Getting Through the Valleys

At some point I suspect there will always be valleys during your season. From academics to disciplinary issues a lot can happen on and off the court creating a low point in your season causing you as a coach to take immediate corrective action.

As aggrevating as it may seem, it is these types of moments that make your team better. If handled correctly, you as the coach can use this moment as a teaching point for your players in hopes they realize what they did wrong and how to prevent it from re-occuring. If you go overboard, it could backfire on you and send your season into a tailspin that you might not recover from. Use real-life examples to help players understand the value of the lesson so they will not ever forget it.

I teach my players from the very beginning core values. Respect, Responsibility, Communication, Self-Descipline to start with. When those values are corrupted then we deal with it immediately and move on. At the end of the day, the players understand the consequences of their actions, how it effects them now and in the future and they will have respect for you as a coach for keeping them in check with reality. The most important part is they know when they did something wrong which will help them make good decisions in the future. This transistions to the sport and the team which in terms makes for a great experience for everyone involved.

We reached a valley recently where my players had a mental lapse of some sort and forgot their core values. Disrepecting their coaches and their teammates, not showing responsibility, lack of communication and which all points to not maintaining discipline. Coaches addressed the issues and pointed out the mistakes made and how that effects the program moving forward. The players understood their mistakes and I believe felt disappointed in themselves. Non the less knew the consequesnces and accepted their punishment of extra conditioning. And as pointed out, at the end of the day we leave respecting one another and move on from the incident hopefully a better team. I fully expected that we will not have to deal with these types of valleys for the remaninder of the season.

In the end, valleys make your team stronger. Mistakes are made so we learn something. If we're not learning, then what are we doing? Take the valleys as a blessing in disguise sometimes, and turn that negative into a postive that will last a lifetime.