Part XIV - The Secret(s) Of Longevity - (Make or) The Break.

We are nearing Christmas and a New Year; most varsity high school coaches have their teams playing in a holiday tournament somewhere in hopes of keeping their team sharp before the January stretch of games.

I'm no different as we are preparing to play in the HAECO Tournament in Greensboro over the next couple of days. I look at the holiday tournament as Part II of our season. Part I is pre-holiday tournament, Part III is the rest of the regular season, Part IV is the conference tournament and Part V is the state tournament.

My goal for the team is to continue to improve while playing against good competition, but at the same time trying to remain focused on what really matters which is being strong for Part III to hopefully win it all in Part V.

Our program has been about trying to be as prepared as possible for the state playoffs which begin in February and I feel like this part of the year has always been critical towards our future success.

The holiday break is a time that if not handled properly could break your season. If the break is handled correctly, it could make your season.

In years past, we have played in national tournaments across the country or in local tournaments where we know we'll go up against some good teams.

I believe that this part of the season is important though for a few other reasons:

1. The team bonding that can be built through holiday tournament play.
2. Keeping the team in physical and mental shape by keeping everyone busy, including the coaching staff and myself.
3. Helping with the predictable noise that comes when there is a break.

Team Bonding:

When I was a junior in high school, Coach Howard West took us (R.J. Reynolds HS) to Danville, Virginia to play in a Christmas Tournament. We were 1-4 heading into that tournament and really trying to find our way with a new coach. We won our first game which meant we would get to play two more games. That meant three days and two nights in a hotel, it meant eating out together, going to shoot around together and spending a lot of time hanging out with each other.

We wound up winning that tournament which led to a complete turnaround of our team that season as well as the Reynolds basketball program.

Coach West understood that we needed time with each other away from parents and friends because for our team the chemistry is what really mattered. Once we achieved chemistry with each other and with the coaching staff we were close to unbeatable the rest of the way.

I have tried to do this is in some shape, form or fashion with all of my teams and more often than not the holiday tournaments, especially the trips, have paid great dividends.

Physical and Mental Shape:

I see a lot of teams, good teams, teams that can possibly compete for a championship of some kind down the road, decide to take this 2-3 week period off. Their players don't pick up a basketball and don't workout over the break because no one is there to make them or work with them and they lose whatever edge or momentum they have built before the holidays.

Their minds drift onto things other than basketball because they are kids.

When school is back in and they get back on the court, it is almost like the team is re-opening the season. The difference is there, typically, isn't the 2-3 week period to get the team ready for the start of the season now. The team probably has a game shortly after school resumes and too many times I have seen that team, that hasn't done anything for basically a month, drop a game or two to an opponent they had no business losing to. That loss winds up costing them a high seed in their conference which then has a trickle down effect for playoff seeding.

As coaches, yes, we need a break here and there. Yes, we would like to spend the holiday break with our families or maybe doing something other than basketball. I am sure that your basketball team families would like the same thing. However, you have one shot at this particular season and you have to make some sacrifices, especially during this time, to get your team the best chance at what really matters when it comes to maybe doing something special later on in the year. You can balance the day and manage the time for your team where they can get in for an hour or two a day or every other day so you can keep that edge. That leaves them and you with the rest of the day to do whatever.

However, if you completely give them off during the break, you can't really get mad at them for not working on their own because they are just following your lead.

The Predictable Noise:

'Tis The Season... for not just holiday festivities but for A LOT of basketball noise. Holiday basketball tournaments bring lots of teams together in one place. The gathering of teams brings out a lot of people: the fans and families of each team, those who just like or love to watch basketball and, unfortunately, the critics who come to critique you and your team's every move.

I've talked to you about how to handle that noise and if you let it catch you by surprise it can throw you and your team off. That's predictable noise. You can't let the holiday tournament noise break you.

The noise really you don't want is the kind that comes from the kids, and the parents of kids, who are serious about the game. They want to play as much as possible, especially over the break, and if you aren't playing they at least would like to practice. If you aren't doing one or the other, you'll probably hear the noise.

That's the type of noise that in a way is good because you have a kid or kids that want to be good and are relying on you to help. That's also the type of noise that is bad because the players (and their families) are feeling like you aren't holding your end of the bargain.

Then, finally, there is silence, which is also a form of noise. My high school coaches always told me that when they aren't talking to me is the time when I need to be most concerned. If you are not doing anything during the break and you don't hear anything from your players, good or bad, then that is concerning. That is a form of reverse coaching where the player is now not communicating with you and that is not a good sign for you, the player, the team or the program.

Making sure the noise around your team is positive during the break. Remember, " the break" could really make or break your season.

Yours for Better Basketball Always,

Brian Robinson / Coach R