First of all, let me start off by saying that this team totally caught me off guard. From my understanding they were supposed to be a sub-average team. I didn't scout this team and had no idea they would be that kind of treat to us. Those kids were shooters and had an aggressive, great defense on us. I usually have a game strategy coming in, but like I said, without scouting them and from what I heard, I really thought we would come out with a win. :-( I was surprised to say the least!
I have since found out that the BBA team we were playing was not the real BBA team we were supposed to be playing. A few of the players were "illegal" players. That sounds rough, but it just means that they were guest players....and their team was stacked a bit to play us. Nothing we can do about it now other than keep an eye out for that come end of season tournament. I will say it over and over again. I am pleased that we are playing in a division that is challenging us and forcing us to "learn". I am ok with losing from time to time! It makes us work harder and play harder! And it will only build character and make us better!
Now, onto the game...
The first two minutes went great. We came out with a bang....but that's about the only bang we had!
What am noticing a lot this year is how the boys are relying heavily on the PLAYS to make them open. Our boys are struggling to create their own plays and see the open areas on the court. We do A LOT of standing in our area. This is the hardest part of basketball but once the players begin to learn this..... the game of basketball will drastically change for them. We will be working on this A LOT this week in practice and in the upcoming weeks.
Oh---Our shooting??? It's TERRIBLE! I keep thinking it will come, but so far, we are not getting any better at shooting! HA! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! PRACTICE! And when you practice, make it GAME LIKE!!! Don't try to be fancy or showy, just the jump shot or set shot is all we need at this level, but we have to get these shots to fall for us!!!
DEFENSE---This is usually our strong suit, but this past game I saw way to much "lazy" defense. My definition of lazy defense is when players aren't moving their feet to prevent or to get in front of their opponent and instead will use the upper body to try to stop them because they are a step behind----which usually will be a foul. WAY TOO MUCH OF THIS this past game!!!
PASSING---In this level ball the overhead, rainbow pass WILL NOT WORK. We should be making more bounce passes than any other pass. And whomever is recieving the pass MUST GO TO THE BALL (MEET THE BALL) before making a move. We had many turnovers due to this simple fundamental mistake. Not to mention, if we would GO TOWARD THE PASS----we could draw a few hustle fouls on our opponents, as well.
SET SCREENS and MOVE----- We spent a majority of our practice last week learning to properly screen and roll. Now---go do it!!! ALL THE TIME!!!:-)
We have many things to work on! But, EVERY TEAM, has many things to work on. My goal is to make us better ball players, build character, be respectable and competitive athletes and young men, and have some fun while doing it! We are still achieving those goals!!! So keep your heads up and keep at it!!!
The Boys Are Back!!!!
I can't be more thrilled about our game this past weekend!!! We have had a bit of bad luck in the last few games. We lost two games to Tenacity (currently the only undefeated team in our division) and to the Dawgs. Both games were close, but lacked enough to get the job done! But I am so happy to see that this team has FIGHT, DETERMINATION, and a NO QUIT ATTITUDE!!
This was a BIG GAME for us! I knew going in, that IF we could pull off a win against a team WE RESPECTED (that was undefeated, too) that it could be a turning point for our team and our season together. And yall didn't surprise me at all! Each player rose to the occasion! I could tell, as early from the pre-game meeting, that yall were there to WIN! Yall were listening and focusing on the game plan/strategies I was giving. Yall had the look of confidence on your face. Yall were excited to play, eager to play, and READY to play! Yall implemented well the things we worked on at practice (REBOUNDING and the 121 Press). Yall encouraged one another! Yall played together as a team!!!
We had over 30rebounds that game! THIRTY!!! That right there alone tells me we were hustling cos I am not sure the Bobcats got a chance to rebound.....cos we wanted it MORE!
Now, we did have a CRAZY shooting game! But that's okay. Yall are shooting at home daily----RIGHT? And that will come! And sometimes you just have "off" nights. But, our defense and hustle WON!!
This game was a big game for us to win. We are 2-2 now. At this point, we decide if we want to work hard to make this a winning season or not! But based upon what I saw Friday..... I bet we choose to start a BIG WINNING STREAK!!!! Let's do it!
