Enter Coach in office, locker room, gym or classroom filled with his team. At his disposal is a blackboard or dry erase board and chalk or markers. He says nothing but writes a simple score on the board.
TEAM A 74
TEAM B 68
He lets the team take in the odd information that is on the board. Always the Intriguing Coach.
Coach: What can you tell me of the score that I have just written on the board? What can you deduce?
One of the player makes a crude comment about one of the teams score seemingly oblivious that they have just gotten it handed to them the past 4 games, hence the reason for the calling of this team meeting. The Coach shrugs it off to immaturity. The ever Patient Coach.
Coach: Is there anyone in this room who can tell me what they can decipher from the information that has just been written on the board?
Number 3: Team A won the game. (Smugly, thinking that this was a waste of time, but being he was some what of the “leader” of the team, he sat there.)
Coach: Mmmm. OK. And how do you that?
The team getting somewhat ambiguously curious and irritated. Wondering what the point of this meeting was.
Number 3: Because obviously Team A has more points.
Coach: Very astute and observant conclusion. Can anyone else in this room conclude any other information with the score that is posted? How else would one conclude that Team A has won?
Awkward silence blankets the room. The team awaits the conclusion of this meeting anticipating on soon having a ball in their hands to run what they think is there mindless drills.
Coach: If no one else can deduce any other way of how they know this team won then I’ll get on with it. Who knows what a paradigm shift is? Let me introduce you to Stephen Cavey.
Again, silence encumbers. Without so much as a missed beat he begins his point and suddenly the team is intrigued. Always the Determined Coach.
Coach: A Father and his two kids were riding a bus in the busy city of Anytown, USA. He seemed to be in lack of control of his kids as they were screaming hysterically, yelling at each other, bouncing on the seat and occasionally running around on the bus. The Father just sat there with a blank stare on his face and seemed to be completely oblivious to the entire situation. Didn’t seem to know of his kid’s behavior or even really seemed to care. To the entire Population of the Bus he just seemed to be another one of those parents who scream Ritalin before discipline. Unable to take any more of this lack of parental responsibility an elderly woman stood up and approached the abilityless Father.
“Sir, I hate to intrude, but don’t you see your kids just running amuck on this bus? Don’t you hear how loud and obnoxious they are being? And excuse me for saying but how can you call yourself a father and let them do what ever they want where ever they want and sit there and act like the effects of the world don’t concern you? Don’t you appreciate the fact that there are others around you?”
After what seemed like quite a long time with out so much of a nod of her existence, the old woman huffed and started to go back to her own seat content in knowing that at least she did her job raising her children right, when the Father began to speak.
“My apologies ma’am. See, my children and I have just returned from the hospital where we learned that their mother, my wife, has just passed away from complications of emergency surgery after getting hit by a car. I guess they are expressing their emotions right now, as am I, in our own way.”
The old woman was shocked as she was embarrassed looking down as if searching to see if her soul was still there ready to cry for the mans forgiveness over the heartless things that had so easily poured out of her mouth just several minutes ago. And before she could apologize for her behavior the Father and children got off at the next stop. And the bus kept on its timely schedule.
Each one of the players didn’t look away from the coach once. Likewise the Coach didn’t look at anything else other than each of his players eyes. Piercing their hearts and busting through the cold brick wall that surrounded their hearts like a citadel. Softening them back to the time when it seemed they were innocent enough to still be moldable. The Coach knew he had gotten to them. The strategy worked. Always the Insightful Coach.
Now out of the trance of the story he addresses his now attentive team.
Coach: What this old woman just experienced was a paradigm shift. In other words, not all information given to you tells an entire story until you get the entire story for yourself…or…you are content with not knowing. Some people refer to this as “thinking outside the box.” Not everything is as it seems. Some times it takes logic to deduce your answer to a question, sometimes it takes faith. Look at the score again and tell me what you see. How do you know Team A is the winner?
Finally the true leader is revealed. And with remarkable poise opened his mouth and out came an answer of faith.
Number 13: Because Team B has the least amount of points.
Snickers from his very own teammates around the room.
Coach : ( He smiled.) You are correct. What can you deduce, logically now?
Number 13: That Team A held Team B defensively to only 68 points.
Coach: ( He smiled again. Ever the Content Coach.) That is correct.
As he patiently made his way to his point.
Coach: You see, the game of basketball does not require the brains of Sir Isaac Newton, or the creativity of Leonardo Da Vinci, or the deductive reasoning ability of Sir Arthur Doyle. It is a simple game of logic. Who ever scores the least, looses. You can expect to have possession of the ball anywhere from 38%-63% of the time. You will get opportunities to score. The game is won on the idea and belief of stopping the opponent to score. Look at one of the most key aspects of the game. Protecting the ball. If Team A forces Team B into 25 turn overs this means that they have an additional 25 times to score. They hypothetically score on 19 of those 25 opportunities and that’s 38 points or more. Simple logic. And it all started on the defensive end. See, the gentlemen that I mentioned before are brilliant. But look at the attributes that I listed. Does it take discovering the theory of Gravity to be a good basketball player…no? It just takes good decision making ability. Do you have to paint or create works of art such as The Madonna on the Rocks or invent machines before their time…? No. You just need to think outside the box. Do you have to solve murder mysteries to be a good basketball player…no? You just need a little logic. A team who uses all these attributes on the defensive end as much as they do on the offensive end…well logic would tell me you will stop the other teams ability to score and therefore win.
The Coach takes a pause and lets his team soak in the basketball philosophy he has just laid before them.
Coach: Ultimately though, there is a character lesson in this for you. You have to ask your self-a question. Am I constructive or destructive? Who would you be on the bus? Would you be the rash Old Woman, who jumps and caters to her emotional thoughts? Doesn’t allow logic to enter her mind or the possibility that something is not what it seems. Are you the Population of the Bus? Judgmental on how some else acts and has not the guts to stand and say something. Some one who is content in there misunderstanding and ignorance. Are you the Father? Compassionate, understanding but distraught and flabbergasted when things seem to go wrong. Are you the Children? Who are completely unable to communicate their emotions and can not be communicated with. Or are you another character who was vaguely mentioned but probably the most important. Are you the Bus Driver? Who remains focused and ever steady. Who hears everything that is going on through distractions and curiosities and still remains to drive in forward motion still maintaining his schedules and stops. Accomplishes what he was set out to do.
The point is this. Every in life falls in these categories. Who are you and do you believe in this philosophy of winning games and living life.
Number 13 smiles.
Always the Wise Coach.
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This Text is written in the language of conversation. It should not be read like you would read a novel. It is to be read as how you would give a speech or conversing with someone, not grammatically correct or incorrect.
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