Schonhose

In the light of today’s game, which we won by the way, I just came to a realization:

Being a coach is pretty much like being a referee. No matter what you do, at least someone will disagree with you and feel left out.

I’m pretty sure this is valid for all kind of sports at every level. Does this realization make it easier to handle? No, actually it does not. Does it make it even easier to do? Not even close. Does it make me feel good? No, it never feels good to disappoint one of more individuals.

So, what is my take on it for basketball? Well, first and foremost basketball is a teamsport and not an individual sport. The catchphrase here is “There is no ‘I’ in team”, meaning there is basically not much room for the individual. What does that mean? You have to occasionally set aside your personal aspirations for the benefit of the team.

On the other hand, and this creates a nice paradox, you need individuals to form a team. This fact is a really good basis for a conflict of interest and most certainly a starting point for disappointments.

As a coach the thing you have to focus on should be first and foremost the team. All decisions are made with the team in mind. Some of those decisions might be good and others might not be so good (in retrospect) but seemed to be ok at the time. It is inevitable to disappoint individuals while performing sacrifices for the team. But making individual sacrifices is also part of the concept of a team.

As a member of a team you have to set your personal goals aside so the team in whole can flourish. For example, as an individual you might want to play as many minutes as possible. As a teammember you might just get limited minutes. But the minutes aren’t really the issue here, the real question is: what can you do in that limited timeframe to help the team? Can your actions in those minutes be the turning point of the game or be an inspiration to one or multiple teammembers?

I know what I always wanted as a player. I would rather play limited numbers, score zero points and win the game than play the whole game, outscore everyone and loose. Because in the end it is after all about the team. And nothing hurts more than loosing.