My first season as a Varsity Head Basketball Coach begins with tryouts in exactly one week. With a new season on the horizon, I always like to look back at why I do what I do and to answer the following questions. What is the point in becoming a High School Basketball Coach? What can I possibly accomplish in a few short months? I am here to make a difference in the lives of kids. I am here to teach them through a sport how to work with others, how to sacrifice yourself for the betterment of the group, and how to grow and mature through a common goal. Teaching Basketball is teaching life. It is my job to help my players become overachievers, while doing my part to guide them down a path towards a successful future. High School Basketball is not about me. It is never about the coach. It is about the lives of the 12 kids on my roster. This brings me to remember my favorite season as a coach. Keep reading, this story is worth the time.
I eagerly anticipated my second season in Seattle with the Summit Invaders. I was fortunate to return as the assistant varsity coach and head JV coach at the Seattle alternative school. This was a school for students who did not succeed at other schools for one reason or another, and we had a variety of players on our roster from many different, and equally difficult backgrounds. The Summit basketball players had not been known for being the most successful students after they left school, this group proved them wrong. I also was back working for our head coach, Jay Gahan. Jay is the epitome of a coach. He cared more about the kids than about himself, and would do anything to help them grow into responsible, contributing citizens. In a game littered with parasites, people who use kids to make themselves look good, there are not enough Jay Gahan's. Every day on the court, I try to emulate the great character of this man. If I even get halfway there, I will have had a rewarding career. People like Jay are found the most at the high school level. They don't see youth basketball as a 'business', they see it as a way to teach life lessons. This is where basketball is at its best, and where I am going to stay. I have no desire to be a college coach. I only desire to make a difference, like Jay did.
The 2008-09 season at Summit did not start well. By the beginning of the school year, rumors were buzzing that our school was on the district's list to be shut down due to money concerns. Most of our players were underclassmen, and their futures were up in the air and they had no control over it. To say our group was distracted was an understatement. We lost often and badly. Our season had spiraled out of control as we left for a winter tournament without our starting point guard who slept through our departure time (he had insomnia and hadn't slept regularly for weeks). We lost both tournament games, and as a result were sitting at 1-7 at the beginning of January. After a Saturday practice in which 6 varsity players skipped, we pulled the group together for another team meeting. We met, argued, left the team for a players-only meeting, returned to lead an uninspired practice. Our players had lost heart. They were losing their school, they were losing their season, and they were losing each other. There was no motivation. So, we made a switch. We put a sophomore point guard (who began the year as a swing player with the JV) into the starting lineup and moved our PG to the off guard position. They shared pg duties. We also abandoned the full court man-to-man and began playing a halfcourt man. More importantly, we tried to convince them that their season was the way to have Summit remembered. If they finish successfully, their school will not be forgotten. As the season wore on, we began to play much better. We were in close contests, and 1-7 turned to 7-12. The improvement, however was noticeable. To make the district playoffs, we would have to beat a team we lost to by 25, and the team that knocked us out of the playoffs the year before by 21 pts. We would also need Rainier Christian (who had beaten us twice) to lose to Kings West (who had 1 league win on the season). We were prepared for senior night to be the final game in Summit history. Our kids were not. I cannot begin to describe to you the size of the hearts on our team as we began to play on senior night. The night before our 'final game', Rainier Christian lost to Kings West. There was hope, then something clicked, and we beat Seattle Lutheran by 18. Our players played with the passion of that senior night the rest of the way. Our players took out Life Christian by 16 to make the district tournament. I spent most of my time calling coaches of common opponents, writing scouting reports and teaching our opponents offenses to our JV team. They picked the sets up immediately. Every player in our program was committed, confident, and energized. they had become the team we dreamed they'd develop into.
We then beat Quilcene (again, revenge from the previous year) as our senior guard, Kesean Prince, who sacrificed his role as our pg (and finally began sleeping) exploded for 21 in a 20 point win. We lost to Seattle Lutheran, but had made the bi-district tournament as the lowest seed. Our record was now 10-13.
Our first bi-district tournament game was at Darrington. Darrington hadn't lost a game at home all season and won their conference. Our kids executed the game plan perfectly, and we won by 4. Our Sophomore PG Ray Alvarez hit 2 FTs to ice the win. Then, we rode the lockdown defense of Robert Saunders to beat Mt. Vernon Christian by 12, earning Summit's first State Tournament birth since 1996. Summit had never won the bi-district tournament. The championship game would be played in two days. Our record was 12-13.
