1st Game as a Coach

Most of you know I have been asked to coach the 16u team out here, because they know Americans have a little better understanding of the game and how to teach it. I have been coaching the 16u team for about a month and today was our first game. But before I get into the 16u game I must first tell you about my 14u team. The 14u coach quit about 2weeks ago and the team was being coach by a parent. My 16u team had been giving everyone great feedback about me, so the president of the club asked me if I wanted to coach a second team for a little extra money. So, I decided to take the second team as another challenge. Today the 14u also had a game which was their first of the season too. I have only been coaching the 14u team a week so all my systems and things are new to them. We ended up losing the game by 18pts but we had cut the game to 1pt before they made run to break our backs. They played hard but they need a lot of work. Teaching basketball is a marathon not a sprint, so I have to be patient and understanding to these kids. Plus the language barrier is a little different for these younger kids so I must speak slowly and make sure they understand what I am saying and asking of them.

When I took over the 16u team they had little to no idea about how to play the game of basketball. All they knew was play as hard as you can and shoot whenever you can. I have slowly been teaching these kids how to play basketball with ones head not just ones skills. I have also been working on their fundamentals and skills because for their age they are far behind where they should be skill wise for their age. Slowly now, they have learned how to read screens, read a defense, rotate on defense, pass correctly, play under control and dribble with pressure to name a few. Their knowledge from my first day to now it is night and day.

In todays game the 16u played a team called Paderborn, which looked like a mens team because of their height. I have been asking around to find out what they have in the water out here in Germany, that makes the kids so big...haha. We used our speed and quickness in order to counter Paddleborn's size. The game was back and fourth with many lead changes. In the end we won by 4 points, 53-49 after being down 12points at halftime (19-31). The boys played hard but they still have a lot to learn. Their next game is in a couple weeks and we have a lot of work to do until then.

Game 4

Tonight we had our second home game against BSW Sixers. The Sixers are one of the favorites to win the league because they have 3 Americans who can really play. They have a guard, Elton Coffield, who is the leading scorer in the league with 25ppg and they have a big guy(American) who is very athletic and skilled. The last American they have is a 6'5 wing who can shoot and slash to the basket. We however, have a couple injuries to some main guys. Enoch Wolff, our 7 foot left handed center, was out with the flu. Sebastian Born, who was injured last game, is still out with a hip pointer and Tobias Welzel, our other starting guard, was out as well. We did add two new players to our roster for this game, Jakob Klimek, who came off the DL from an ankle injury and Marcus Bernhart, another guard, to replace Tobias.

When the game started we came out with a lot of energy and jumped out to a 8-2 lead. We continued to control the whole first quarter, winning it 25-13. I came out this game very relaxed which helped me to focus on what I had to do. The second quarter started with us continuing to control the game. We were executing on offense and defending and rebounding on defense, which is usually our weak points. At halftime we were up 45-38 after they made a little run to close the quarter out. I had 13 points at the half. The third quarter started with us having a lot of energy and fire, but so did they. We continued to keep our lead throughout the third quarter but the Sixers continued to chip away at our lead. By the end of the third quarter we were only up one point, 63-62, and they had a little momentum. I tried to keep us fired up and motivated during the break between the third and fourth quarters but it didn't seem to work. The Sixers came out with "fire" in the fourth quarter and we kind of played not to lose instead of playing to win. The Sixers controlled the whole fourth quarter by limiting us to one shot on offense and then scoring at almost at will when they were on offense. We tried to battle back but we just were out matched in the end and we ended up losing 74-84. I finished with 24pts 4ast 4rbs 1stl and 2TO to lead us. We did get great play from Jan Both, our 6'10 center who usually isn't a presence in the post, but played big and strong tonight which is good to see. Hopefully he can continue to play like he did tonight. We did hold Coffield, the leading scorer in the league, under his average, but he finished with 20points. Their three americans combined for over half their points. We had a pretty good home crowd tonight and I'm upset we couldn't get a win for them. They love to support BG74 basketball and we owe it to them to win more game than we lose. The Sixers brought some good fans as well. Their fans had 7 large drums that they beat on during the whole game. It actually hyped me up more rather than distract me from playing.

We have two weeks off before our next game. I'm going to use these two weeks to rest my knee and fully recover.

