Mayberry

Fair enough. But I don't think you can compare messing up in a basketball game with messing up in life. I played basketball (and other sports) growing up too and my ability to make a lay up or a jump shot has yet to benefit me in the business world (or life in general) and neither has my failures to make a good pass or deny an opponent's shot hurt me. Of course I want my child to learn what it feels like to succeed but go read the books written about the most successful people and you will see that they also failed more times than most. I can assure you, it is those "intangibles" that are going to make the difference in their future success. You're argument that classmates aren't teammates is valid but only because that is the prevalent model used to teach. As such, I will argue then that these kids will one day get a job with an organization that has a mission and purpose that is comparable to winning a state championship and fellow employees will be the equivalent of teammates. Would you want your organization's leadership to model that of most HS basketball coaches? If they did, how successful do you think those organizations would be? You are not going to find a successful organization that permits or allows this approach because you won't find many people, if any, that will positively respond or even tolerate it.

Tell The Truth (great username), winning is certainly part of the equation but as a parent let me ask you this: Are you more concerned that your child gets a good grade in their classes or that they learn the subject being taught? If your child was jerked out of class or publicly humiliated by the teacher for every wrong answer they gave in class would you simply accept it and say nothing? What if by the middle of the semester your child had given too many unacceptable answers that his teacher decided to give up on him and quit teaching him anymore but did continue teaching some of his classmates? Would you so easily support and accept it for the good of the class (team)? Actually, at most HS programs, the players do receive a letter grade from the coach/teacher. I have yet to hear of a coach that gave anything but A's (100) to every player--regardless of how they were playing. So it would appear that the school and state recognize it as a teacher/student learning activity.

The Sports Guy and mayberry both make good points. Gotta go w/ Sports Guy however for the most part. For the record, I do not disagree with The Sports Guy or firefulmer. I think good coaches are very underappreciated. I do want to point out, however, the good coaches I know do not view what they do as a sacrifice because they love it and have willingly chosen to do it. Most have even said they would do it for free (volunteer) if they had other jobs. They knew from the beginning the time it would take and the relatively low pay they would receive as well as the criticism they would likely hear at times. It is unlikely that you will hear these people complain about their talent level or be willing to accept it as an excuse. They understand the strength that lies within a group of people thinking and executing as one and what it takes to make that happen. They measure success by how their players develop (on and off the court) more than they do by wins and losses because they know the wins will come when they get the other right. If you have a son or daughter who gets benched by one of these coaches, not only will they know why they were benched but they will also know how to fix it and that the coach will work with them individually to help them. While they may get frustrated, these coaches never give up on any of their players. I have the greatest amount of respect for these people. Unfortunately, there appears to be far too few of them around anymore. Any coach that spends time complaining about their pay, long hours, criticism received and/or lack of talent needs to make a career change. As I stated before, the Coach makes all the key decisions including the decision to be a coach.

While I agree that the players have some responsibility and accountability for their play, I would argue that MOST of the responsibility and accountability for how a team/individual plays belongs to the coaches---especially at the HS level. It is the coach who makes all the key decisions (not the players). The coach chooses who will be on the team and what is expected of everyone (both on and off the court). It is the coach who decides when, what & how they will practice, who and when each player gets into a game, what position that player will play, the plays they will run, when most (if not all) of the timeouts will be called, and what the team should value (team v individual play, defense v offense, fundamentals v flash, winning v developing, etc.). The coach sets the tone (either intentionally or unintentionally) and makes it clear everyday by what they DO (more than what they say). The players (especially HS age) will always respond to that lead. ALL of the things a coach says he or she values as important will be tested soon enough by one or more players. How the coach consistently responds to these tests lets everyone know what (and who) the Coach truly values. I agree that the coach can't be on the floor to take the shots or make the stops but the team/individual will usually play like they practice and that goes back to the coach. If they aren't playing like he wants them to then he needs to change his practices. If they lack confidence then he needs to build confidence. If they lack fundamental skills then emphasize them in practice. If they don't understand what the coach wants then the coach needs to communicate differently. (Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result). BTW, isn't ironic that a player will catch a lot of flack for quitting the team during the season but nothing is said to the coach who often quits coaching during a game? If he doesn't have the level of talent that he would like then he needs to adjust his game strategy to fit his talent level and/or he needs to recruit better from his student body. Good coaches will make average players good and good players great while bad coaches will have a reverse impact. I think it is also interesting that we expect the kids to work hard on improving their game but we don't ever seem to expect that the Coach will work hard on improving their coaching knowledge and skill. (A lot of these coaches would be more successful if they could ever get it through their heads that yelling the obvious at a player or team isn't coaching.)

While I believe talent level will add to or take away from the success of a given HS program, it is the coaches who make most of the difference. They are the ones who set the tone for what is expected of their team (both on and off the field). They are the ones who make all the key decisions--who plays, what they will practice, how they will practice, what the team should value (team v individual play, defense v offense, fundamentals v flash, quitting or never quitting mindset, etc.). The coach makes it clear everyday by what they do (more than what they say) and the players follow that lead. ALL of the things a coach says he or she values as important will be tested soon enough by one or more players. How the coach consistently responds to these tests lets everyone know what the Coach truly values. When it becomes obvious that a coach values talent over effort and hard work, the level of hard work and effort will drop. When it becomes obvious that only some players can do no wrong, then players will stop playing as a team. When it becomes obvious that a coach has no confidence in a player or team, the player or team will also lose their confidence. When it becomes obvious that the coach no longer cares, the players will stop caring too. Obviously, the list can go on and on. BTW, isn't ironic that a player will catch a lot of flack for quitting the team during the season but nothing is said to the coach who often quits coaching during a game? Good coaches will make average players good and good players great while bad coaches will have a reverse impact. I think it is also interesting that we expect the kids to work hard on improving their game during the off-season but nothing is ever mentioned about what the coach is going to do to improve his or her coaching.

Chester County doesn't have a chance. Not just because McNairy has the better team but also because CC's coach will wear his own team down with nothing but negative criticism from the opening tip until he gives up and just sits and sulks. Even when they do something good he gives no praise. If you go to this game, just watch him and you see what I mean. It's pitiful.

This should be a good game. However, since it will not mean as much to Bolivar as it does to Liberty than I won't be surprised to see Liberty come away with a win on their homecourt. Once a team has experienced the kind of success Bolivar has the last two years, it becomes more difficult to play with the same competitive passion during the regular season than what you'll play with in the post-season. With all due respect to Liberty (which I think is a very good team), even if they win both games during the regular season I would still have to put my money on Bolivar come tournament time.

This appears to be a toss up. Both teams have new coaches, both teams are "rebuilding", and this the first game for both. The advantage, therefore, would go to the home team.

I think Chester County has a new coach too. As I understand it, their old coach is now at Crockett County. Based on some other posts I've read, they don't have much.

Where did Liberty get the extra height--transfers or puberty? It would be great to see another West TN team give Bolivar a run for their money. However, even if Liberty has the advantage "player for player" it will be very difficult to counter the experience Bolivar has gained winning two straight titles.

Bjion Jones transferred again? I think that makes 3 schools in 3 years. The report I've heard on him is above average talent but exceedingly great ego. Don't get too excited...he may be more of a distraction than a great addition.

Bolivar is obviously the top ranked team but where do you foresee the rest of the district finishing?