Viking Coach

Sleep didn't come easy last night. . . went and watched Frazee play Wadena-Deer Creek. Frazee outlasted the Wolverines 54 to 51. I was surprised as I feel Wadena has a talented team. The Frazee girls work so hard for coach Swenson which makes up for situations where other teams may have a little more talent.

Frazee is one of the teams that I feel we will be able to match up against this year. . .their victory worries me. . . can we match up???? Will we be able to match their intensity???? What do we need to do to have a chance to win???? Am I getting my players to perform at their highest possible level???? What should we be working on more????

These are the thoughts that roll through my mind in the middle of the night. . . it is the same thing every year. No matter how good of a team I am coaching. I worry as a coach. I think it might be an occupational hazard. You never feel you are as prepared to play as you would like to be. You are always searching for that edge. You hope everything falls into place at the right time but you don't have as much control as you wish you could.

GREAT EXAMPLE: After we won the section championship in 2001 we were traveling back to Pelican Rapids for the welcome home celebration in the fine arts. We just turned on to Highway 108 when I started telling my assistants about St. Michael-Albertville, the next game on the schedule. I started explaining the other team's strengths, what we might have to do, etc. . . Before I got to engrossed in my concerns for the first round of the state play-offs, Coach Rich Hills just looked at me and shook his head and said. . ."would you just enjoy the moment and not worry about what is up next!" Like I said. . . as a coach I probably worry too much.

In between the thoughts of Frazee I also tossed and turned a little over the dilemma of our 8th grade team. They have only won one game this year but they have been competitive in all of the games. Last night they lost to Frazee, the team that they had beaten earlier. We only have five girls on our eighth grade team. One of those players is playing basketball for the first time in her life. In the game against Frazee; Taylor Larson had to sit out because of a broken pinky finger and Ashley Waller missed the game because of an orthodontis appointment. This left only Ashley Morgan and Kristen Haugen to lead the Viking attack with the help of Anna Brown and three seventh graders.

My concern wasn't over the loss of the game. . . My concern was over these girls getting too frustrated and giving up on their pursuit to be their best. They seriously have the potential and athletic ability to be the leaders of a very good varsity basketball team in the future. To do this they must continue to believe that they can be successful.

When I see them in school or on the court, I will make it a priority to get across to them that if they keep working their tails off that one day these close games are going to start falling in their favor. One day these girls will have the opportunity to look back at their basketball journey and be very proud of what they have accomplished! How many opportunities in life do we have for that to take place. To really make a commitment to something we love and create something special. . .to do something we can look back and say "WOW, that was cool"!

"Success is the JOURNEY towards excellence."