****Pictures coming asap!!
This was a BIG GAME for us! I knew going in, that IF we could pull off a win against a team WE RESPECTED (that was undefeated, too) that it could be a turning point for our team and our season together. And yall didn't surprise me at all! Each player rose to the occasion! I could tell, as early from the pre-game meeting, that yall were there to WIN! Yall were listening and focusing on the game plan/strategies I was giving. Yall had the look of confidence on your face. Yall were excited to play, eager to play, and READY to play! Yall implemented well the things we worked on at practice (REBOUNDING and the 121 Press). Yall encouraged one another! Yall played together as a team!!!
We had over 30rebounds that game! THIRTY!!! That right there alone tells me we were hustling cos I am not sure the Bobcats got a chance to rebound.....cos we wanted it MORE!
Now, we did have a CRAZY shooting game! But that's okay. Yall are shooting at home daily----RIGHT? And that will come! And sometimes you just have "off" nights. But, our defense and hustle WON!!
This game was a big game for us to win. We are 2-2 now. At this point, we decide if we want to work hard to make this a winning season or not! But based upon what I saw Friday..... I bet we choose to start a BIG WINNING STREAK!!!! Let's do it!
****Pictures coming asap!!
Game #2---Need a Bounce Back
So Game #2 wasn't so hot! But I am pleased that we are finally playing some good competition. It looks like this division is gonna challenge us---which I am all for! I much rather be challenged and lose a few games than win every game and have no real competition!
Tenacity 26 Gunter 18
A few things I think (I hope) we learned from this most recent game....
1) Come READY to PLAY. This means that game face is on and preparation begins as soon as players enter the complex. I had noticed that when we were having our "pregame huddle" or "pregame discussion" this past game, I had spent much of my time asking players to pay attention and asking them to listen. Which meant that alot of the game strategy I has asked for wasn't implemented simply due to the lack of focusing or listening.
2) Hustle! Hustle! Hustle! We only hustled for maybe a full quarter. But, it was too far- too late. :-( This team out hustled us for 3.5 quarters, no doubt!
3) REBOUND! BLOCK OUT! We weren't crashing the boards.....and then when we did start crashing the boards.....we were "too soft" and allowed the other team to rip the ball from our hands. We need to be determined that IF the other team is gonna get that ball away from us---then they will be taking us with them! We need to get aggressive!
4) FOLLOW OUR OWN SHOTS! If anyone on our team shoots, we need to assume they will miss and be DETERMINED that we will get ALL MISSED shots and put them back in!
When it was all said and done, this Tenacity Team was just a team out to win. They came to play and they outplayed, out hustled, and out scored us. THAT SIMPLE! But we can beat this team..... NO DOUBT IN MY MIND we can beat this team! But it will take more than just our practice time.
Get outside and shoot daily! Get a bigger kid and a better kid to play you and to push you around (this will only make you better). And watch basketball!!! :-).
Here are a few things that I'd like to see you do before Monday of next week for HOMEWORK:
1) Make 150 shots daily (shot within your ranges)
2) Make 50 FT daily
3) Mikan Drill (where you shot alternating from block to block, as fast as you can without letting the ball hit the ground)- Ideally, shoot for 1 minute---break for 2 mins---shoot for another minute!
4) Once this weekend, go jog for 10-12 straight minutes. Easy pace but try not to stop running. If you do stop....stop your timer and don't count that time you walk towards your run.
5) Watch some basketball games--- look for good block outs, good defense, following shots and good screen and rolls!!! :-)
5) Take pictures and send them to me so I can see that you have been doing your HW!!! :-).
Tenacity 26 Gunter 18
A few things I think (I hope) we learned from this most recent game....
1) Come READY to PLAY. This means that game face is on and preparation begins as soon as players enter the complex. I had noticed that when we were having our "pregame huddle" or "pregame discussion" this past game, I had spent much of my time asking players to pay attention and asking them to listen. Which meant that alot of the game strategy I has asked for wasn't implemented simply due to the lack of focusing or listening.
2) Hustle! Hustle! Hustle! We only hustled for maybe a full quarter. But, it was too far- too late. :-( This team out hustled us for 3.5 quarters, no doubt!
3) REBOUND! BLOCK OUT! We weren't crashing the boards.....and then when we did start crashing the boards.....we were "too soft" and allowed the other team to rip the ball from our hands. We need to be determined that IF the other team is gonna get that ball away from us---then they will be taking us with them! We need to get aggressive!
4) FOLLOW OUR OWN SHOTS! If anyone on our team shoots, we need to assume they will miss and be DETERMINED that we will get ALL MISSED shots and put them back in!
When it was all said and done, this Tenacity Team was just a team out to win. They came to play and they outplayed, out hustled, and out scored us. THAT SIMPLE! But we can beat this team..... NO DOUBT IN MY MIND we can beat this team! But it will take more than just our practice time.
