What a special time of year! Watching all of the late season action brings me back to being a pure fan of basketball – aside from the fact that I watch every game like a coach.
The pressure is on as teams are competing to avoid elimination for the ultimate goal of playing for a championship. Every team that is still playing has proven they belong. They’re disciplined and determined on every possession and their focus on the details is impressive, making for great basketball games. But more than the specific details of basketball, you get the sense that they are playing for something much bigger.
As a former player and now coach, I think I know what that something bigger is – seniors.
At the end of each season, especially in the last month of the season, you start to see a change in the players’ sense of purpose. The team’s results of those changes can vary from poor outcomes to extremely strong and powerful outcomes. But ultimately the group of young men or women that have been together for months, or even years, start to realize the end is near. When that last contest is completed, the seniors are no longer a part of the team.
I’ve seen this impact take on many shapes. I’ve seen players be afraid of the last moments of their career. I’ve seen players inspired to be better teammates than they ever thought they were capable of as the end is in sight. I’ve seen players perform great in the last moments of their long career. I’ve witnessed teams play well and I’ve seen teams implode and fall short of their potential in those moments. But one thing remains constant, when the last horn sounds and there are no more practices or games, the seniors get extremely emotional.
No player or coach is ever prepared for the last game of the season let alone the last game of an individual’s career. Teams and players expect to win every game. Since there is no time to prepare for being on the losing end of what will be a senior’s last game, the emotions hit quickly and are very overwhelming.
Most seniors in high school or college basketball will never play organized ball again. That is a hard thing to cope with. And for the few select seniors that are afforded the opportunity to go on playing professional basketball, the reality is that their pro experiences will never be the same as representing their school on the court with their best friends. When the realization sinks in, it is a sad moment for all hoopers.
During these tournament games when I see a coach mention that he doesn’t want to lose this group of seniors, or when I see a player on the floor with his head in his shirt coping with the agony of defeat, I’ll think of myself as a senior in college. I’ll think of my former teammates when they were seniors in college. I’ll think of the many seniors I have been fortunate enough to coach. And I’ll try to pay attention to the seniors in each game I’m watching, because I know they are giving everything they have for another chance at putting on their school’s uniform.
Good luck to all the remaining postseason teams – especially the seniors!
– Coach Mike McGarvey
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