Sometimes people tend to think that the basketball players are treated differently, given things just because of who they are. I cannot argue that basketball isn't a big deal in our town. I can't argue that maybe they get a little more attention than regular students. But I can argue that they have to deal with me and I am not always the easiest person to please, plus my expectations for them off the court is something few other students have to deal with.But, with that being said, I would argue that some of that extra attention is deserved. Let me explain. When the season ends in March, there is a meeting for any boy 8-11 who wants to play basketball next year. At that meeting they are given a schedule of the expectations for them in June and July.
In the month of June, if they want to be considered seriously for basketball in the winter, they must be at HHS for practice 3 times a week for 2 hours. Then for 3 weekends, they are expected to attend any tournaments that are scheduled. Also, games can be added during the week. They do all this and work and try to have some fun also in the summer. In July, I am not as demanding of their time. We have 6 old school Open Gyms, and I am more flexible, but it is still nice to see the guys take it seriously.
That doesn't sound like much, right? As soon as school begins, there is another meeting and at that meeting they are given schedules of open gyms, conditioning, and the first day of practice. Open gym is in September, 3 days a week, conditioning is in October for 3 days a week, and practice begins on November 9. When practice begins, many of the high school basketball players will have worked "officially" on their games approximately 44-46 days with me.
Then practice begins, and depending on the length of the season, they will have approximately 75 practices to go with 21-25 games. That is almost 1/3 of the year they are doing something basketball related. We do something basketball related in all or parts of every month of the year when you throw in elementary basketball intramurals on Saturday mornings that some of the guys come to.
That is a dedication that warrants and almost demands respect. Two things with that: 1. Just because it warrants or demands respect, doesn't mean that respect should be expected by the players. They should never behave in a manner publicly that is an air of arrogance because of that, but they should know inside that they are special for it. Which gets me to 2. Every year it seems that fewer and fewer high school boys choose to do what I have written about. That is o.k., there are zero hard feelings on my part, not everyone is cut out for it, I understand. They may have likes in something else where they can be just as dedicated. But it does show how each year in an instant gratification society how special those who do participate in basketball are.
And what about the pressure? The pressure to succeed in something that many, many people care about. Home games of 800-2000 in attendance, every single game. I know students who would be scared to walk out on the gym floor with that many in attendance and these guys are competing and possibly failing in front of that many people. Students align their work schedules around the games so they can be part of the game. Tournaments where every possession on defense and offense counts, and will be critiqued if the game is lost.
Those 15-24 guys out of 300+ students deserve respect. They deserve at least a pat on the back. But, they also must understand that the respect, that pat on the back isn't just given, it is earned. There are generations of HHS basketball players before them, some hugely successful, others not, but all who busted their tails for the school and the program. There are generations of HHS basketball players who will come after them who will do the same, and many of those future generations (the little kids) look up to them as if they are rock stars. Which brings its own different type of pressure.
I want to close by saying that even though I have let you in on how I believe the basketball players should be perceived, I also want everyone to know that my high expectations on their behavior both on and off the court rarely are met. Many players past and present can tell you stories where their lack of meeting my expectations off the court has rendered harsh, um, re-alignment of their behavior.