Get outside and shoot daily! Get a bigger kid and a better kid to play you and to push you around (this will only make you better). And watch basketball!!! :-).
Here are a few things that I'd like to see you do before Monday of next week for HOMEWORK:
1) Make 150 shots daily (shot within your ranges)
2) Make 50 FT daily
3) Mikan Drill (where you shot alternating from block to block, as fast as you can without letting the ball hit the ground)- Ideally, shoot for 1 minute---break for 2 mins---shoot for another minute!
4) Once this weekend, go jog for 10-12 straight minutes. Easy pace but try not to stop running. If you do stop....stop your timer and don't count that time you walk towards your run.
5) Watch some basketball games--- look for good block outs, good defense, following shots and good screen and rolls!!! :-)
5) Take pictures and send them to me so I can see that you have been doing your HW!!! :-).
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| Practice! Practice! Practice!!! It can be fun:-) |
Open Gym--Friday at 1pm-2:15 at Old Elementary Gym
Team Practice Monday at 6pm at Old Elementary Gym with Coach Kyle
Team Practice Thursday at 6:30pm at Old High School Gym with Coach Kyle
Make up Game Saturday against The Dawgs at 7pm. Be there at 6:40pm.
Knocking the Rust Off
GAME #1- WIN Gunter 34/Xpress 22
It wasn't pretty but we did start our season off with a big win against a well respected team last night! I am not at all disappointed in our play, as I know that this is our first game. It took us a good three quarters to get our mojo going. In matter of fact, this was the first time we even ran the press and press breaker at all (since we haven't had a full court to practice on in the past couple of weeks). So considering that, I am pleased with how we worked out the kinks in this first game!! (Now, let's not have too many more kinks here on out! LOL)
A few things we need to be reminded of............
1. HUSTLE and STAY FOCUSED- Always know what defense we are in (usually a 3-2 zone, but sometimes a man).
2. BUST YOUR TAIL to get into our 22 Full Court Press---too many times, we simply just didn't hustle into our Press Positions, which caused us to get beat down the court. This shouldn't be happening with the quickness we have on our team!!
3. SET MORE SCREENS- Last night, I only saw us setting screens for the guy who was in possession of the ball. **I would like to see our wings go set a screen down low and pop a post out for the ball?? Or have a post, screen away and cut across the lane for a inside quick shot! **Very important, screen and ROLL!!!! Don't forget to ROLL!
4. BLOCKING OUT! I counted at one time that our opponent got 5 chances to shoot under their own goal.....we must get in a good block out position. Use your bodies to get a good position and keep our opponent away from the ball.
By fourth quarter, I could tell we were starting to "recall" some of the things that we had forgotten. The press looked great! The press break was working amazingly!! **That is, once we all were in the right positions.
And don't forget---every INBOUND DEFENSE we will defend as a man to man. If you see a man is not covered, yell to your teammates "MAN OPEN" so they can easily find him and get on him!
We still are a bit rusty with our shooting, but that will come!! And we need a bit more work on having better feetwork on defense....which we will work on this week at practice.
Again, I am pleased with what we accomplished with our first game of the
season. I expect to see much improvement with the weeks coming up!!
Can't wait!!! :-).
BTW: I will have stat sheets for you to see at practice this week! See ya Thursday!
It wasn't pretty but we did start our season off with a big win against a well respected team last night! I am not at all disappointed in our play, as I know that this is our first game. It took us a good three quarters to get our mojo going. In matter of fact, this was the first time we even ran the press and press breaker at all (since we haven't had a full court to practice on in the past couple of weeks). So considering that, I am pleased with how we worked out the kinks in this first game!! (Now, let's not have too many more kinks here on out! LOL)
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| Jump Ball-Game ONE |
A few things we need to be reminded of............
1. HUSTLE and STAY FOCUSED- Always know what defense we are in (usually a 3-2 zone, but sometimes a man).
2. BUST YOUR TAIL to get into our 22 Full Court Press---too many times, we simply just didn't hustle into our Press Positions, which caused us to get beat down the court. This shouldn't be happening with the quickness we have on our team!!
3. SET MORE SCREENS- Last night, I only saw us setting screens for the guy who was in possession of the ball. **I would like to see our wings go set a screen down low and pop a post out for the ball?? Or have a post, screen away and cut across the lane for a inside quick shot! **Very important, screen and ROLL!!!! Don't forget to ROLL!
