Tough, Tough Loss
The aftermath of some losses are much harder to take than others. Yesterday Woody had one of those extremely tough losses. This one she wanted, badly. Storm has never before lost in our own gym. Storm has never before lost to Christ The King. Storm has never before been eliminated before the Championship game. The Hudson Storm's stated goal at the beginning of the season was to once again reach the Long Island Championship and this time, to win it. Not this time, not this year.
Coach had a great game plan and tried to get them prepared. Things went down pretty much as had been predicted. CTK has been very good at getting our bigs in foul trouble in the past and that is exactly what they did. Just couldn't get it done this time. GraceAnne, for her own part, played one of her best games. She fouled out with a couple minutes left after scoring 7, rebounding 12 and blocking 8. Went HARD to the hoop whenever she got a lane. She left everything she had on the floor. None of this matters to her. She wanted the win.
The day started with a workout at Princeton with Megan Griffith and Grace Stone. The girls went for two hours and worked hard. Megan has a very clear idea of what they need to work on and how to get them the skills they need through simple drills, repetition and clear explanation.
Megan is always sure to give them context, why they need to work on certain things, why your footwork and body position matter, what it all really means when you are in a game or have a defender on you. She showed them a number of drills they can work on together outside of training/practice and in fact, outside of any gym. They also worked on finishing on the break, getting to the basket from as far as halfcourt in as few dribbles as possible. Megan seems to have an infinite supply of energy, ideas and good advice. Their basketball IQ is increasing exponentially every time they work with Megan. Got to get down there more often.
From Princeton we went straight to the game.
I don't want to gloss over the loss, Grace is still very upset by it, hasn't come to terms with it. I will say this, we went to training at Game7 immediately afterward and she was an absolute animal. Went harder than I've ever seen her go in any training or practice session. It's something we talk about and that she needs to work on, the harder you go in training the more you will get out of it, don't do anything in practice you wouldn't do in a game, "Game Speed! Game Speed! GAME SPEED!". If she can use this loss as motivation, turn it into a positive and it brings out her competitiveness that would be great.
She did show some cracks in the armor, some of her goofiness by cracking up when Jason Fraser unfurled his wings and blocked her shot from behind out of nowhere, or when he used his entire six foot ten frame to defend her... guess she isn't too "damaged" by the defeat, just kind of sad.
CYO season is over. It ended abruptly and earlier than any of the girls thought it would. The ball still bounces, life goes on. There is a Super League game tonight that I will be coaching. What? That's right, I will be coaching the Storm against the very same team that beat them yesterday to eliminate them from the CYO playoffs. Some small revenge? We'll see. Also, AAU always begins sooner than anyone thinks. We have a couple new teammates and the girls and parents will be getting together this week to meet, have an open gym and talk about the upcoming season.
Next time you want to win a game in late January, work harder in December! Go harder in training in September! Bring it in practice in October! Go kick butt on some boys out on the playground at recess all fall! Win the hustle award at camp in August! Games are won and lost weeks, months, years before they ever get played.
Coach had a great game plan and tried to get them prepared. Things went down pretty much as had been predicted. CTK has been very good at getting our bigs in foul trouble in the past and that is exactly what they did. Just couldn't get it done this time. GraceAnne, for her own part, played one of her best games. She fouled out with a couple minutes left after scoring 7, rebounding 12 and blocking 8. Went HARD to the hoop whenever she got a lane. She left everything she had on the floor. None of this matters to her. She wanted the win.
The day started with a workout at Princeton with Megan Griffith and Grace Stone. The girls went for two hours and worked hard. Megan has a very clear idea of what they need to work on and how to get them the skills they need through simple drills, repetition and clear explanation.
Megan is always sure to give them context, why they need to work on certain things, why your footwork and body position matter, what it all really means when you are in a game or have a defender on you. She showed them a number of drills they can work on together outside of training/practice and in fact, outside of any gym. They also worked on finishing on the break, getting to the basket from as far as halfcourt in as few dribbles as possible. Megan seems to have an infinite supply of energy, ideas and good advice. Their basketball IQ is increasing exponentially every time they work with Megan. Got to get down there more often.
From Princeton we went straight to the game.
I don't want to gloss over the loss, Grace is still very upset by it, hasn't come to terms with it. I will say this, we went to training at Game7 immediately afterward and she was an absolute animal. Went harder than I've ever seen her go in any training or practice session. It's something we talk about and that she needs to work on, the harder you go in training the more you will get out of it, don't do anything in practice you wouldn't do in a game, "Game Speed! Game Speed! GAME SPEED!". If she can use this loss as motivation, turn it into a positive and it brings out her competitiveness that would be great.
She did show some cracks in the armor, some of her goofiness by cracking up when Jason Fraser unfurled his wings and blocked her shot from behind out of nowhere, or when he used his entire six foot ten frame to defend her... guess she isn't too "damaged" by the defeat, just kind of sad.
CYO season is over. It ended abruptly and earlier than any of the girls thought it would. The ball still bounces, life goes on. There is a Super League game tonight that I will be coaching. What? That's right, I will be coaching the Storm against the very same team that beat them yesterday to eliminate them from the CYO playoffs. Some small revenge? We'll see. Also, AAU always begins sooner than anyone thinks. We have a couple new teammates and the girls and parents will be getting together this week to meet, have an open gym and talk about the upcoming season.
Next time you want to win a game in late January, work harder in December! Go harder in training in September! Bring it in practice in October! Go kick butt on some boys out on the playground at recess all fall! Win the hustle award at camp in August! Games are won and lost weeks, months, years before they ever get played.
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