Final Reflections on the JV Team

Well this season for the JV team flew by! I can remember the first week of practice thinking how the end of the season seemed so far away. Thinking back on what expectations I had for the team and how I thought the season would go it is interesting to see where it all ended up. I was nervous for the amount of girls we had on the team and getting everyone some playing time. I also was impressed with the amount of talent I had on the team this year. When it all started I was uneasy about the situation with the other JV coach. We didn't end things too well last year and I wasn't sure if the negativity was going to carry over from last year or if we could just let it be water under the bridge. There were some girls on the team this year I knew would produce a lot of results and there were others I didn't expect to do well at all. In addition to all of that I honestly thought this team would go undefeated this year.

Now that the season is over some of the things I expected happened and others situations I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. First off, our team did not go undefeated but we finished with an amazing record of 16-2. I was a little bummed that we took two loses for the season but overall I'm very pleased with the record. Even though at one point we had 18 players on the team, we still managed to get everyone some playing time. It wasn't easy to get everyone in the game all the time but we did our best. Some of the girls that I knew would be key players for our team this year produced results and even exceeded what I thought they would be capable of. Other girls that I didn't expect much out of surprised me constantly. It's amazing how much a little positive encouragement and telling a kid that you believe in them will do. One of the other great parts about this season was the fact that the other coach and I got along really well for 99% of the season. He and I have different coaching styles that are on opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm really intense and he's extremely laid back. I knew at the start of this season that we had to find a middle ground somewhere otherwise we would have struggled all season. With the leadership classes I've been taking I realized that I needed to tone my approach down to better match his and I had some pretty good ideas on how to do that. I believe that opposites attract and can work very well together if mixed properly. We worked really well this year and I think we both gave a little to find the middle ground. What was weird though is that neither of us ever talked about the situation, it just sort of worked out. He at times this year was a little more intense and pushed the girls harder than he usually did and I was a lot more laid back and let the little things that used to make me mad slide. It feels really rewarding that through applying some of the knowledge I acquired in the classroom about leadership I was better able to make the situation work for me, the other coach and the rest of the team. This was one of the best teams I have had the privilege of working with. I learned a lot from this season about coaching and leadership. The self reflecting I have done this year has been a great way for me to learn more about myself. I'm not sure where I'll go from here because now that I'm graduating from college I'll have to get a "real" job and I'm not sure that it will allow me to continue to coach at the high school level. If that ends up being the case I'm glad I had the opportunity to work with the girls on the JV team at this high school. It has been an experience I will never forget.