In contract to your most painful/worst loss, what is your biggest triumph in coaching? Not just a game, but any victory or accomplishment.
Mine is easy. I coached an 8th grade boys travel team this past season, it was a B team (top 10 players selected to A, next 10 to B). A couple kids were very disappointed to be on the B team, but I could tell we would have a very successful season. They were 4-12 the previous season, but a couple kids dropped from A to B (including my son) and we had one new player. We averaged 63 points/game, a ton for an 8th grade team around here and went 13-3 in the regular season, 16-4 overall, losing the championship game to a team from a town half our size, with only one team (i.e. really an A team) by 5 points.
None of the wins or even the season in whole, were my biggest triumph, that came with the Thank You card from the players. There was a player who, going into the season, I knew would be my biggest challenge, attention issues, very emotional, parents divorced about year ago, argued with teammates, received several technical fouls the year before, was very concerned with his own points scored, with a father that was very concerned with his points scored etc. I worked a lot with him, not just on basketball, but on controlling his emotions, not worrying about the things he couldn't control (officials, people in the stands etc), instead focusing on what he can control (effort, team work, etc). He had an outstanding season. On the thank you card, he wrote: "Coach, thank you for everything you did for us, you have helped me become a better basketball player and most importantly a better person."
I'll remember that for a long time.
Mine is easy. I coached an 8th grade boys travel team this past season, it was a B team (top 10 players selected to A, next 10 to B). A couple kids were very disappointed to be on the B team, but I could tell we would have a very successful season. They were 4-12 the previous season, but a couple kids dropped from A to B (including my son) and we had one new player. We averaged 63 points/game, a ton for an 8th grade team around here and went 13-3 in the regular season, 16-4 overall, losing the championship game to a team from a town half our size, with only one team (i.e. really an A team) by 5 points.
None of the wins or even the season in whole, were my biggest triumph, that came with the Thank You card from the players. There was a player who, going into the season, I knew would be my biggest challenge, attention issues, very emotional, parents divorced about year ago, argued with teammates, received several technical fouls the year before, was very concerned with his own points scored, with a father that was very concerned with his points scored etc. I worked a lot with him, not just on basketball, but on controlling his emotions, not worrying about the things he couldn't control (officials, people in the stands etc), instead focusing on what he can control (effort, team work, etc). He had an outstanding season. On the thank you card, he wrote: "Coach, thank you for everything you did for us, you have helped me become a better basketball player and most importantly a better person."
I'll remember that for a long time.