My 3rd/4th grade basketball team won 31-0 this past Saturday. It might have been a few points higher but I quit looking at the score after awhile. I enjoyed seeing my guys do well - everyone had a good game - but it was hard to watch for the other team. They tried and I don't think they ever quit but nothing went their way. Shots never bounced in, they threw passes to our defense even when we weren't guarding them very closely and I don't think shot much better than we have before in practices or games.
We practice Thursday night and it will be interesting to get a read on the boys. Will the bask in the afterglow of a 31 point bashing or will they think of it as just another game and be ready to work hard this Saturday? I've got my eloquent speech prepared just in case but I don't really think I'll need it. We'll probably end up just working on our plays a little more, running a few drills and scrimmaging for fun. I think most of the kids will have forgotten what happened last week.
The best part of the game for we was watching the improvement from the week before. The guys set screens where they were supposed to. They jump-stopped on layups and took a controlled shot. They hustled for rebounds and loose balls. They were in position on defense. Naturally, there are areas we will work to improve because improvement is all I really want to see. Sure, I want to win but even more, I want to see improvement, see growth in their abilities. That's what makes coaching fun for me.