Winning Plays
At Next Play Basketball, we don’t shy away from communicating with our players about winning. We pride ourselves on playing the right way and teaching them how to win and reinforce what it takes to win. To us, winning means being a great sport to one’s opponent and teammates. If one of our players doesn’t show sportsmanship, they are removed from the game and are reminded of the contract they signed. Winning is not just wins and losses. Winning plays for us means attitude, talking on defense, making the extra pass, or simply encouraging a teammate with two simple words “Next Play!”
Sometimes a team can win without winning the game. When teammates claw back into a game and overcoming a deficit or competing against more talented or experienced team, we celebrate those wins just the same. Last fall, our 7th grade girls team played a much better team but battled relentlessly and lost by only a few buckets. We played the right way, connected and did our best. Creating panic for the opponent, or watch them tighten up on their shots under pressure while our team is playing loose and having fun is one of the greatest feelings to have as a coach. 15 seed and upset darling St. Peter’s players and coaches understands this all too well.
Last night, North Carolina came up short because they didn’t make enough winning plays on the court. But those kids showed resilience and toughness, qualities that we instill in our players. Two Tar Heel key starters played on badly twisted ankles and visibly played through pain while another threw up on the court during the second half of the game.
The Next Play program entered 12 teams into local tournaments this past weekend and won 3 championships. Winning games and tournaments sure feels good for a little while, and like a new toy, the feeling wears off quickly. Our mission is to develop players to play with confidence while being great teammates and leaders. We want our players supporting one another and learning lessons that extend far beyond the 94 feet of hardwood.
Already, there are pre-season rankings for next years men’s college basketball teams. Like this years men’s college champion Kansas, the successes are quickly forgotten. This week, our boys and girls are back in the gym developing the Next Play Mentality and we’re looking forward to focusing on winning plays again this week with 9 teams taking to the court for our 2nd tournament weekend.