4. BLOCKING OUT! I counted at one time that our opponent got 5 chances to shoot under their own goal.....we must get in a good block out position. Use your bodies to get a good position and keep our opponent away from the ball.
By fourth quarter, I could tell we were starting to "recall" some of the things that we had forgotten. The press looked great! The press break was working amazingly!! **That is, once we all were in the right positions.
And don't forget---every INBOUND DEFENSE we will defend as a man to man. If you see a man is not covered, yell to your teammates "MAN OPEN" so they can easily find him and get on him!
We still are a bit rusty with our shooting, but that will come!! And we need a bit more work on having better feetwork on defense....which we will work on this week at practice.
Can't wait!!! :-).
BTW: I will have stat sheets for you to see at practice this week! See ya Thursday!
Welcoming a New Season of Hoops
Let's Get This Season Started!?!?!
We have had a very slow start to this basketball season due to the extended football seasons (sharing athletes) and now due to extreme winter weather conditions. The good news is that has allowed me a little extra time to get caught up on this blog and such before actually starting our season!! :-).
First things first. I want to welcome a couple of new additions to our team: Chase Harrison #6 and Josh Magers #11. We are excited about having Chase and Josh with us this year.
Also, Davis Autry is playing full time for his homeschool team, therefore he will not be a full time player for us. However, don't be too surprised to see him pick up a few games for us and attend some of our practices. :-).
GOALS FOR THIS YEAR
1) Continue to grow our 8-9 players into a very well synced and competitive TEAM.
2) Challenge this team---if you look at our schedule, you will notice we are in a much more competitive league this year. I do think we will be put to the test often this year! I LIKE THAT!! This year won't be about winning all the time. It will be about learning to COMPETE.
3) To learn to properly press and break a press. **This year we are allowed to press the full length of the game!!
4) Create our own plays....not always depending on me to call the play but to have our players learn to "develop their own plays" as they see the court and work the defense!!
5) We are likely to be one of the shortest teams---so let's out hustle & defend and use our fundamental skills to out play our opponents.
6) HAVE FUN!!!! This is listed last, but it is the MOST IMPORTANT!!!
We open our season next week against a very well coached team, XPRESS. Zander, my son, plays for XPRESS in the Competitive League. This rec team of XPRESS is a B team to that team. They are used to running and gunning and pushing the ball. Their fundamental skills are still developing (much like our team) and they lack experience and teamwork, but they do not lack hustle and have already been playing some basketball this season!! I expect this to be a hard game to open with...and I do want to beat them!! HA!
As for the cancellation this past weekend....I will keep you up to date with when that game will be rescheduled.
Hope to see everyone Thursday at 6:30pm.
We have had a very slow start to this basketball season due to the extended football seasons (sharing athletes) and now due to extreme winter weather conditions. The good news is that has allowed me a little extra time to get caught up on this blog and such before actually starting our season!! :-).
First things first. I want to welcome a couple of new additions to our team: Chase Harrison #6 and Josh Magers #11. We are excited about having Chase and Josh with us this year.
Also, Davis Autry is playing full time for his homeschool team, therefore he will not be a full time player for us. However, don't be too surprised to see him pick up a few games for us and attend some of our practices. :-).
GOALS FOR THIS YEAR
1) Continue to grow our 8-9 players into a very well synced and competitive TEAM.
2) Challenge this team---if you look at our schedule, you will notice we are in a much more competitive league this year. I do think we will be put to the test often this year! I LIKE THAT!! This year won't be about winning all the time. It will be about learning to COMPETE.
3) To learn to properly press and break a press. **This year we are allowed to press the full length of the game!!
4) Create our own plays....not always depending on me to call the play but to have our players learn to "develop their own plays" as they see the court and work the defense!!
5) We are likely to be one of the shortest teams---so let's out hustle & defend and use our fundamental skills to out play our opponents.
6) HAVE FUN!!!! This is listed last, but it is the MOST IMPORTANT!!!
We open our season next week against a very well coached team, XPRESS. Zander, my son, plays for XPRESS in the Competitive League. This rec team of XPRESS is a B team to that team. They are used to running and gunning and pushing the ball. Their fundamental skills are still developing (much like our team) and they lack experience and teamwork, but they do not lack hustle and have already been playing some basketball this season!! I expect this to be a hard game to open with...and I do want to beat them!! HA!
As for the cancellation this past weekend....I will keep you up to date with when that game will be rescheduled.
