"Tasting Gold"
I was recently having a chat with some coaches regarding “boring coach stuff” and we inevitably got onto to stories about past successes and teams and individuals we had coached. My experiences at the 2004 U20 Nationals with the QLD Men’s team became a topic. I was assistant coach to NBL legend and colourful personality Bruce Palmer. Bruce lead a team of QLD kids that won the first Gold Medal in many, many years at the U20 level.
Sounds like a loaded team hey….
At the time we had 3 AIS players
which were Weigh, Baynes & Jawaii. So we had some talent but so did NSW
which included current Wolfpack and Wildcats player Jeff Dowdell along with a
host of AIS players. Victoria and South Australia (Joe Ingles comes to mind)
were also loaded with talent.
The team had a very disjointed
preparation with injuries and players spread out between North & South QLD
and the AIS. We meet together in Melbourne for a 1 week journey before heading
to Newcastle for the tournament.
The team played in its first
ever game together eventual National ABA Champions the Bendigo Braves that had
a redhead forward by the name of Shawn Redhage who carved us up. We were very
ugly.
As the week unfolded we started
to resemble a team and beat a few SEABL teams on our way to the Nationals.
We won our first couple of games
at the tournament and there was talk of QLD & NSW as the teams to beat, and
then the “you know what hit the fan” we played absolutely terrible” and lost to
the ACT to hadn’t won a game.
It’s easy to say now but we
obviously weren’t completely tight as a group and we were exposed after this
game. The next day we were to play NSW. After a deserving spray by Bruce to the
team, we got back to the hotel and the team called a meeting – NO COACHES. From
the little bits and pieces I’ve heard the boys were honest and got everything
out on the table and discussed what sacrifices were needed if they were to win.
The next day we came out and
were up 60 at 3rd qtr time over a very talented NSW team. We held
them to 6pts in the 2nd qtr, and 4 in the 3rd qtr. 10pts
in 20 mins. of basketball. We went on to play NSW again in the final and won a
more competitive match to be the first QLD men’s team to win in over 20 years.
The oldest sports cliché is “a
champion team will beat a team of champions” was proven in this
experience, but most importantly as a coach I learnt the power of “player peer
pressure”. It can define your team or destroy it. Bruce did a great job
managing the players and making decision on and off the court but the players
attitude determined the result.
Talent will only ever get you so
far, but success is achieved through a collective effort.
I’ve heard many NBA stars being
interviewed and say they would always trade in an MVP for a Championship Ring.
So the message to players is to
understand that talent can you get you buy but to win consistently and to win
championships you need to come together as a group and have 5 guys on the court
playing with trust, communication and having each other’s backs.
For coaches it’s simple put your
players in a position to come together and empower them to hold their team
mates accountable. When you have accountability, honesty and trust on and off
the basketball court special things can happen…
Enjoy your hoops…
_236x80.jpg)
