In the summer of 2008 I went to the Ivory Coast to put on a basketball coaching clinic. Rarely have I been treated so kind. They have one indoor arena there. It has been condemned so they can not use it. Although they have a number of out door courts they have what I would call two pavilions. Two courts with large openings for breeze with roofs on. Like many places in Africa the people can not afford to buy things and so I asked my connections with FIBA (Federations of International Basketball Associations)in the Ivory Coast what they needed more money or basketballls? They said basketballs. So I set out to raise 1000 basketballs for the Ivory Coast. With the help of many students,parents, coaches, and schools, I accumulated 800 basketballs. I sent over 200 of them. The coast was about ten dollars a ball. Thank goodness people had donated about $2000.00 dollars.
That left me with 600 basketballs in my basement. I talk to many people that had helped me put together all of these basketballs and they help me to decide I would give them to local charities. Then the Athletes in Action out of Dayton, Ohio contacted me and said they would take them with them to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. I just had to get them to Dayton. I made plans only for the cost to rise to about $1300.00 dollars to get them there. I couldn't afford that out of my own pocket, so feeling like a failure again I didn't take them.
Saturday I took fifty balls to the first charity. They had always worked very hard for the local kids and they were very happy to recieve them. It is my intention to donate the balls to the boys and girls club, the YMCA, and the Catholic Charities to name a few.
As I have worked through all of this I feel like I have failed. I know I have helped local charities and will help more local charities but I did not accomplish what I set out to do. I have talked to my connections in the Ivory Coast and they understand, yet I still feel I let them down.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Creed
This is from Krzyzewski’s book THE GOLD STANDARD he believes in setting Standards for his teams not rules. LeBron, Kobe, D. Wade and the Redeem team help him set this up for the 2008 Olympics.
• No Excuses –be responsible on the court and off.
• Be on Time- Your teammates,coaches and in their case country
depended on them.
• Have each other’s back.- Win together, lose together.
• Defense and rebounding- without a doubt the best teams in the world do these
two things well.
• Hunger- Play every minute of every practice and every game like it is your
last.
• Be Connected- Be unselfish, teach roles and make sure people know them.
• Be unselfish and flexible do not complain.
• Care- For your teammates and your family
• Enthusiasm- this is the best remedy for pressure
• Pride- Know what you are playing for. Country, school, pride.
• No Excuses –be responsible on the court and off.
• Be on Time- Your teammates,coaches and in their case country
depended on them.
• Have each other’s back.- Win together, lose together.
• Defense and rebounding- without a doubt the best teams in the world do these
two things well.
• Hunger- Play every minute of every practice and every game like it is your
last.
• Be Connected- Be unselfish, teach roles and make sure people know them.
• Be unselfish and flexible do not complain.
• Care- For your teammates and your family
• Enthusiasm- this is the best remedy for pressure
• Pride- Know what you are playing for. Country, school, pride.
Basketballs No Child Left Behind
The man that was kind enough to let me be his assistant, Virgil Hovden, always said that the system was “The no child left behind of basketball.” His claim was this, what if a classroom teacher only took his seven or eight best students and did not put the other thirteen to eighteen students in a position to have the same success. That classroom teacher would be put out on his ear. No question, he would be questioned by all of his immediate supervisors for why he was letting those students fail.
During this time of budget cuts what if we were told as coaches that we could only field one team, a varsity team and you got to have success, yet you need to find important and fulfilling playing time for all students. Could we as coaches do it? I am convinced system coaches could. The following is an example how; First off you need to suit up all twenty players. Second, you have a 32 minute game, that mean you still have 160 minutes to shell out. Third you still want to play your two stars half of the game (64 minutes) 96 minutes remaining. Fourth, you have eight kids you want to play the bulk of the remaining moments. Five, you want for their subs and five that may struggle on the floor you must divvy the minutes up like the following;
Next best eight (58 minutes) 42 minutes remaining
Next best five (30) 12 minutes remaining
Next best five (12 minutes) Done
There are ways in which you can put all players in for success and important times;
Defensive lines
Offensive lines
Ball Control lines
Assassin lines (Your fouling line late in the game)
Three shooters
Closers
(Offensive/Defensive lines with nine in each group)
What does this have to do with no child left behind you ask? Bottom line all are playing in times of high tension and points where it is important. Students will tell you they want to have an impact on a game and it can be done. Recently I have discussed this with a number of people. I am convinced that less is more. Fewer minutes (Not playing JV) but playing some minutes of Varsity is more important to them then a JV game. I would challenge you to ask your players this.
I believe this would do great things for your program; It would unify all twenty people for a common cause, Second, one practice is all you would need because you only have one team, third it would save in transportation costs, fourth It would safe costs for a JV Schedule, fifth people would not complain about playing time. There are multiple other reasons.
Do not get me wrong I am not abdicating an end to JV and 9th grade scheduling, but I do see this as the “No child left behind” of basketball.
Do not be afraid to reply.
During this time of budget cuts what if we were told as coaches that we could only field one team, a varsity team and you got to have success, yet you need to find important and fulfilling playing time for all students. Could we as coaches do it? I am convinced system coaches could. The following is an example how; First off you need to suit up all twenty players. Second, you have a 32 minute game, that mean you still have 160 minutes to shell out. Third you still want to play your two stars half of the game (64 minutes) 96 minutes remaining. Fourth, you have eight kids you want to play the bulk of the remaining moments. Five, you want for their subs and five that may struggle on the floor you must divvy the minutes up like the following;
Next best eight (58 minutes) 42 minutes remaining
Next best five (30) 12 minutes remaining
Next best five (12 minutes) Done
There are ways in which you can put all players in for success and important times;
Defensive lines
Offensive lines
Ball Control lines
Assassin lines (Your fouling line late in the game)
Three shooters
Closers
(Offensive/Defensive lines with nine in each group)
What does this have to do with no child left behind you ask? Bottom line all are playing in times of high tension and points where it is important. Students will tell you they want to have an impact on a game and it can be done. Recently I have discussed this with a number of people. I am convinced that less is more. Fewer minutes (Not playing JV) but playing some minutes of Varsity is more important to them then a JV game. I would challenge you to ask your players this.
