Recruiting

Now that the season has come to an end. We are entering what may be the most exhausting part of the year. This week we had a meeting to determine what days of the week each coach would take because we have recruits coming until the end of the school year. I was given Monday and Wednesdays, and my responsibilities would be to take recruits to lunch, introduce them around and try to get a feel for what type of personality each player has. After lunch I would then take the recruits to meet the Asst. Coach, Tim Ryerson, and he would take it from there. Once he was done he would take the recruits to see our Head Coach, David Smith. So I'm getting my first experience in recruiting and this is not the traditional type of recruiting most schools may do. Our philosophy, or approach, is different then what most people would think. As a recruiter I'm not trying to "sale" the school, or give recruits the history of each building their first time visiting us. I am letting the experience speak for itself. First impression is everything and as a former recruit I know that most people know, after about 5 minutes, if this is a place they could be or not. Since most coaches are trying to "sale" their school to recruits their first visit, we have decided to take another approach and be different from other programs. If a recruit enjoys themselves and wants to come back for another visit, then we start to tell them more about the technical things their second time around. I can't wait to get started! Like I said many times before, "a coaches job is never over." Even if the basketball season has come to an end there is still more work for a coach to do.

Conference Play

Tuesday was the 3rd conference game played by our Varsity team against Averett. The team played a tough, close game that went all the way to the end. We lost the game making the conference record 1-2 with a ranking of 5Th in the conference. There are lots of reasons or excuses we could have had for losing but, the reality is that Averett just worked harder than we did. We only had one day to prepare and as coaches we felt that we did not prepare our team well enough. I have learned that preparation is a big key in any sports, but what it really comes down to is execution in the end. As a coach I have learned that you learn a lot more about yourself and your team when a lost is experienced. Many teaching points come from losses, of course no coach wants to lose but the loses make a team stronger in the end. We might of thought that we were ready for the game but one thing you learn about a team is that everyone has to be on the same page, people have to stay focused and one can never assume that a person is going to "show up". Motivation plays a big role on any team and one of a successful coaches job is to keep the players motivated. I think that coaches are just like managers because in a job setting managers have to do the same thing to get their employees to work at the best of their ability. We have a lot more time to prepare for our next game Monday, we will see what we have learned from our loses and if we are able to get the best production from the players.