After two days of prepping for La Conner's low post motion offense, we took the court ready to play. We didn't have a player over 6'1 and they had a good balance of shooters and bigs. We fell behind by 12 points in the second half, but another JV swing player, Jason Castoriano shut down their post, and we began to crawl back into the game. La Conner missed some free throws, and Kesean Prince threw a bullet pass to Jake Roos who layed it in as time expired to send the game to overtime. Jake hit the biggest shot of his life (so far) on his 18th birthday. In overtime, we fell behind by 5 and again crawled back. With 4 seconds remaining, and down by one, Ray Alvarez took a transition jump shot to try to win the game. The shot was blocked and bounced out of bounds. Senior Captain (and 5'10 post) Terrell Shegog sacrificed his body diving out of bounds to save the ball under our basket. He scooped it in mid air and fired it to Jake Roos, who scored with 1.7 seconds remaining. La Conner threw their inbounds pass out of bounds and Summit had won our school's first district championship. They had done it while going for more than 10 assists and less than 10 turnovers for the game. That meant Coach Gahan and I had to coach the first state tournament game barefoot with all of our nails painted pink. Being men of our words, we did. Our record was 13-13.
The Summit Invaders had easily the worst record of all the teams in the state tournament. Our kids fought, but eventually lost in the first round of the State Tournament by 3 to the champion of the SW Washington league. Even though we didn't win the entire tournament, these kids showed heart, determination, resilience, and a willingness to sacrifice for their teammates that I've yet to see since. I thought I knew why I wanted to coach when I began. This team cemented it for me. The school did close, and we lost our jobs, which is why I ended up coming down to Westwind Prep. While I've learned a lot down here, I don't think I will ever learn the valuable lessons that I did that year at Summit. My only regret about that season is that I did not yet have the knowledge or contacts to help place these students into college. That Summit team only had two players who played basketball the next season. They were not overly talented, but no one could match their heart. They are the epitome of a team and a family. This is a group of kids that had been tossed aside, neglected, and thrown away, and they came together and achieved a common goal. Many of those who remember Summit, will do so because of these kids.I am thankful to each player and to Coach Gahan for allowing me to be a part of such a special season.
This team is why I coach basketball. I'm not down here (at Westwind Prep) to become a college coach or a prep school head coach. I'm here because of the kids at Summit. I am in my third year in the youth basketball 'business.' To be honest, I don't like it. There are too many bad people infesting youth basketball. This is why I am a high school coach. At the high school level, you find basketball at its purest form. It is reletively untainted by those looking to profit off of kids. The coaches are relatively genuine, and the spirit of competition is alive and well. The kids are playing for the love of the game, and the coaches are teachers of the essential skills of life.
For more information, follow me on twitter @coachdesautels
I eagerly anticipated my second season in Seattle with the Summit Invaders. I was fortunate to return as the assistant varsity coach and head JV coach at the Seattle alternative school. This was a school for students who did not succeed at other schools for one reason or another, and we had a variety of players on our roster from many different, and equally difficult backgrounds. The Summit basketball players had not been known for being the most successful students after they left school, this group proved them wrong. I also was back working for our head coach, Jay Gahan. Jay is the epitome of a coach. He cared more about the kids than about himself, and would do anything to help them grow into responsible, contributing citizens. In a game littered with parasites, people who use kids to make themselves look good, there are not enough Jay Gahan's. Every day on the court, I try to emulate the great character of this man. If I even get halfway there, I will have had a rewarding career. People like Jay are found the most at the high school level. They don't see youth basketball as a 'business', they see it as a way to teach life lessons. This is where basketball is at its best, and where I am going to stay. I have no desire to be a college coach. I only desire to make a difference, like Jay did.
The 2008-09 season at Summit did not start well. By the beginning of the school year, rumors were buzzing that our school was on the district's list to be shut down due to money concerns. Most of our players were underclassmen, and their futures were up in the air and they had no control over it. To say our group was distracted was an understatement. We lost often and badly. Our season had spiraled out of control as we left for a winter tournament without our starting point guard who slept through our departure time (he had insomnia and hadn't slept regularly for weeks). We lost both tournament games, and as a result were sitting at 1-7 at the beginning of January. After a Saturday practice in which 6 varsity players skipped, we pulled the group together for another team meeting. We met, argued, left the team for a players-only meeting, returned to lead an uninspired practice. Our players had lost heart. They were losing their school, they were losing their season, and they were losing each other. There was no motivation. So, we made a switch. We put a sophomore point guard (who began the year as a swing player with the JV) into the starting lineup and moved our PG to the off guard position. They shared pg duties. We also abandoned the full court man-to-man and began playing a halfcourt man. More importantly, we tried to convince them that their season was the way to have Summit remembered. If they finish successfully, their school will not be forgotten. As the season wore on, we began to play much better. We were in close contests, and 1-7 turned to 7-12. The improvement, however was noticeable. To make the district playoffs, we would have to beat a team we lost to by 25, and the team that knocked us out of the playoffs the year before by 21 pts. We would also need Rainier Christian (who had beaten us twice) to lose to Kings West (who had 1 league win on the season). We were prepared for senior night to be the final game in Summit history. Our kids were not. I cannot begin to describe to you the size of the hearts on our team as we began to play on senior night. The night before our 'final game', Rainier Christian lost to Kings West. There was hope, then something clicked, and we beat Seattle Lutheran by 18. Our players played with the passion of that senior night the rest of the way. Our players took out Life Christian by 16 to make the district tournament. I spent most of my time calling coaches of common opponents, writing scouting reports and teaching our opponents offenses to our JV team. They picked the sets up immediately. Every player in our program was committed, confident, and energized. they had become the team we dreamed they'd develop into.
We then beat Quilcene (again, revenge from the previous year) as our senior guard, Kesean Prince, who sacrificed his role as our pg (and finally began sleeping) exploded for 21 in a 20 point win. We lost to Seattle Lutheran, but had made the bi-district tournament as the lowest seed. Our record was now 10-13.
Our first bi-district tournament game was at Darrington. Darrington hadn't lost a game at home all season and won their conference. Our kids executed the game plan perfectly, and we won by 4. Our Sophomore PG Ray Alvarez hit 2 FTs to ice the win. Then, we rode the lockdown defense of Robert Saunders to beat Mt. Vernon Christian by 12, earning Summit's first State Tournament birth since 1996. Summit had never won the bi-district tournament. The championship game would be played in two days. Our record was 12-13.
After two days of prepping for La Conner's low post motion offense, we took the court ready to play. We didn't have a player over 6'1 and they had a good balance of shooters and bigs. We fell behind by 12 points in the second half, but another JV swing player, Jason Castoriano shut down their post, and we began to crawl back into the game. La Conner missed some free throws, and Kesean Prince threw a bullet pass to Jake Roos who layed it in as time expired to send the game to overtime. Jake hit the biggest shot of his life (so far) on his 18th birthday. In overtime, we fell behind by 5 and again crawled back. With 4 seconds remaining, and down by one, Ray Alvarez took a transition jump shot to try to win the game. The shot was blocked and bounced out of bounds. Senior Captain (and 5'10 post) Terrell Shegog sacrificed his body diving out of bounds to save the ball under our basket. He scooped it in mid air and fired it to Jake Roos, who scored with 1.7 seconds remaining. La Conner threw their inbounds pass out of bounds and Summit had won our school's first district championship. They had done it while going for more than 10 assists and less than 10 turnovers for the game. That meant Coach Gahan and I had to coach the first state tournament game barefoot with all of our nails painted pink. Being men of our words, we did. Our record was 13-13.
The Summit Invaders had easily the worst record of all the teams in the state tournament. Our kids fought, but eventually lost in the first round of the State Tournament by 3 to the champion of the SW Washington league. Even though we didn't win the entire tournament, these kids showed heart, determination, resilience, and a willingness to sacrifice for their teammates that I've yet to see since. I thought I knew why I wanted to coach when I began. This team cemented it for me. The school did close, and we lost our jobs, which is why I ended up coming down to Westwind Prep. While I've learned a lot down here, I don't think I will ever learn the valuable lessons that I did that year at Summit. My only regret about that season is that I did not yet have the knowledge or contacts to help place these students into college. That Summit team only had two players who played basketball the next season. They were not overly talented, but no one could match their heart. They are the epitome of a team and a family. This is a group of kids that had been tossed aside, neglected, and thrown away, and they came together and achieved a common goal. Many of those who remember Summit, will do so because of these kids.I am thankful to each player and to Coach Gahan for allowing me to be a part of such a special season.
This team is why I coach basketball. I'm not down here (at Westwind Prep) to become a college coach or a prep school head coach. I'm here because of the kids at Summit. I am in my third year in the youth basketball 'business.' To be honest, I don't like it. There are too many bad people infesting youth basketball. This is why I am a high school coach. At the high school level, you find basketball at its purest form. It is reletively untainted by those looking to profit off of kids. The coaches are relatively genuine, and the spirit of competition is alive and well. The kids are playing for the love of the game, and the coaches are teachers of the essential skills of life.
For more information, follow me on twitter @coachdesautels
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