions toward me and others. Action means more to me than words, so the Y's mission resonates with me: "To put Christian principles into practice..." I'm glad to have been a part of it.