Game 3

Saturday October 10, 2009 we played our third game of the year agianst ALBA Berlin of Berlin. Berlin is 3.5 hrs from Goettingen and is the capital of Germany. Berlin has a great part in German history, from the Berlin wall, to the Nazi's and the cold war. Berlin is a major city in the world and I am glad I had the opportunity to see it even though we didn't stop and site see. Anyways, bakc to the game. We played ALBA Berlin, which is one of the top teams in Germany's first division, who doesnt have the best players but they play as a team really well. The gym, as you can see from the pictures, sucked because it had WOOD backboards, dead spots in the floor and rims that were older than dirt. We started the game out pretty intense but soon became a little over confident. In the first quarter I didn't shoot a shot but I was being a pure point guard and playmaker.Which I thought was what my coach wanted and had asked of me when I first got here. I was giving perfect passes but my teammates just werent making their shots and finishing their layups. The second quarter began and I was getting frustrated because of how many missed shots and lay-ups had happend. Coach Hans was frustrated too and pulled me a side and asked if I would be more aggressive and shoot more. Following that he moved me to the 2guard spot, which normally wouldnt bother me but I thought I needed to keep the ball in my hands and keep creating. During the second quarter I began to "force" my shots and it really through myself and my teammates out of rhythm, which is not my game. At half time I only had 2 points on about 1-9 shooting, because of my forcing and taking bad shots, but luckily we were only down 5 points, 31-36. When the third quarter began I thought I would get my rhythym back by drving to the basket and/or taking mid range jumpers. However, me being the leading scorer in the league, at the time, they began with a box and 1 and were not letting me get the ball. This causing more frustration with me, my coach and my teammates. The fourth quarter came and we were still right in the game but down 47-52. I scored 10points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 12 but it was not enought. We lost the game by 1 point 63-64, and we didn't even get last shot up because we turned the ball over with 6 seconds left. I finshed the game with 12pts 4ast 3rbs 2 stls and 4 TO. I can honestly say it was one of my worst games, mentally and physically in my whole career. We play again this Saturday at home against one of the bestter teams in our league. They have 3 Americans and one is "now" the leading scorer in the league. It will be a tough game but it should be fun. My knee is still about the same, so please continue to pray for me. Thank you.

League Website

Here is the league website that shows Teams, Standings, Stats and Rosters. Click on the Regionalliga Nord and that is my division. My team name is BG 74 Goettingen.

http://basketball-bund.net/

Second Game of the Year

Today we had our second game of the season away against SG Oslebshausen. It was about a 2hr drive to the city of Bremen where the team is located and we got to the gym about 30 minutes before tip off because of traffic. We started the game out slow, but so did they so it was pretty even early. The first quarter ended with us being down 4 21-17. I had 5pts in the first quarter. The second quarter was pretty even until about half way through and they made a run to push their lead to 16pts at the half. I sat out the last 5 minutes of the second quarter with foul trouble after I picked up my third foul. It was a bad call but oh well. I had 12pts at the half but we were down 35-51. We came out in the third quarter with a lot of fire and we made a little run to cut the lead to 6, 50-56, but agian I picked up a dumb foul and was forced to the bench with four fouls. The fourth quarter started with them making a big run and they never really looked back after that. We ended up losing the game 94-77, to a team who we should have beat. However, to the other teams credit they did shoot the piss out of the ball. I mean they almost made every shot they took. They finished the game shooting 51% from the field and 55% from the 3pt line. We, however shot 38% from the field and 28% from the 3pt line. I finished with 31pts 1rb 3st 2ast and 4TO. I shot 9-16 for the game, 4-8 from the 3pts line and 9-9 from the free throw line in only 28 minutes because of foul trouble. Tonight we were missing one of our better players, Max, who was gone with his family in another city. Not having him really hurts us because he brings a lot of toughness, energy, leadership and scoring. Since Max was gone I had to carry the bulk of the scoring load. Usually I wouldn't have a problem with shooting more but for some reason I could get my head into the game. Which is weird because I had a season high of 31pts, but I think the early foul troubles messed with my rhythm. Well, we are 0-2 for the season and have another away game next week. Hopefully we can play a lot better and pick up our first win of the season. My knee is doing about the same, still swelling after practice and games but i've upped my icing and rehab methods and it has helped a little. Hopefully this week it will heal up a little more so I can be close to full strength. The picture is of the gym we played in. It was one of the worst gyms i've ever seen..haha...but I sure did light that crappy gym up..haha Thanks for reading.