A Changing of the Seasons...

Though the blog title might hint at a philosophical rant, the topic of this post is much more literal than abstract. I have finished my first season, coaching the LIS middle school basketball team to a 10 - 3 season record. Though we did not win the city tournament, we had a very successful season and the boys improved immensely each game.

Some of my favorite parts of the season:

1) Many of the players wear glasses, so even at the most intense times during of a game, if a kid's glasses were knocked off both teams would stop abruptly, pick them off of the ground and restart the game like nothing happened.

2) There is a distinct lack of a competitive edge here which is rather refreshing. Many times I had players unaware of the final score and other times I had players ask to go to the bathroom or to get some food when they were on the court playing.

3) Trying to mute my competitive side was extremely difficult. There were times when I wanted to run out on the court after a big shot or yell at the referee for making his 100th terrible call of the game. However, I had to realize that I coached middle school basketball and I should just be happy when all of my players collectively know if they are on offense or defense.

4) I love to coach. I get nervous before games and I love the feeling of winning, even in a non-competitive atmosphere. I learned countless lessons while playing sports and I know that many of these kids learned a lot throughout the season.

Here is the picture from our last day of practice.

As of yesterday I started high school soccer for both the boys and the girls. It will be a challenge coaching both teams at the same time but I love the game and look forward to seeing the kids become better players.