Public School Coaching

What would drive a super competitive person to want to coach at a public school that has very little history of success in a given sport?  This is a question that I am asked often and the response is simple...the relationships that we get to build with the kids over the years.  I am moving onto my 5th season at Simsbury so am I starting to see some kids that were in 5th and 6th grade when I got here now move into the high school.  I am also seeing some kids that were only in 1st or 2nd grade start to move into organized basketball for the first time.  Every time that I see these kids play I find myself forgetting about the struggles what what talent gaps we might have compared to other schools and I just root for them to succeed.  Maybe it is something as simple as hearing them talk on defense, or square up in a triple threat when they catch the ball...but these are the things that keep me coming back for more as a public school coach.  The excitement of putting a bunch of little pieces together to ultimately form a team that can go and compete against anybody in the state.  This is the message that we send every year...and we have went toe to toe with some of the best teams in the state the past few years.  So far we have come up a little bit short each year...but I have to believe that if we keep working on the right things and trust the process we are going to get over that hump.  And when we do...with groups of kids that have been learning and building together for years...it is going to be something special...something that no one can take away from them.  And if we don't...we will have shared some great memories together and will have learned some life lessons along the way.

This is why I love coaching public high school sports!  It isn't always easy...but rewards are everywhere.  Some big, some small...but all of them make it worth the while!