Solent Suns Coaches's Blog

Patron of Passion: Lessons from Borseth April 16, 2010

This week I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about passion!  After loosing the Championship game last weekend to Stockport, I felt heartbroken.  Initially I was sad that I couldn’t do more to help my team win.  My own passion blinded me to the fact that my job is not just to reinforce our philosophy and demand effort and focus.  When everything you’ve done during the hours and hours of training over the season doesn’t work, you – the coach – have to find some way to help your team be more successful.  It could be some inspiring words that help remind the team about their strengths and get them to play less tight; it could be simple out-of-bounds play; alternatively you might be able to focus the team on a mismatch or a particular read that if exploited could turn momentum in your favour.  However, like players coaches sometimes get caught up in the moment and their passion, turns to frustration, frustration that prevents them from giving their players the kind of feedback that could help them change tempo, make an adjustment or turn the tide.

I was thinking about this type of frustration when I saw the following video on Facebook: -

Kevin’s rant at first seems funny, even outrageous…but I empathise.  I’ve felt this type of frustration at least 7 or 8 times this season, not always after a loss, but sometimes during a game in which we were eventually to go on and win.  I’ve occasionally expressed this frustration to players.  I’ve been slightly more restrained when conversing with parents, but I can assure you my life partner isn’t always that lucky.  Some people don’t understand why some coaches go so crazy when they lose a game or win, and feel such a rush of emotion.  But maybe seeing Coach Borseth in different light gives a small window into why he cares so much about setting standards, putting forth effort, taking risks and reaching for the seemingly impossible.

I watched the following video a few minutes ago and I realised that I’m not crazy or weird. When you feel passionately about a group of people who you really believe in, passion (and frustration) can easily run high.

I love this coach.  He epitomises what I enjoy about coaching – helping people to the best version of themselves they can be.  More than that, when you as an individual can make someone else – in Coach Borseth’s words “feel good about themselves”, this is a truly powerful and rewarding feeling.

I look forward to learning from Coach Borseth and expressing my love for the basketball (and coaching) in a manner that respects both the game and the people I have the privilege to work with.