Years ago I was sitting between Galesburg Summer League games with a few of the varsity girls basketball players. While we were sitting there, one of the “stars” of the varsity boys team came up and joined in conversation. One of the girls said,”I thought you guys had games tonight, what are you doing here?”
The guy replied,”I was too tired, I played 18 holes of golf today and I want to rest up for a golf tourney this weekend.”
After he left, one of the girls made a comment,”That’s why they won’t be very good, they don’t have the commitment to each other that we do.”
She was absolutely right. Her team went onto place in the State Tourney, and the boys team struggled to be .500.
Summer is a great opportunity for players to improve their game, but parents/players need to realize that summer is crucial for the development of the TEAM and the TEAM’S CULTURE.
The summer is where thru a shared commitment a strong team bond is formed. Summer is where the team learns what being a good teammate means. Summer is when players show they are reliable, can be counted on, and can be trusted. All of that makes the team stronger going forward.
Thru a player’s commitment and work ethic, players develop into the leaders that their team will turn to in the regular season.
By everyone committing and showing up to play with their HS team in the summer, the coach can have the opportunity to see what lineups are more effective. The coach can experiment with offensive and defensive strategies that produce the best results. If everyone is there and is playing for the HS team in the summer, the coach’s summer experimenting allow the team to not have to “experiment” in the first month of the season. Teams who were committed in the summer ALWAYS are the teams who start the season with confidence and early success.
Does that mean that players won’t ever miss team activities or can’t miss team activities? Absolutely not, but the more players miss and the more often a player misses things, the less their team will grow and develop in the summer. And the less effective that player will be as a leader going forward.
In the last ten years of my coaching career, I had a couple players and I know other coaches who had a few players who missed some HS team activities in June to “rest up” for AAU in July. I realize that July observation time can be important for a few players. In my years coaching, none of my future D1 players ever found a need to “rest up” for the AAU in July. True D1 players share a common characteristic- they really like to play basketball. So any opportunity they get to play- THEY PLAY!
When players look back on their experiences in basketball, consistently they describe HS summer basketball as one of the most rewarding experiences and the most fun time. Parents need to let players use June to have those “team experiences” and to have fun!!
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