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Flashback to 10 years ago: I was an eighth-grade student at St. Catherine of Siena School in Albany and co-captain of the junior boys' CYO basketball team. I remember watching my coach every practice and every game, thinking, "I'll bet I could do that someday. It seems pretty easy."

That someday presented itself to me this fall, when I took over as head coach for a Mater Christi junior girls' Troy CYO basketball team, one of the Albany parish's two teams in that age category.

Tryouts had already taken place and teams were already established. I was told I had some good players, but the team was young and a little undersized. That didn't matter, though; the competitor in me knew that I could make the team a winner.

Then came our first game. The size of my girls made the opposing team look like even larger versions of LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal. It was not a pretty sight, as we lost the game 52-8 - not exactly the way anyone wants to start their coaching career.

Since then, things have gotten much better. Aside from the first few games, we have been a relatively competitive team, even winning three games to date. I expect more to be on the way.

For me, though, the experience has gone beyond wins and losses. Coaching a girls' basketball team is tough work. Going into it, I thought only of basketball and ways to win. The thoughts of managing the girls' playing time, scheduling extra practices and games, and finding parents to help out with the concession stand and door sales never even entered my mind - until the time came when I had to organize all these things, not to mention having to deal with nine middle-school girls at once.

But thanks to the tremendous help from all the parents, an extremely smart and helpful assistant coach and the other coaches at Mater Christi, I have been able to settle in nicely.

It's been one of my best experiences. All nine girls have become more than just basketball players to me. My mindset has strayed away from, "What can I do to become a great coach?" to, "What can I do to make them great players?" When we lose, I blame myself. When we win, it's all because of the way the team played.

That's not all that has changed. The girls have definitely grown on me. I no longer want to be just their basketball coach; I want to be a mentor.

Since taking the coaching position, I've realized that there is a great responsibility that comes with it. I know my name is now attached to those girls, as well as the entire parish of Mater Christi.

Knowing this has helped me mature. I no longer want to teach the girls just the game of basketball, but the life lessons that come with it. That includes responsibility, teamwork and good sportsmanship.

That being said, the competitor in me will never vanish. I'm still intense at practices and you'll still see me constantly pacing around during games, pumping my fist after every basket and yelling for the girls to play strong defense. I still want them to be successful on the court, but now I also want them to be just as successful off it.

(Adam Rossi is the sports correspondent for The Evangelist.)

(02/11/10)[[In-content Ad]]

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