I don’t like Western Nebraska; it’s either cold, windy, or
both. The drive there is long and has no scenery (granted most of our drives are like that). It’s an exceptionally difficult place to play; the officiating is always
terrible, even if it’s not biased it’s terrible, and Coach Dave Harnish is ALWAYS
prepared. I really don’t like Western Nebraska, but their coach is the coach in
the region that I respect the most. I’ve mentioned previously about sitting in
the Applebee’s in Scottsbluff, NE talking with Coach Harnish while he sat and
drank is tomato beers, but not much about him as an individual. I hate to admit
this, but he’s only the second coach that I’ve ever coached against more than once
that I haven't beaten: 0-5 (Paul Campbell from The Classical Academy beat me
twice my second year coaching at Rye and we never met again). It’s sad to say
that I might only have one more opportunity to beat Dave and that’s when WNCC come’s
to our place at the beginning of February as I’m uncertain if he intends to
continue his illustrious 25+ year career after this season. While I dislike
Western Nebraska, the gym, the town, the drive, I do thoroughly enjoy all of my
conversations with Coach Harnish. He’s a product of the Bobby Knight era and he
coaches like it. That’s not to say that he’s going to throw a chair across the
court or go on a tirade equal to that of Godzilla, but he is what is often
referred to as an “old school” coach. He doesn’t take any b.s. from anyone,
including his players, he coaches his kids hard and with everything he has and
he doesn’t simply expect the same in return, but demands it. There’s very
little emotion.
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| First Home Game: 11-15-2013 v Snow College |
Before the start of a game I always bring my kids into the
locker room one last time at 4:00 minutes before tip-off to give them final
instructions and a little refocus and “pump up.” While at Western I had to
leave to the locker room in the middle of a conversation with Coach Harnish to
give my kids the final pregame talk. Upon my return I apologized to Coach
and told him I had to give my kids one final pump up before they hit the floor. He
laughed a little and said that when he started coaching there was no such thing
as “getting pumped up.” He even went as far as to say that neither the words
nor the concept even existed. There was a time when every athlete was fully
prepared for the game in all aspects of the word, not because that was the
expectation, but because that was a standard; every athlete had that innate
desire within. He seemed to even get a little nostalgic in thinking about the
time when athletes gave everything they had every day, not because the coach
demanded it, but because that’s who they were. Now, athletes and people alike
need to be motivated just to do their jobs. As I sit and write this I can hear
our men’s team practice. Legendary recruiter and former coach Brad Franz just
finished giving a remarkable talk to our men about how good they could be this
year: if they listen, are coachable, and play with a sense of urgency all the
time they could win the region. Everything he said was absolutely true. Our
men’s program is one of the best in the country, but his words brought back the
thoughts that Harnish spoke of and a concern I’ve long had: why is there no
self-desire to be the best?
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| The 2013-2014 Lady Rattlers |
This season has been one of lofty expectations and fighting
complacency. At the beginning of any season the question that every person asks
every coach is, “How are you going to be this year?” Why that’s standard
practice I’m not really sure since coaches are either overly optimistic, or
overly conservative. There are countless factors that go into a successful
season: having talented players (probably the most important), coaching, team
culture and chemistry, scheduling, injuries, match-ups, timing of games, hot
streaks, outside factors (family problems, academic problems,
boyfriend/girlfriend problems), travel, crowds, etc. Success is never written
in stone for anyone; just ask the University of Kentucky who started the
2012-2013 season ranked #3 in the country and finished their season by losing
to Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT. My answer to that question this
year was always the same, “We’re either going to be really good, or really
average.” I’ve known since I finished my recruiting that we had the skill and
athleticism to be really good and compete for the Region IX championship, and
even despite our 1-3 start everyone else knew it too. Since our sluggish
beginning we’ve won 9 of our last 12 and sit with a 3-2 conference record (all
five games having been on the road). Through the first semester we’ve become
journeymen and road warriors. Our season once again started out in Frisco, TX
where we were able to shake off some rust, freshman jitters, and self-imposed sophomore
pressure. Of course on our way back we stayed in a motel that has probably been
used to film a horror movie, but the experience of both traveling and playing set the stage for the rest of our season.
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| Pretty sure this hotel wasn't safe. Amarillo by morning was a bad decision. |
Since the trek to Texas we’ve felt the cold winds of
Wyoming, seen the flatlands of Kansas and Nebraska, witnessed the grandeur of
Utah, and built lasting bonds over Thanksgiving Day meals at Ihop and
McDonald’s. We’ve survived injuries (We didn’t play with healthy roster until
the 11th game of the season), sickness (vomit on a bus ride through
a mountain pass isn’t all that fun), girls passing out, blood, hospital trips, creepy
motels, and wild bus rides. While we’re still far from our destination the
journey has been memorable. I’ve already learned a lot from my girls and I’m
not even talking about the weird turtle videos
they’ve shown me or about grandmas twerking (don’t ask).
 |
| Sophomore Stephanie Rey caught an elbow at McCook in our first conference game of the year. She finished the game with 14 points and 9 rebounds. |
From this point on the journey is about two things, one of
which I struggle with: urgency and joy. We’re an interesting combination, my
girls and I. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who gets sick when we lose,
and even when we win if we don’t perform to what I feel is the standard I still
don’t feel very good. Since our recent 2-game skid I’ve been scrambling
for ideas, struggling through sleepless nights, investing more time watching
film, and dissecting every action we do to try and fix our current issues. My
kids on the other hand don’t seem to have that same sense of urgency to break
through out of “average” and into “really good.” On the flip side, my kids love
each other a bunch. I’ve had groups that had great unity and chemistry, but
this group is a new standard. They genuinely enjoy each other. Every win is a
celebration, every bus ride is an adventure, and every moment has the potential
for joy. That’s not to say by any means that my girls don’t play hard every
game and don’t compete in practice every day, without exception they truly want to win and be good and they compete with intensity, but there isn’t that long-term focus
or vision of wanting to be best and then making that difficult investment to be
that. While it’s frustrating to not see kids in the gym for hours on their own,
or play every moment like it was their last, I know that I struggle greatly
with the joy part and I need them to be the way they are to help me with that.
I want to win, and I want to win all the time; not because I find joy in
winning, but because that’s who I am and I don’t know how to live any other way.
I suppose as a coach it’s my job to bring those two worlds together; to enjoy
the journey and the process and still have the intensity and the sense of
urgency to achieve that next level. Hopefully by the time I write again I will
have found the answer.
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| Happy Thanksgiving from McDonald's in Manti, UT! |
Till then,
-
Coach Kyle
