Coachable

This is our 1980 Streaks basketball team. They had an outstanding season....

- 21-4

- Ranked #7 in Illinois

- Undefeated WB6 champs

It was one of my most enjoyable years as a coach. Why? Yes, we won a lot of games. But look at the faces in this huddle. This was a group that competed but it was also a group who wanted to be coached.

My last year as an assistant in boys basketball, I remember trying to help a guy with his shot. His comeback, "That won't work." Clearly he didn't want to be coached. In order to be coached, you have to start with a certain degree of humility. You have to recognize the need to improve. The player I was trying to help either didn't recognize the need to improve or didn't see me as an effective instructor or was just lazy.

When I moved into girls basketball, I found girls who were eager to learn, willing to work, and wanting to compete. We could go upstairs and run repeats in the upstairs hallway. A lap was 300 yards and we would run a lap, rest 2 minutes, then run another. We would do this six times- it was a track workout. But the players never questioned, they just ran and competed. We were in great shape, we ran people and pressed people off the floor all year.

Are girls more coachable than boys? I will leave that to experts to research the topic. I have had the pleasure of coaching very coachable young men in cross country and basketball. So it is not a gender thing.

I was just very lucky to fall into the GHS girls coaching position when a group of very talented group was coming thru, and a group who wanted to be coached. Nothing could be better for a coach. One of my most enjoyable experiences!!