The Longest Two Weeks of the Year

There are 13 days left before basketball season begins.  Just less than two weeks before I get to spend several hours a day teaching, instructing, and coaching the game I love.  But I just know this is going to be the longest two weeks of the year.  I still have four volleyball games and five volleyball practices left before I can put on my basketball shoes, grab my whistle, and walk on to the gym floor with my practice plan in hand.

For a second sport, volleyball has not been too bad.  The hours are nothing compared to those that football players put in.  It is in the air-conditioned gym.  And being the freshmen coach, it is not high stress.  However, it is not basketball.  It doesn't even pretend to be basketball.   About the only similarities between volleyball and basketball is they are played in the same gym and they both have a round ball.  In volleyball there seems to be an emphasis on smiling on the court and then having many premeditated dances, chants, sayings, and celebrations every time you make a point.  In basketball, when we score, we simply get back on defense and focus on stopping our opponent.   There is no dance or celebration or chant.

But very soon for me (but not soon enough), the sounds of basketball practice will begin echoing through the gym and the rituals of volleyball will soon fade into the distance.  It is that time of year.  It is my time to step up and step out and lead a basketball program.  It is time to get a season underway.  It is time to begin the march towards a championship.

No, it is not time yet.  I still have two weeks.  The longest two weeks of the year.