So my boys had their very first tournament this week. We played a one-day tournament at the Rally Pointe facility on the southern edge of Calgary. The head of the tournament structured it so that start times were staggered by proximity to Calgary, so we got to start at 11.15. The downside to this was that we played three games back-to-back to start the tournament.
There were only six teams there – three from Calgary, two from Red Deer (including my little brother’s team) and us from Lethbridge. There were two round robin games and then we headed straight into play-offs. Not to ruin the ending here, but we definitely got fourth. We lost both round robin games, won the quarter-final (can you call it that if there are only six teams total?) and then went to to lose the semis and the bronze match.
The boys played amazing. The scores didn’t always reflect how well they played. They mastered the 3-man serve receive we’ve been pushing on them, they got some practice running a 6-back defense and they finally wrapped their heads around what it means to be in free ball position. We learned a lot. I also learned a lot about coaching and the coaching dynamics that will be happening on the team. The other coach and I don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on all coaching decisions. My firm belief is that coaches are responsible for setting players up for success (oh wait, does this sound similar to my beliefs about teaching, where teachers set students up for success?) and not in a position where they will fail. You do not make your players do something in an important situation that they are worried about, that they are not good at, that they are not confident with. These are 12- and 13-year-old boys. They can be, and for the most part are, overly sensitive.
I feel like that was not the case.
But there are lots of tournaments left and we need to work on improving for our first Premier in March! Should be nerve-wracking and exciting.
In other news, I’m off to my Orientation tomorrow! Can’t wait to tell you all about it!
<3 Bri