Head Coaches Darian Brown and Kris Richardson have been stockpiling frequent coaching miles since their seasons began. But last week was played at a pace that would have had the National Basketball Association talking about load management.
The week started out with road games at Christiansburg Middle School and after one day off they returned to The Hill for back to back contests, including a night with neighborly Galax in the house.
One more day off followed and then it was back on the Bus 🚌 for a three game tournament up in Wytheville. The day started with 8am and 9am contests and ended late in the afternoon for both squads.
Playing an already condensed eight week schedule, week number two presented some unique challenges for the coaching staffs and the parents who were wanting to enjoy seeing their Sons or Daughters play their games. Then there are the young Student Athletes to consider and that’s when the Head Coaches offered their thoughts on the week.
” The biggest challenge is trying to make adjustments during the games,” said Coach Richardson. ” My team is very young, and they don’t have the experience to adjust in a short time without practicing it. We have done well with the adjustments we make but it’s so much easier to break it down in person to show all the options that can happen as compared to drawing it on a board and erase it multiple time to show the same thing. I am personally a visual person, so seeing it live with all the moving players allow them to process it easier. Only having a few timeouts per game and an 8-10 minute half-time really shortens the time for change.”
Coach Brown echoed the thoughts after his team captured the Consolation bracket in Wytheville with back to back victories.
” I agree with what Kris said, I also think it’s challenging to keep them focused on wanting to win the next game,” said Brown. “They exert a ton of energy in to one game and then to wake up the next day and expect them to do it again can be challenging, especially for a middle schooler. We’ve had a few different guys step up in different ways this last week and that’s what I’m most proud of. They finished 4-2 on the 6 game stretch. They’re a scrappy bunch.”
Richardson and his Girls earned their initial victory of the season in the final contest on Saturday afternoon. The team had experienced a few close calls as of late, so getting over the hump was a great experience for the players to absorb.
Richardson knows that his team will eventually get there but would welcome more time for adjustments.
” The adjustments can be anything from how to guard certain plays that maybe they have never seen to someone running a 1-3-1 or a 1-2-2 trap and not having enough practice time to easily break the trap,” added Richardson.
No rest for the weary as both teams are set to add three more contests to the games played column beginning with a road trip to Pulaski County. Next stop will be st Galax and then back to The Hill to host Floyd County on Thursday.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 