Movie Trailer

I have always found that for me the best way to put closure to a basketball season is by making a highlight film of the season. I've always enjoyed the creative end of putting a film together and each year I try to step up and do it in a different way. Once I complete the highlight film, which this year is going to run more like a documentary that chronicles our journey through the fire, I like to have a team party or banquet to show the film. This would then be the final time that the team as we knew it would meet together. It celebrates the season and then puts it to rest. Below is a trailer for the film. Due to the fact that it is on youtube, and I am using various overlays, superimposed videos and pictures, and titles, it doesn't come out with the exact spacing that is on the original. But it should get the idea across. The DVD version has the proper spacing.

Post Season Reflections

It has now been a week since we were eliminated in the Area round of the state of the tournament. I haven't exactly strayed away from basketball though. I have gone to our boys team playoff game and have been the administrator in charge of another playoff game at our gym. And each time, I get to experience again vicariosly both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat that is known as the high school basketball playoffs.

Though I may have been watching playoff games, I have been purposefully trying not to think too much towards next season. Not yet anyway. That time will come soon enough. I believe that for my own sanity, I should give myself until after spring break before I allow my mind to delve into the planning and the dreaming of next year's basketball season. I still have too much processing to do about this past season.

In many ways it was a very successful season. But it more ways it was a war. And I am not talking about between my team and our opponents. It was a war between me, the coach, and them, the players. When I look back to where we were in October and November, I am still not sure how we not only survived as a team, but actually turned into more or less a cohesive unit.

First, there was the system and style of play that so many of the players were so against. They wanted the full court pressing, up and down the court, fast-breaking style they had always run before. But I came in with the idea we were going to lock it up defensively and execute offenses in the half court. They weren't used to it and they didn't understand it. It was literally like teaching varsity players the things I would expect to be taught in the 8th or 9th grade. I remember one time, the day before our first game, when we were reviewing our offenses. One girl said, "Coach, we have too many plays. Its confusing." I stopped and said, "We have two man to man plays, two zone plays, and two out of bounds plays. That is not too much." She responded, "But, Coach, that is five more than we had last year."

But the thing that weighed on me the most this year, that could have been our complete undoing as a team, was the attitude exhibited by so many of the players. They were so used to doing whatever they wanted and being told how good they were (even though they had a losing record last year) that they could not stand the thought of being told what to do or being held accountable to playing the way I wanted them to play. Oh how many times did I want to kick some people completely out of the program. But through patience and continual work, I would say 90% of the team bought into the program (and that last 10% is trying, but its a real struggle for her) and as they did, our execution began to pay off for us in games.

I don't think we ever completely got it all together this season, but I can honestly say that we did change the culture of the program. A year ago, the biggest thing that could be said about this team was they had the worst attitudes of any team around. Technicals were a daily occurance on game days and the team had become a bunch of selfish individuals. This year, that changed completely. There was only one player technical all season and the team play began to come together. Everyone that followed our program could tell the difference and they appreciated it.

And of course, there was the very respectful district record of 8-3 and then the playoff win to validate the season. I know I am losing 6 very valuable seniors, and I know we are going to be young next year, but I also know that we have turned the corner and brought respectability back to the program. Though I am not going to focus or plan or dream about the future right now, I will say that I believe the future is very bright.

Just Like That, It's Over

It felt so strange coming to school this morning knowing I would not be practicing my basketball team. There would be no film session. There would be no basketball athletics. The gym will no longer echo with the sound of bouncing basketball as the balls are locked up and will stay that way for a while.

Yes, the season is over. It was expected. We played a great team in the second round of the playoffs, and we had to be great to win that game. We were not great. We did fight hard, but we were going to have to be near perfect to win that game. And we were not.

You put so much in to a season for so long and then in one day it is over. And there is an emptiness that resides insid. I've had my team every day since school started (with the exception of a couple who played volleyball) and now they are dispersing to spring sports (or seniors dropping out of athletics). Its a hollow, empty feeling.

The only way I can get through it with a semi-smile is knowing I can go home early now and spend more time with my wife and son. Even this Saturday, I was able to go see my 10 year old nephew play basketball. He already dribbles equally well with both hands. I wonder if I should get him to come teach my returning varsity players how to use their left hand. This morning before I left the house, I told my son, Landry, that I didn't have any basketball today and would be home early. He got a big smile on his face and said, "you not have anything?"

I guess there really are other things in life besides our high school basketball team. Before yesterday, I couldn't even tell you where my favorite college team,Duke, was in the ACC. I honestly thought they were like third or something, much less ranked 6th in the Nation. And I had no idea that Carolina had fallen so bad. 3-10 in the ACC and 14-13 overall. Are you serious? I have been so singularly focused that I had no idea what was going on. But, now, I can relax and unwind. I can catch up on stuff at home and focus more on what I teach.

I realized by the end of last week that I was very stressed. It was getting to my body and to my emotions. But I wanted that stressed feeling to last at least another week. I could have madee it. But it is best for my body now to just unwind some. Other than teaching school and focusing on getting the kids ready for the TAKS in a week, I am going to spend my other hours just relaxing, unwinding, and enjoying life and enjoying my family.

But I would have liked to have waited a few more weeks to do that.

I'll post another day my recap and thoughts about this season. But right now, I just want to unwind.

Random Thoughts Going Through My Head The Day of a Playoff Game

My mind is so far away from here right now. It is so hard to even think about anything other than the game tonight. I can't even sleep well right now.

It is way too long between Monday and Friday to play a game.

As much as I want to win tonight and am dreaming about coaching in another major upset in the playoffs, I just honestly don't want to be embarrassed tonight.

