If you are a high school or college basketball fan, you are in luck! Things are beginning to “pop”. The state playoffs are in high gear now, leading to the state finals soon. Several area teams are still in the chase and there is a good chance a couple of them might bring a big trophy home with them.
On the college scene, we have seen several ‘big upsets’ recently that has mixed up a lot of prefixed brackets. The ‘experts’ would have us to believe they know who is going to land “where” in the big tournament. But there seems to always be one Cinderella team that silently puts a hurt of the giant and eases past several teams, surprising even the experts. Over the years we can name these – LA Tech, Coastal Carolina, Loyola of Chicago and several ‘smaller schools’. Baylor is also a dream team, beating out the consensus favorite from time to time. Gonzaga has been one of the ‘crowd pleasers’ too. This year seems to be open season both for the women and men’s teams. Perhaps the races will be open until the very end – creating suspense right down to the wire. Let’s hope we will not have a “Super Bowl ending!”
I have favorite coaches as well as teams. Bill Self (Kansas), Bruce Pearl (Auburn), Rick Barnes (Tenn), Scott Drew (Baylor), Jon Scheyer (Duke), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Todd Golden (Fla) and Mike White (Georgia). I try to check on these teams each week just to keep abreast of how they are doing. Teams I have followed over the years include -Kentucky, Duke, Clemson, Kansas, Texas and Tennessee. Most recently, I have added: Auburn, Florida, Southern Miss and a few more. So with all these ‘favorites’, you can see I am setting myself up to (hopefully) to have at least a couple of them to make the top 16. We’ll see!
In the lives of most athletes, when asked, “Who has influence you most?” almost always the answer is “Coach.” Usually that title is spoken with reverence and with heartfelt emotions attached. I enjoy reading books about ‘coaches and their influence on their players.’ Michael Lewis in his book (COACH), writes about the great baseball coach Billy Fitzgerald who coached I. Newman High School in New Orleans for years. Read how he ‘touched’ so many young men and made a difference in their lives.
Brian Kilmeade (Fox News Channel) compiled interviews with many of America’ high profilers on ‘the power of sports and coaches’ in his best seller, “The Games Do Count.” Oliver North Bill O’Reilly, Condoleezza Rice, George W Bush, and Hannah Storm are among those he interviewed. All agreed “my coach made the difference.” Many young men and women today have similar reflections about their coach. Many of us have a ‘coach to thank’ for what he/she has done to help mold character, to develop loyalty and to learn the importance of teamwork and trusted relationships.
Parents understand the sacrifice and commitment involved in coaching through long seasons, winning or losing. If dealing with one or two teenagers at home brings stress and frayed emotions from time to time, try to be understanding when ‘coach’ is dealing with 15-20 basketball players, 25-30 baseball players or 40-60 young men of the football team. (The same goes for the women coaches who have the same challenges). Let’s use this special time of “March Madness” to say “Thanks Coach for spending time with our kids; thanks for the difference you are making in their lives.”
As we watch these exciting games throughout the tournament, consider isolating some of the outstanding players and coaches, identify some positive traits and actions of players and coaches….and drop a note of encouragement to some of them. Google can provide the mailing address of the coaches and teams. You may never receive a response, but don’t be surprised if you do. Everyone likes to be complimented from time to time.
Bill Crider Chaplain
Minden Medical Center