Motivating The Bench Players

Huddle up.

By the time our first game arrives, five of you will be picked to start. "Starters," we'll call them in the score book.

Perhaps the starters will feel privileged. It is a significant role. They may spend thirty minutes on the court, more than any other player. They will probably score more points than their teammates.

They are far, far from the most important players on the team.

They say it takes ten hands to make a basket. This saying makes a key point, that no single player would stand a chance against a five-person team. Teammates and teamwork are required to succeed. Assists are as valuable as baskets.

However, the saying understates the number of hands considerably.

This team will have forty practices together, twice the number of scheduled games. Games are less than 40 minutes long, while practices are 80 or more.

In all, spectators will see less than a fifth of our team's action. If they remember the names of anyone on the team, it may well be the starters.

Gentlemen, basketball is a fantastic game. It creates top physical condition, close relationships, and fun.

I especially love it because it is teaches many of life's harshest lessons well before you get a chance to fail them when it counts.

You will feel disrespected by opponents, opposing fans, and referees.

You will feel disrespected by your own teammates and coaches.

You will be outscored in some games.

Your hard work will often go unnoticed.

Your pain will often be unappreciated.

You will be criticized by your coach in front of your teammates.

You will be criticized by your teammates.

You will be frustrated by referees' mistakes, your teammates' mistakes, and your own mistakes.

Your limits will be exposed, and you will be judged.

You will be exhausted and irritable.

You will disagree. You will be powerless.

And you will spend time on the bench.

You may be on the bench when you're sure you could outplay a teammate who's on the floor.

You may not be cheered by our fans all season long.

Is it worth it?

Some day you will need to work to survive. You may need to work in order for your loved ones to survive.

You can read from the above list of lessons and easily substitute the names of family, friends, bosses, co-workers, law enforcement or countless others into those harsh realities. People will fail you, you will fail you, you will fail others. Your situation will seem unfair.

You will be tempted to lash out in anger. To wallow in pity. To give up. To dig a hole so deep that it becomes a grave.

In those moments, you may remember basketball.

It could save you.

If, that is, you choose to learn how to win.

This is the message to the bench players.

You do realize that we are ALL bench players, don't you. All of us will spend time on the bench.

I believe the bench is a great place to be. That's why I'm here.

Ten hands alone do not make a basket. How good can the starters be by themselves? We will never score our best if they play every minute, no matter how good their condition. A five-man team has no chance if one gets hurt.

How good can five players be without someone to play against in the practices? And how good can five players be if they play against poor players in practices? This is 80% of the season!

Some of you may get the "glory," as others would describe it in the papers. If you measure yourself by that type of "glory," you'll lose a lot in life, maybe even become a "loser" by the world's standards.

Because winning is not outscoring teams from other schools. That is both beyond our control and also ignorant, since it ignores the vast majority of our season.

No, winning is playing to the best of our ability, within the roles that we find ourselves. Because in life, not all roles that we play will be our favorite. And most of them will not be combined with fun and good exercise like basketball.

You have different strengths. Shooting. Dribbling. Defense. Rebounding. Jumping. Passing. Leadership. Speed. Intelligence. You all have weaknesses. Your package, your role may be to push the starters to their limits in practice, so that they are not overwhelmed in games.

You will all fill a role on the bench with me as well. In most gyms, the bench is our only source of encouragement and optimism. If we do not practice encouragement, including me, then we will fail at it during games both on the court and from the bench. And in basketball and in life, that is perhaps the greatest failure of all.

As long as you choose to play for this team, realize that the bench is a place of honor.

We who sit there have earned that seat through an eager desire to succeed.

We have worked, sweated, struggled and grown in ways that will never be fully seen or appreciated by a crowd, especially for most of us as individuals.

What they will see is our standard of victory - an entire team that hustles, shares, and cheers each other on during each moment on the court.

Our goal is to be victorious every day of the season, and whether or not we outscore another team that day, to leave the court with our heads held high.

Our goal is to become better men.