I'm ready for the season to end - just not yet. Not tonight

I still haven't planned my post game speech if we don't win tonight. I probably won't plan it.

A thought ran through my mind about 30 minutes into practice yesterday - this could be our last practice of the year.

I am not ready to start going to offseason during both 5th and 8th. Right now, I'm doing neither. I'm coaching basketball or preparing for a game

If we defend like crazy tonight, hit our layups, control our turnovers, and hit our free throws, I believe we will win tonight. Its a simple game. Why do our players like so much to screw it up and do things we tell them not to?

I just want one more victory. One More. Not getting greedy. I'm not asking for the regional tournament. Just one more victory. After that, I will ask for just one more.

I'm exhausted and am in much need of a vacation. My class, my family, and everyone will see a better me after I have some time off. But I can wait a few more weeks before I crash.

Is anything else going on in the world right now besides the State Playoffs? I mean for the first time ever, I don't even know who the top 10 are in college basketball and where my Duke Blue Devils are sitting in the ACC. I am focused on only one thing. Is that healthy?

Just one more victory please.

Playoff Win

I wanted to post this earlier than today and perhaps have a youtube link to the first playoff win in three years for the Lady Apaches, but this week has been so incredibly busy with preparation for the next round of the playoffs.

We played a really good first half of our opening round game, leading by 15 at halftime. We had our chance in the early part of the third quarter to put the game away, but we missed two open layups and turned the ball over two more times on breaks to the basket that would have been an open layup. We left 8 points off the board in the first minute in a half of the third quarter. After that, Somerset chipped away at our lead, but in a quick explosion, we took the lead back up to 13 points with a minute and half left in the third quarter. Then we went into one of our famous end of the quarter funks and led by only 6 going into the fourth quarter.

We hung on and won the game by two, 56-54. It was not a very pretty second half, but the bottom line in the playoffs is to survive and advance. We survived and now we advance.

Best Game of the Year

Due to our buzzer beater loss to Cuero earlier in the month, we were forced to play a tie-breaking game against Yoakum to see who was going to get second in district. If we won, our first playoff opponent would be Somerset, a team with close to an identical record as we have. If we lost, we would face Marion who was standing at 23-5 for the year.

For several days, I had coaches and teachers alike asking me how I felt going into the game. My response was always, "It's a 50-50 shot at winning the game."

Little did I know how prophetic those words were. It was an emotionally challenging game that our girls wanted perhaps more than they had wanted a game all year. And for the first half of the game, you could tell the jitters were there as Yoakum controlled the game for the whole first half. But somehow, as poorly as we shot the ball in the first half, were were only down three points at halftime.

We fell down by as many as 7 points in the fourth quarter before things finally started clicking for us. We were not perfect down the stretch, but we made enough big plays and hit free throws at just the right time to send the game into overtime. Again we dropped down in the overtime period, but again made just enough plays to have a shot at winning the game with 13 seconds to go.

The rest is where legends are born. Bianca Esqueda hit a baseline shot as time expired to give us the one point victory in overtime and a better seed going into the playoffs.



It might be worth looking at that winning shot again. First in regular speed and then again in slow motion.

Senior Night

Last week we played our final home game of the basketball season. Traditionally, I have always made that last home game all about the Seniors. It is meant as a celebration of their four years in high school and in the basketball program. I write up a script to honor the class and to honor each individual senior, saying nice things about them as a person and what they have meant to the basketball program. They are introduced with their parents and we thank both the Seniors and their parents for being a part of our basketball program.

However, the Booster Club made it very clear to me a few months ago that they did not want to have a Senior night. They wanted to have a parents night and told me they would honor the Seniors at the same time. They told me they would take care of everything. But in the end, there was nothing really special or meaningful about the way they conducted the ceremony. The Seniors were very disappointed (as was I).

In hopes to try to capture just a bit of the emotion I wanted to see that night in honoring the Seniors, I have edited some of that night on a video to try to get a bit closer to what I wanted. I would have liked to have said more personal things and heart-felt thank you's to the Seniors and their parents, but chose to keep the original narration of the night. At the end of the game, I did take each Senior out of the game, one girl at a time, in order to give them their individual time to be acknowledged by the crowd. The PA announcer even let the crowd know as each girl came off the court that this was their final home appearance. Unfortunately, I did not get each Senior on video coming off, but those I did are included in the youtube video that is below.



Of course we had a game to play too. In fact, we had to win that game to make sure we forced a playoff game with Yoakum to see who would wind up second in district. It wasn't the best of performances, but it was good enough to not only win handidly, but also allowed me to play my Seniors a lot. They all contributed greatly

Playoff Bound

It became official after we beat Yoakum and Palacios lost that we had secured at least a playoff spot. But after beating Yoakum, we are currently sitting by ourselves in 2nd place. Though first place is not mathmatically out of the question, our realistic goal is going to be holding on to second and going into the playoffs with a 6 game winning streak.

When we beat Yoakum Tuesday night, we put together what was perhaps our best tip to buzzer game of the year. We brought the intensity and we brought the effort. And for most of the game, we executed well on both ends of the court. Even though we started the game shooting 1-10 while Yoakum built a 9-1 lead, we kept within the game plan and by the end of the first quarter we had tied the game. After that 1-10 shooting start, the rest of the game we hit 60% of our shots. That stat itself will win a lot of ball games.

In my opinion, Yoakum is still the best team in our district (that is to say the best team behind us). But we knocked them down to third. That makes Friday's game against Cuero just about as big as they come. We beat the so far undefeated in district Cuero team and we can all but wrap up the second spot. It will take another game of all out effort and great execution to do it. But if we play like we did against Yoakum, I believe we will beat Cuero. Below is a youtube highlight film of just how we beat Yoakum.