Coaches Resources
"When A Margin of Victory is Too Much?"
I was recently putting some thought into the question of "when a margin of victory is too much?" I spent some time reflecting on the issue myself and scouring the internet and some other resources I have for a consensus. Unfortunately what I have come up with is a personal opinion and not a guideline. There are no guidelines when it comes to "Coaching Philosophies", you cannot have a consensus, that is what makes every coach unique. It involves following your own path and deciding what works for you, and what you are willing to do to win games and improve your players.
Thus, what is a respectable margin of victory?
If you are playing against another team that you could beat by 30 points but you only win by 20 points. Is this grounds for being upset as a coach? I believe it is. You have not played to your potential and as a team you did not put your best effort forth during that game. Whether you are playing a very good team or a very bad team the goal should be to put your best game forward. I believe that the "make at least 5 passes before scoring rule" sometimes implemented by coaches is more disrespectful to the other team then just playing hard. As a player I have been on the end of handing out some beatings and receiving some beatings. I would rather a team play hard the entire time then take it easy, or not take a potential easy basket due to having to pass the ball a certain number of times. I would rather earn a point then get one by another team taking it easy.
I think the key to this margin of victory question is the way you win. It is about "respecting" the other team enough to not treat winning by 30, 40 or 50 as a joke but rather a chance to put forth your best effort. If players on your team have worked hard during the off season and done everything you ask each and every practice, is it fair to ask that player to sit off for extended periods during this game? Is it fair to tell that player to cruise through the game? I don't feel it is fair. If a player of mine has worked as hard as they possibly can then I want them on the floor. If the players on the opposing team have not put in this same time or effort I don't think it is fair to limit "Reliable Ronny" because of "Lazy Larry".
The website "Michael Well's Basketball Coaching Information Webpage" offers an interesting article/book review on a book named "There's Only One Way to Win", written by Dick DeVenzio about his father, Coach DV. This article/book review poses some interesting points of view and is worth a read, the website states that:
Coach DV had a strong sense of the fact that a committed kid spends, in the off-season, about an hour for every minute of game time that exists during a season. If this kid gets taken out of a game and plays only half the time, that means he's getting only a half minute in return for his hour of effort. Is it fair to penalise a kid who has worked hard and to reduce his playing time and his point production, just because some other kids haven't made the same commitment? Coach DV didn't think so. He wanted his players to score as many points as their skills enabled them to score. That seemed appropriate. The score should reflect the ACTUAL difference in the skills of the two teams.
Any good team should work as hard as they can at all times on the floor. To take time off during a game, is unacceptable, if you want to be as good as you possibly can.
People who are not winners by nature don't readily comprehend the concept of "everytime reinforcement." Everytime reinforcement is a hallmark of those few people who truly understand what it takes to be successful in highly competitive environments. DV's one prime quality would have to be his ability--call it incredible energy and commitment--to correct every error he ever saw for forty years. Ahead by 40, down by 40, in games, in practice, with a headache, with a sore throat . . . the environment was NOT a factor.
In my opinion this is what playing competitive sport is all about.
However, this mode of thinking can be impractical when dealing with an Under 10 team or a team involved in a social competition. If you are not requiring your team to work hard during practice then don't expect things to go well during games. In the same respect, if you don't want to lose by 20, 30 or 40 then you need to put in the practice time.
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