North Andover Tournament

We have received confirmation for entry into the North Andover tournament the weekend after next. Coach Labella will solicit input from the parents about where we proceed after the season. We encourage the girls to participate in other sports and other activities important to the maturation of student-athletes.

The Road to Success

The Road to Success has unavoidable off-ramps through Disappointment and Frustration. Our primary goal will always be to promote skill development and teamwork, with the integrated effect of playing well more often and playing at the highest level from time to time. In other words, our secondary goal after a player's individual development is creating an environment where "playing well" becomes the norm. Winning becomes a secondary benefit. 


"Where nothing is forced, nothing is left undone." - Eastern Proverb


Basketball, like life in general requires balance - work (defense) and play (offense), preparation and rest. 


All our players have gifts, but the gifts aren't the same. Some have extraordinary athleticism, others a better understanding of basketball principles, and a few special competitive drive. All have succeeded in adding value to the team, but in different ways. 


The highest level of achievement cannot be obtained without mistakes. The coaches made mistakes as players, and continue to make coaching errors. 

• Babe Ruth struck out 1330 times.
• Peyton Manning has thrown 188 interceptions.
• Michael Jordan had 2924 turnovers in his NBA career, and missed over 12,000 shots and over 1,400 free throws

What matters most is what we achieve, not what we do not. We say that we can control only two things on the basketball court, our effort and our focus. What we can control before a game or a test is our preparation.

“It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” - Bear Bryant

"Never let what you cannot do stand in the way of what you can." - John Wooden

Screens: The Door to Score

Excellence comes from repetition. Remember our goals: conditioning, skills, teamwork.


I've used the trash barrels as props, as well as step ladders, and folding chairs.
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We always teach 'read and react' to what the defense is doing.

More Opinions

Some additional information from a former professional coach


Basic positional defense, stance, vision, reaction

This is part of the "core information" that we expect all players to absorb and transfer into their skill set. This is part of our central theme of CONDITIONING, FUNDAMENTALS, and TEAMWORK from the Pyramid of Success.

Lessons Learned

From a college coach.

Worthy aspirations.

Nothing is Impossible

If you want to develop skills, there's only one way: practice.

Bias

Last night we played like fifth grade girls. We lost. Sometimes you lose something bigger, perspective, as in "you're never as good as you look when you win or as bad as you look when you lose."

The Good:

• I told one player that despite "a million" turnovers, she played well enough in the context of seeing what was there and trying to make that happen. Errors of COMMISSION we understand. Errors of NO MISSION must be eliminated.
• The team continues to be very supportive of each other. They've surely tired of hearing us tell them to advance the ball with their head up and play "possession by possession".
• The girls did not quit, slicing a ten point deficit with about 1:30 to go to four points.
• Individual improvement, always variable player to player, week to week. 
• Ongoing great support from the parents. 

The Needs Improvement:

• Turnovers. "The ball is gold."
• Individual defense.
• The coaching. ATTRIBUTION BIAS says, blame everything else, the conditions, the officials, et cetera. If the individual defense isn't good enough, maybe we haven't taught them enough.
• Rebounding. Position and desire define rebounding. We're not getting enough rebounds, and those who can improve their rebounding and/or become shutdown defenders will add great value to the team. 

Frustration defines normal in competitive sports. But our long range goals for our players remain to help them become a team that can achieve special accomplishments. And we know that we will have to encourage them to play hard at all times to get there.