It’s been a long time since we first started practicing in November. Our goal every year is to continue to progress and improve so that we are playing our best basketball when the end of the season rolls around. It’s been a long journey, but we feel like we are achieving that right now.
With the playoffs beginning, this team is really starting to click. From top to bottom this year, our league has been one of the best in the state. That kind of depth presents a variety of challenges every night during the league season, but it can definitely serve to prepare us for the playoffs. This team has responded well to the challenges they’ve faced week in and week out and are playing with a lot of confidence right now.
Last week’s league playoff game was a great tune-up for us as we prepare for the playoffs. Although we knew that both teams would advance to the state playoffs regardless of the result, we did all we could to approach that game like a state playoff game. It was a great opportunity for our kids to experience the intensity of a playoff atmosphere, without the win-or-go-home threat hanging over our heads.
Our kids responded well to that environment and we hope to ride that momentum into and through this Friday night’s game. One of the challenges we faced early in the year was our tendency to focus on the end of the season. We spent a lot of time talking about the importance of preparing now for games in February and March. In retrospect, that kept our focus from being singular to the task at hand (being the best we could be on that particular night).
We made a conscious effort to change our focus to a narrower one, aimed directly at the goals for the current day. That is a focus we are continuing at this point. It can become easy to start looking ahead to the state tournament in Coos Bay and that excitement can definitely distract us from our current goal (getting better today and winning Friday night).
Coach Chris Schofield
We will be making every effort, however, to keep our focus entirely on Salem Academy Friday night. They are a talented team with an impressive history. They are strong defensively and have some size in the post that we are working to scheme against this week. At this time of year, we are basically fine-tuning the things that we already have in and maybe tweaking some things slightly from game to game.
It can be tempting to add a lot of X’s and O’s, but we prefer to simplify and focus on the things that have made us successful throughout the year. With a home game Friday night, we are hoping for another great crowd to help carry us through against Salem Academy!