I believe this would do great things for your program; It would unify all twenty people for a common cause, Second, one practice is all you would need because you only have one team, third it would save in transportation costs, fourth It would safe costs for a JV Schedule, fifth people would not complain about playing time. There are multiple other reasons.
Do not get me wrong I am not abdicating an end to JV and 9th grade scheduling, but I do see this as the “No child left behind” of basketball.
Do not be afraid to reply.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The NRBS Project
The world is too perfect for there not to be a higher power. The way an eagle glides through the air looking for his next meal, the way pine trees battle for more sun, listening to a chorus of birds as the sun comes up on a glorious summer morning. Everything is to perfect for there not to be a maker.
Now who is that maker is open to interpretation. Is it Allah, Jehovah, God, or Ahurah Mazda. It could be a host of others as well. Either way I am nonreligious but spiritual. I have believes I will share with you here. I do not need someone dressed in a religious costume telling me what I must do or what I must believe. It is not the middle ages any more. I can read and come to my own conclusion.
That doesn't mean I do not respect and even admire the multitudes of religions and philosophy's that have been on this earth since Cro-Magnun man. Legalism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Egyptian Mythology,even the Mayans and the Aztecs all have good things about them. The problem that I see with many of these, is when they were set up, they were set up to control the masses.
Well this massive human doesn't need to be told what to believe, I have my own set of belief's that actually evolve daily. As I said earlier there is no doubt there is a higher power, I pray to one everyday. I believe that there was a representative for that higher power that at one point in our earth's history was on this earth. Could it have been Jesus Christ, Siddhartha Gautama, Mohammad, Zarathusa, Abram, Moses, it could have been all of them or none of them.
I do believe that many of these religions and philosophies all have good in them in some ways. If it is ethical monotheism or polytheism I will not pretend to tell you what is right, but I will tell you one thing, respect for our fellow man is part of this. Helping people that need help is part of it, peace, and love are part of it as well.
Who says you cannot be a Buddhist, Jainist, and Christian all rolled into one? Who says that any of these are right who says any of these are wrong. At the end of the hour, when our day is done the spirit that calls and draws us is just that ours and no one else's.
Now who is that maker is open to interpretation. Is it Allah, Jehovah, God, or Ahurah Mazda. It could be a host of others as well. Either way I am nonreligious but spiritual. I have believes I will share with you here. I do not need someone dressed in a religious costume telling me what I must do or what I must believe. It is not the middle ages any more. I can read and come to my own conclusion.
That doesn't mean I do not respect and even admire the multitudes of religions and philosophy's that have been on this earth since Cro-Magnun man. Legalism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Greek Mythology, Roman Mythology, Egyptian Mythology,even the Mayans and the Aztecs all have good things about them. The problem that I see with many of these, is when they were set up, they were set up to control the masses.
Well this massive human doesn't need to be told what to believe, I have my own set of belief's that actually evolve daily. As I said earlier there is no doubt there is a higher power, I pray to one everyday. I believe that there was a representative for that higher power that at one point in our earth's history was on this earth. Could it have been Jesus Christ, Siddhartha Gautama, Mohammad, Zarathusa, Abram, Moses, it could have been all of them or none of them.
I do believe that many of these religions and philosophies all have good in them in some ways. If it is ethical monotheism or polytheism I will not pretend to tell you what is right, but I will tell you one thing, respect for our fellow man is part of this. Helping people that need help is part of it, peace, and love are part of it as well.
Who says you cannot be a Buddhist, Jainist, and Christian all rolled into one? Who says that any of these are right who says any of these are wrong. At the end of the hour, when our day is done the spirit that calls and draws us is just that ours and no one else's.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Veterans
I love golf it is my most recent addiction. Any chance, any where, any time I will play. I will die a bogey golfer but that doesn't stop me from loving to play. I generally play with a group made up of about a dozen guys. It depends on the time of day, the day of the week, and who needs a person in their group.
Today I played nine holes with two older gentlemen. About seventy to eighty years old. It was truly a pleasure. They hit the ball down the middle and they play fast. We played nine holes in 75 minutes.
It was fun, as they were graceful, competitive, and respectful. One of them shot every shot including his puts with his five iron. He probably shot between fifty and fifty five. Rarely was he in trouble. I hope I am playing every day when I am their age.
Now the rest of the day I will get my summer started. I will go to the bank, the grocery store, the Amish Walmart, ride my bike, take the dog for a walk, and if I have time fish for a little while.
Today I played nine holes with two older gentlemen. About seventy to eighty years old. It was truly a pleasure. They hit the ball down the middle and they play fast. We played nine holes in 75 minutes.
It was fun, as they were graceful, competitive, and respectful. One of them shot every shot including his puts with his five iron. He probably shot between fifty and fifty five. Rarely was he in trouble. I hope I am playing every day when I am their age.
Now the rest of the day I will get my summer started. I will go to the bank, the grocery store, the Amish Walmart, ride my bike, take the dog for a walk, and if I have time fish for a little while.
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