Coaching 101

There were technicalities before the game. One team did not have a coach so a member of that team, who was suited to play, acted as a coach and did not play. While the other team placed in players who wasn’t in their line up. To top it off, those players weren’t enrolled in the university… ever!

How dim-witted can people be? You know how people are… why not try and break the law… who knows, we might be able to escape it. But if we get caught maybe we can talk it out and get away from it. On the contrary, if all excuses fail, then why not walk out?

Due to these, I did not have the opportunity to hold a pre-game talk… Yesh… You know those motivational speeches and stuff I did not have the chance to draw them up a play or what so ever. Haha. As if. A number of players did not stretch well. The first five on my mind wasn’t the first five. I got giddy. I got butterflies in my stomach.

Where will you find a coach who asked the player if she wanted to play? A coach who inquired if a player should be substituted? A coach who asked for suggestions on what defense to use and offense to execute? A coach who looked for answers from her players? Well, that was the case in my situation.

I would like to think that it was an entertaining game for those who watched. The score was close by the end of the first half. Our opponent had difficulty with the zone defense we had. However on the third period they started to pound it in. We changed our defense but it seemed that “Shaq” was unstoppable. No one was as big enough who can bang bodies with her. Thus by the start of the last quarter we were down by 11.

I thought that the team lost hope during that time since it seemed like we couldn’t find a solution to contain “Shaq”. Rather I had doubts on whether we can catch up. But lo and behold, we started to rally. Unbelievably, they had the legs to run and go into transition ¾ into the last quarter. Due to the fast paced style of game, two of the players wanted a breather. The other signaled a time out towards the official. However, I did not grant their request since we had the momentum. I called a timeout when there was only 9 seconds left and we were only 3 points down but we did not have possession.

The first foul came a lil bit late. During the next inbound pass, the ball went out of bounds but the officials called it the opponents. So, that was the end of it – still down by 3.

All in all it was a great experience for me. I felt the excitement and tension all over again. I wasn’t able to sleep properly last time. Plays were running through my mind. It was technically my first time to be coach. It was real helpful that the team had an idea on how their opponent played. It was also the first time I saw the team be there for each other. I was pleased that everyone gave it their all. Even if we lacked at the end, everyone had smiles on their faces. Despite being undermanned, the team did not give up until the buzzer sounder. Personally, that was how every game should be played.