Melrose Lady Raiders Basketball

The pursuit of excellence may not rhyme, but it certainly overlaps.  Here’s a link to an article about speculation, which applies equally well to basketball.

Process – Melrose has enjoyed a lot of basketball success, for a variety of reasons.  The most important is the players, and their development through basketball infrastructure. Although we don’t have a formal ‘curriculum’, we encourage players to develop through a process of athleticism, skill building, learning the game, and I have a particular interest in facilitating mental toughness.

Passion – Nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm. We want our players to love the game like we do, within the context of broader personal (family, academic) development. Passion for the game manifests itself in competitiveness, aggressiveness, and toughness.

Patience – When I was in the Navy, the nurses had a saying, “twelve weeks of corps school doesn’t make a nurse,” The wags among us added that “four years of nursing school doesn’t make a doctor.” And so it is with basketball, that young players take time to grow, literally and figuratively.  We’ll show you how to set and use a pick a hundred times if that’s what it takes. Our girls will learn to deny the passing lanes, and take away the backdoor cut, too. It takes time.

Prudence – “Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.” Newbies and veterans make errors, but veterans tend to make fewer and fewer consequential ones.  They don’t foul with the clock running down, they don’t foul three point shots, and learn not to retaliate after cheap shots. They channel frustration into higher levels of focus, anger into energy.

Psychology – The most important part of the body for basketball? The mind. Good players empower themselves via understanding the game and embracing a high level mental approach to play. We’ve reviewed what our team is doing to enhance our mental toughness, which applies every bit as much to math and English class as it does to the court.

Price – Success comes at a cost. Everyone decides how much of a price that they can pay, and paying a greater price doesn’t always mean greater success. “Work smarter, not harder” and “try easier” come to mind.

Personal – Everyone follows a different pathway and arrives at a different destination. Interest, ability, aptitude, effort, and other factors affect the journey, “First above all to thine own self be true.” A basketball player might become a dancer or musician, and sometimes the caterpillar becomes the butterfly. Enjoy the ride.