Viking Coach

As Dick Vitale would say "It's all about gym-time baby!"

If you want to be a "diaper dandy", a "super soph", a "Prime Time Player" you gotta put in the time. Their is no "golden ticket", no "free ride" and definitely no "magic potion" that will allow a person instant success on the hard court.

Great players and great teams don't just happen. You do have to have some athletic ability to excel at sports but just natural ability alone doesn't make a player great.

Great players are created in the driveways and in the gymnasiums. And it is not during the season that these players move ahead of the rest of the pack. . . It is during the off season that the "all-conference", "all-state" and "all-american" players really develop. It is the time away from the season that the conference champs, section champs and state champions make their move.

During the season every player in the nation is working on their skills. There are some players who work harder in practice than others and others who put in extra time outside of practice working on their skills in hopes of getting that little bit of an advantage. . . but for the most part everybody is taking steps up the ladder of success at about the same rate.

I feel that even though we had only seven wins this year we improved just as much and possibly a little more than some of the teams that made it to state this year.(we had more room for improvement)

The difference though is where we came into the season compared to these other teams. Because of this reality, I really feel it is important to get my players to try to understand the importance of working on their games year round and also gain the desire to Work to WIN! I don't want their efforts in basketball to come at the cost of not participating in other sports but I would love to see them do this in addition to their other sports.

It only makes sense that if we want to be better than other teams we have to practice more than they do once the season is over. Players need to look at other teams and say to themselves. . ."What do I need to do this off-season to improve my team's chance of beating the competition."

Let's take Frazee as an example. . . we split with them this year. . . they have everyone coming back and we lose three seniors. . .who wins the two games that we will play against them next year will come down to who puts in more quality time this off season. The same will be true for a number of other teams we will face next year.

As a player you must also look at the Hawleys and DGFs on our schedule. . .Teams that were much better than us this year and who will return a solid nucleus of their players next year. How are we going to compete against them next year? Will the game be a "no contest" type of event or will we start being able to be more successful against the top teams in the area.

If the players from teams like DGF and Hawley don't touch a ball in the off season and we spend time in the off season working on our skills, we will be more successful against them next year. However, I don't think it is wise for my team to hope others don't do anything so that we will be able to compete with them. We need to realize that others are going to work on their games and the key to our improvement will come down to our decision to WORK HARDER during the off season.

When it comes to putting in extra time in the off season some players feel that their lives are way too busy to add anything else to their day?

I'm not doubting that they see it this way but I compare this to those that say they are too busy to serve on a church committee, or to help out in a community event, or do any of these extra things that takes time but are seen as worthwhile.

My question is NOT. . . "why can't these people get involved". . but instead my question is. . . "why are some people able to get involved in these activities?" I would venture to guess that many of these "doers" are just as busy, if not busier, than the people who feel they just don't have the time to donate but they still manage to pitch in.

My point. . .

It is a matter of prioritizing and time management. No, you can't do everything but you really have more time in your day than you realize. The key is to come up with a reason to do something that will be benificial instead of coming up with excuses why you can't do a task.

I tell my players that there are hundreds, if not thousands of reasons why you can't work on your skills in the off season but what I ask them to do is to find just ONE REASON to do what needs to be done.

THIS BRINGS ME TO THE KEY TO UNLOCKING THE DOORS OF SUCCESS. . .

Here it is. . . in sports, at home, at work, in school, in relationships or wherever success can be created. . . the key to opening the doors to success is not only wanting to improve but more importantly, really being EAGER to improve!

In basketball, great success will not happen until a player is really eager to give up an hour here and an hour there to work on the skills of the game. The players that are eager are the ones that have fallen in love with the game and have the desire to see just how far they can go. They are the ones who find time, not excuses. They want the challenge that the game gives them and are willing to forgo other aspects of their lives so they can come to the gym early in the morning to play.

You know the ones. . .the "ballaz" who nine times out of ten will be in the gym whenever it's open. In Pelican Rapids this unufortunately is dominated by the boys.(Good for the guys. . .unfortunate for the girls)

I asked my players the other day why every time I go into the gym in the mornings, after school, or on Sunday's I only see boys playing basketball?

I am amazed at the eagerness that the boys have when it comes to basketball in this school. Even boys who are no longer in the program are coming into the gym on a regular basis. For the most part, these "gym rats" are players in the boys' program. . .It is no surprise to me that our boys program has become one of the top programs in state. . .Coach Strand and his staff are not only excellent coaches but they also have players who are Dreaming Big. . . and Working to WIN!

I don't want my players to feel pressured to get into the gym and don't want them to feel that they HAVE to be in there. I would just love to see a handful of my players have the same desire that most of the boys have. I want them to be eager to be in the gym. . . I want them to come into the gym because they are having fun pursuing a dream and they too want to one day be the best!

Walking into a gym full of kids and only seeing one or two girls is the most dis-heartening part of my job right now.

Thus, my biggest job is trying to figure out how to get the girls to understand the value of putting in the time during the off-season. Thus I have to say. . ."Girls. . . "SERIOUSLY". . .It's worth it!"

Parents, you can help. . .if your kids want to go to the gym. . . get up and bring them in!

If your child wants to go out and shoot around in the driveway. . . get out there and rebound for them!

I make it a priority with my boys that if they ask to go to the gym, we go to the gym. If my boys want to play catch, we go play catch. If my boys want to go golfing. . . now this is a tough one. . .we go GOLFING!!!

Can I do this all of the time? No. But, I do look for a reason to do these things instead of excuses not to. Sometimes it is hard. Every morning for the last three weeks I have run my eldest son Casey to school at 7:00 A.M. (most of the time in my pajamas) I would rather not go out into the cold but I am not going to be one more obstacle that he has to find a way around instead I want to be the "BULLDOZER" that is clearing his path to success.

Some Sunday afternoons I am dead tired from a week of late night basketball games, I got bags under my eyes and my wife is nestling into the couch for her two hour weekend nap and all I want to do is curl up by the fire place downstairs and drift off to sleep. . .but my boys are panting like puppies waiting to go up to open gym. . .so I pull on the coat and off we go. Three hours later we are back at home. . . I'm still tired but my boys were out doing something they love right now and having fun in the process.

The point I am trying to make is to not under estimate your importance as a parent in the success of your child. By helping them out you are showing them that what they are doing is of value to you and in the end kids want to please their parents the most. Remember the days when they were younger. . .

"Mom, Dad, Look at Me!"
"Watch Me"
"Okay here I go!"
"Tadah!"

They still are thinking these things. . .They still want you to be involved. . .

You want your child to be a success. . . be her bulldozer!