Coaching

Tonight I want to write about why I think I would be a good coach and some of my philosophies.  First things first, I was a manager for our girls basketball team at my high school.  After my freshman year in high school I was struggling to find a place to fit in when our girls basketball coach at the time asked me if I wanted to be a manager.  I said yes and never looked back, even after he left after that year I stayed on with the new coach and while things weren't quite the same, she didn't let me do near as much, but I still enjoyed it.  When I first started I had no idea on how to keep the scorebook at the games, which seems strange now because whenever I'm at a game you'll probably see me keeping score.  It's a fun way to stay focused on the game and I nice way to analyze players.  

I grew up a Cat fan, mainly because it was close and my grandpa went there, but I never hated the Griz.  The men's coach at the time was Mick Durham, who has his jersey retired at my school and is a family friend.  I met with him my senior year and was going to be a manager there, which I'd hope would lead to becoming a graduate assistant.  Then he retired which changed my plans.  I was angry because I felt he was forced out.  It's pretty obvious he didn't want to retire because he had a job the very next year.  So instead of going to Montana State, I went to the University of Montana, which is one of the best decisions I've ever made.  

So you're probably wondering how could a guy who only played the game in the 4th grade could be a basketball coach.  See while I don't know as much about the fundamentals as I probably should, I don't think that really matters.  This is especially true at the college level where players should already know them.  I think it's mainly what you get out of the talent you have.  Motivating players is something I think I would be good at.  Teams that have the most talent don't always win, which is evident in the NCAA tourney when mid majors don't match up on paper, but their coach is good at getting the most out of their players.  

My style of basketball would be a lot of fun to watch, that's if you like fast, uptempo basketball.  My players wouldn't be the biggest but they would sure be in the better shape.  When the other team is tired and out of gas, my team would be still full of energy.  I'm definitely a fan of shooting threes, they are not the most high percentage shot but if you have guys that can shoot them, it's a good way to blow out a team.  When it comes to defense, I believe in using a 3-2 zone against a team that likes to shoot threes and man to man for teams that like to play in the paint.  The best thing a coach can do is to be flexible and coach a style that best fits the players they have rather than force them to play a style that doesn't work.  Sometimes you get players that are really tall, like Derek Selvig, but aren't very bulky.  While you could play him inside, because he's 7'0", his athleticism and ability to shoot the three make him a better fit at the wing or 3 spot in the lineup.  In this spot he would create a huge mismatch which would benefit everyone involved. 

Thanks for reading