Guest Posts on County 10 are provided by contributors and the opinions, thoughts, and comments within are their own and may not necessarily reflect those of County 10.
We had a group of incoming freshmen boys who had never won a basketball game. That didn’t matter to them, they knew everything, and they weren’t about to have their collective opinion of themselves shattered. There were a couple of kids in the group who were coachable and went on to have great careers, but the majority never overcame their overwhelming dose of “self-esteem.”
Yep, we knocked heads until the day they graduated.
It was the little things that needed adjusted, and they refused to adjust.
Few of them could make a left-handed layup. They all came in trying one-handed or behind-the-back passes that sailed wide of the target, often ending in stands, but it didn’t matter to them; they looked “cool” doing it.
Defense? What defense? Defense was for “losers,” they’d just outscore their opponents. In reality, they had trouble scoring in an empty gym.
When it came to catching the ball, every player came in on the opening day of practice swatting it with one hand.
We spent a lot of time at practice just throwing and catching the ball with both hands, dribbling through a line of chairs, running left-hand layup drills, blocking out on rebounds, and endless hours of short-range shooting drills.
If I let them free shoot, they immediately ran beyond the 3-point line and threw up shots that usually ended as air balls far from the basket.
They were a challenge, and the result of the self-esteem movement manifested on the court. I had a clueless administrator try to blame me for their incredibly cocky attitude because I was so hard on them. Yep, my fault.
Fundamentals have a place, a prominent place, in every program. They are the essential building blocks of success.
You can watch a video of Michael Jordan in his prime making those incredible plays, but if you look at his feet, the angle of his hand on a shot, and his stance, along with a thousand other things, you’ll note that he was fundamentally sound in every aspect of the game. So were Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and John Stockton.
Those were the days when NBA basketball was the personification of the game, not like today, where walking eight steps on a layup makes a highlight reel and where the entire game is a 3-point shooting contest or a whirling dunk. It’s entertainment, not sport, in the NBA these days.
Fundamentals are key to any successful venture. Playing scales on a piano is boring, but your fingers learn the keys, and someday you might play Mozart in front of a standing room only crowd, but not without fundamentals.
As football approaches, I think back to the first day of junior high football practice. These kids came in dreaming that they were NFL linebackers, running backs, or wide receivers. Very few thought about the defensive or offensive lines, the place where championships are won, they just saw the bright lights of fame.
Some balked at those early days of practice, but football with rigorous drills and a little extra conditioning took care of the attitudes quickly.
We’d start with how to put your pads, pants and helmets on. After a couple of years of dealing with blisters, we started showing them how to put on their socks, and how to tie their shoes. You’d be amazed at how many 13-year-old boys are unable to tie their shoes.
Lest you think it demeaning and trivial, the greatest basketball coach of all time, John Wooden of UCLA started his opening practice with foot care, showing future NCAA champions and NBA Hall of Fame players how to put on socks and to tie their shoes with just the right amount of pressure.
After getting the boys equipped, it was a couple of days of learning basics. Every player learned how to line up in a 3-point stance, whether they were a quarterback or wide receiver. They learned how to stand, but more importantly, we taught them how to fall. You fall a lot in football, that’s why there are fewer kids going out for it every season. Falling isn’t exactly what happens, you get knocked down. Learning how to land when you’re blocked hard or tackled prevents injury, gets you back for the next play and gets in your opponent’s head if they can’t intimidate you no matter how hard they hit you.
When the individual aspects of football were established, it was time to begin team training, starting with offensive and defensive positions.
These youngsters all knew where the quarterback and running backs lined up, many had never heard of the line positions, center, guard or tackle. We walked and talked through each position, the responsibility of that position and how none were of greater or lesser importance than any other.
Defense brought the same. Every kid knew where the linebackers played, but when asked what a cornerback did, what was the purpose of a safety, or what a defensive end, defensive tackle or noseguard’s responsibility were you drew blank stares.
They were the victims of broadcast sports where hype, drama, and sensationalism sold beer, tires, and car insurance while entertaining the masses. It didn’t teach the game.
Gradually, usually the night before the opening game, the boys began to get a whiff of what was happening. By the end of the season, they had a grip on the fundamentals, but only a grip.
Each passing season brought more complicated and intricate techniques as they grew up through the system.
I’ll finish with those cocky 9th graders from long ago.
After one practice, I took them into my classroom.
As they sat at their desks, I took out a red dry-erase marker and approached the two whiteboards in front of the room.
I pointed at the two boards and said, “This is the total knowledge of basketball.”
I drew a small circle about three inches in diameter and pointed to it.
“This is what I know about basketball,” I said.
I paused for effect, then made the lightest mark possible with the red marker, and then pointed to it.
“This is what you know about basketball,” I said.
No, they didn’t like it. I had a couple of outstanding fathers tell me later that it was the best thing I could have done with their son’s attitude. I’m sure there were many that didn’t agree, but it was what the boys needed.
Giving the kids what they need, not blowing smoke, gaslighting or aggrandizing them is a final key to success.
That will always be fundamental.