Hope to see everyone Thursday at 6:30pm.
Dominating the Dawgs
WOW!!! These boys came out to play!!! O-MY-GOODNESS!!! I can't tell you how proud I am of them. They play AMAZING ball all the way around!
The Tiger defense was unbelievable. The guard combo of Bryson, Zander, and Mack was spectacular!!! The Dawgs couldn't penetrate or drive the ball on those boys very well at all! Superb job guys on great feet movement!!
And I can't tell you how impressed I was with our blocking and rebounding. The Dawgs very seldom got a second shot off because we had every man blocking out and jumping and grabbing that ball. If Davis or Zander weren't pulling down the rebounds, then another Tiger was! It's hard to beat a team that does this well!!
Our press break was excellently executed. We ran the court very well.....pushing the ball when we needed to and setting up an offense when we need to, too. Bryson and Zander worked really well together, running several screen and rolls, and they had some beautiful assist into our post.
Davis was a MONSTER underneath the boards...going up strong either for a great shot or rebound....and caught every pass the guards made inside to him!!
Zander was a dribbling maniac, dribbling through several guards with his head up to make some amazing assist.
Bryson was a defensive monster and executed many fast break and MADE his layups!
Jasek was a fierce post/guard who manhandle their big guy inside but did a great job boxing out!
Mack was our sub that came in to dominate on defense. Mack went to work overtime to help Bryson out with Bryson's driving point guard.
The Dawgs are a really good team! And I even told the boys that this team is actually a faster team than us.....which is the reason why I had to change up the game plan tonight. The Dawgs play with 4 quick guards and one big boy underneath. Mack came in as a sub and helped us pick up our quickness tonight. He did an outstanding job on defense tonight! Therefore, he gets player of the game!!
Scorers for tonight's game: Davis Autry 14, Zander Turner 13, Bryson Rigsby 6, Mack Whittaker 4, Jasek Hooker 2, Trey Phillips 2.
We go into the Championship game as "underdogs" on Wednesday night! We have something to prove and something we are playing for. If we keep up the good teamwork and the hard hustle, we can come out on top!!!
The Tiger defense was unbelievable. The guard combo of Bryson, Zander, and Mack was spectacular!!! The Dawgs couldn't penetrate or drive the ball on those boys very well at all! Superb job guys on great feet movement!!
And I can't tell you how impressed I was with our blocking and rebounding. The Dawgs very seldom got a second shot off because we had every man blocking out and jumping and grabbing that ball. If Davis or Zander weren't pulling down the rebounds, then another Tiger was! It's hard to beat a team that does this well!!
Our press break was excellently executed. We ran the court very well.....pushing the ball when we needed to and setting up an offense when we need to, too. Bryson and Zander worked really well together, running several screen and rolls, and they had some beautiful assist into our post.
Davis was a MONSTER underneath the boards...going up strong either for a great shot or rebound....and caught every pass the guards made inside to him!!
Zander was a dribbling maniac, dribbling through several guards with his head up to make some amazing assist.
Bryson was a defensive monster and executed many fast break and MADE his layups!
Jasek was a fierce post/guard who manhandle their big guy inside but did a great job boxing out!
Mack was our sub that came in to dominate on defense. Mack went to work overtime to help Bryson out with Bryson's driving point guard.
The Dawgs are a really good team! And I even told the boys that this team is actually a faster team than us.....which is the reason why I had to change up the game plan tonight. The Dawgs play with 4 quick guards and one big boy underneath. Mack came in as a sub and helped us pick up our quickness tonight. He did an outstanding job on defense tonight! Therefore, he gets player of the game!!
Scorers for tonight's game: Davis Autry 14, Zander Turner 13, Bryson Rigsby 6, Mack Whittaker 4, Jasek Hooker 2, Trey Phillips 2.
We go into the Championship game as "underdogs" on Wednesday night! We have something to prove and something we are playing for. If we keep up the good teamwork and the hard hustle, we can come out on top!!!
Gunter 5th Grade Select
The Gunter Tigers, coached by Mandy Turner, are dedicated to playing
all-out on offense and defense and getting better each and every practice.
The Tigers start the 2012 basketball season as a Frisco Field House league and tournament team.
These boys have been selected because of past association on Mandy's teams and their dedication to learning and playing hard.
.JPG)
The Tigers start the 2012 basketball season as a Frisco Field House league and tournament team.
These boys have been selected because of past association on Mandy's teams and their dedication to learning and playing hard.
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