:: The Process ::
You hear versions of it all the time, how it's not about winning, but how you play the game. And coaches, with increasingly regularity (especially in the NHL), like to talk about "the process" - that most elusive of concepts. Then, conversely, there's those from the Al Davis "Just Win, Baby" camp. For the record, this is usually the camp I've fallen into. What can I say? I'm a competitive person.
But last night I changed my mind.
I was working, covering the B.C. senior boys basketball provincials downtown at the Agrodome. Saturday night was the final. The game was actually a terribly sloppy one - neither team shot anywhere close to even 30% from the field - and the team I was there to cover ended up blowing a lead and losing in the last three minutes. So it was not necessarily a fun night for me (It's awfully tough to talk to kids who just lost the last high school basketball game they'll ever play, and lost it in front of 4,500 people, no less).
One coach, I know very well. Fantastic guy. Likes to talk about "the process" a lot, and borders on being hokey when he starts talking about worrying more about turning his boys into well-adjusted men, than top basketball players. From almost anybody else, I'd call bullshit, but he's genuine, he really is. Talk to him for 5 minutes, and you know that he really cares about his players.
His team lost, but it still took him 20 minutes to leave the floor, because everyone - fellow coaches, parents, players, younger students - wanted to talk to him, give him a high-five or a hug. It takes a special coach, a special person, to have that kind of effect on people.
But last night, my courtside seat along media row happened to be behind the other team's bench, where I watch closely a coach I knew nothing about.
I was not impressed - right from the first impression.
For starters, as far as high school sports are concerned, this tournament is pretty much the Stanley Cup. So the coaches look presentable - suits, ties, jackets.. nice shoes, that kind of thing.
This coach, however, chose to wear ill-fitting black pants - which could've been track pants, for all I know - and a stretched out, awful sweater that was about two sizes to big. He was balding, and his hair on the sides of his head stuck straight out, mad-scientist style.
And oh, did he yell.
At the referees, sure - not that uncommon - but mostly at his own kids. And not that "constructive criticism" kind of yelling, not the motivation kind. It was the screaming kind. And loud, with arms flailing, hands grabbing the collars of his player's jersey. It was ridiculous. With his bright red face, I would not have be surprised if he'd dropped dead right there from a stroke. There were times where he reminded me of comedian Lewis Black, with his over-the-top, scream until your voice goes raspy deliver.
At one point, he pulled a player - who'd just made a mistake - off the court, sat him down on the bench and got right down in his face.
"You can't do this to me!" the coach yelled.
Funny, I always thought it was about the kids.
His team won, of course, thus validating his approach, which actually bugged me more than having to interview teary-eyed kids. But had his team lost, I would've known why. Teams, you see, often take on the personality of the guy in charge. And this guy's team, which trailed until its late-game comeback, was rattled right from the start. The players yelled at the refs, they pushed and shoved the other team, they screamed back at their coach. There's a fine line, obviously, between intensity and out of control, but I'd suggest the team was the latter.
The other bench? Calm and cool.
But like I said, the crazy coach won. After the game, talking to the coach I know, I mentioned my observations to him. Not wanting to rag on another coach or his style - like I said, he's a good guy - he just kind of shrugged.
"Regardless, it's a championship style tonight," he said.
He's right, of course. All the yelling, the screaming, the grabbing kids' collars, it worked. His team won.
Still, there's something to be said for the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment