Coaches often shoulder the responsibility for a team’s success, earning praise for winning and blame after losses. But at the youth level, coaching goes far beyond a team’s record. Coaches are tasked with teaching the next generation of athletes how to be good teammates and responsible individuals. When juniors Anderson Lee, Braden Scott and Sam Morse decided to lead a sixth-grade basketball team, they quickly learned that mentoring players can be as hard as the game itself.
When Lee agreed to be a coach, he thought of his role as a fun side gig. He was going to be able to hang out with his friends, help some younger athletes and win a few games, nothing too serious. However, when he started working with the team, he saw just how important he and the game were to the players.
“I remember when I was in middle school and would look up to the varsity players, and now I am that varsity player,” Lee said.” What helped me take this position seriously is to remember when I was looking up to those guys. I forgot how I thought of basketball and sports when I was in sixth grade. When you are young, it does matter to you at that moment.”
Scott also saw the team’s passion for the game, specifically through two athletes. One is a vocal leader and skilled player who tries to encourage teammates no matter the situation and always competes. The other is selfless, passing the ball, getting rebounds and making hustle plays.
“You can tell all they want to do is win,” Scott said. “It’s been really fun to see how they’ve grown in different ways.”
The coaches have tried to foster their players’ passion for the game. Growing up, Lee learned passion from his old coach, a tough, no-excuse kind of leader. While Lee has tried to stay between being overly harsh and too soft, he believes that passion comes from developing skills.
“The best way to enjoy the game is getting better, seeing your skills develop and then winning,” Lee said. “The kids enjoy seeing their improvements and seeing how that helps them win.”
Scott has focused on developing the team’s culture. Over his coaching tenure, he has seen how the players have grown closer through tough times.
“They go through hard practices together, they run together, they win together,” Scott said. “Those shared experiences help them bond. Sometimes there’s conflict, and it’s interesting to watch and help them learn to resolve their issues.”
Like any team, there are ups and downs. Once, the team blew a late lead to a rival before losing on a buzzer-beater. To make matters worse, it was one player’s birthday.
“You could see it just break the kids,” Scott said. “One kid was breaking down, it was hard to watch.”
The coaches tried to take all the blame for the loss, claiming that they had let their players down. But the team still took their share of the responsibility.
“They said ‘No, we need to be better. We need to make more shots’” Scott said. “That was cool because at their age, I don’t know if I would be gracious enough to accept that loss and put that on myself, even though I’m given a scapegoat in the coaches.”
Afterwards, the coaches tried to find a way to teach the team a lesson and end the game positively. They had the player that was crying on his birthday break out the huddle.
“I thought it was a way to build camaraderie and leadership skills,” Scott said. “Where you’re there for your team no matter what, no matter how tough things get.”
In the week after the game, the players could have hung their heads, frustrated with their coaches and each other. Instead, they got back to work, practicing harder than ever.
“It lit a fire in them, because the next week we were going to play the same team again,” Scott said. “So they went super hard next practice to get better and put more work in. I feel like losing really brought out their competitive spirit.”
While competing is important, the coaches primarily want the players to enjoy the experience and the relationships that the players build with each other.
“They seem to have a lot of fun with each other,” Scott said. “It’s refreshing to see that any of the kids on the team can hang out together and they’ll be laughing. As a coach, their energy is infectious.”
Through their experiences, the three juniors have learned just as much as the players. Their role as coaches have taught them valuable lessons about leadership, relationships and facing adversity.
“I think a lot of times in high school you get bogged down with the stresses of academics and college,” Lee said. “Coaching these kids has changed my perspective to where I pay more attention to my relationships and things that will ultimately last longer in life.”