Taking the Next Step

Well it has been almost a week since our first tournament. While in most cases a silver would be something to be excited about BUT while we are proud we are not satisfied. It is time for us to take the next step forward on our journey.

Practice this week was uneventful due to missing players due to injuries and other commitments. It is unfortunate as my co-coach and I are looking forward to implementing some new aspects to our systems and at the same time getting back to the fundamentals. The next two weeks are hectic with the girls being on exams and practices being limited. We are taking a road trip on Saturday to watch an university game , play at halftime and meet the team after the game. We were invited by the team and I am excited to provide this opportunity for the girls. It will give them a glimpse of what the next level looks likes and hopefully provide some inspiration. The following day we get a rematch vs the Tri-county Academy at their home gym. It should be another exciting game as our girls now know they can play with and against older girls and TCA will probably come out with guns blazing to avenge how close we were last time. 

As a coach I am constantly seeking ways to improve in what I do and one way is the use of statistics to help me analyze our games.  It has opened my eyes to our strengths and weaknesses. One key example was our foul shooting and we were able to address this right away. We haven't got to the point we need to be at but we are making strides. One of our strengths is our ability to get shots up but it also illustrates our weakness in finishing.

Thru five games , the numbers show us :
62 shot attempts per game
29% shooting percentage
24 Free throw attempts per game
52% FT percentage
50 points per game
38 points against per game
In comparison OUA,OCAA teams have the following numbers for their top teams
OUA
39-44% shooting percentage
75-78 % FT percentage
OCAA
37.5 - 40 % shooting percentage
63-68 % FT percentage

Numbers don't lie and this provide us will the tools we need to help our team improve. From a coaching standpoint we are happy with our shot attempts and have not witnessed any poor shot selection from the players. In the past it was not uncommon for us to witness "Me vs We" shooting by some players but this team is not made of players with that mentality. Our next couple practices will have some main focus on not only shooting but also getting the players in better positions to be able to take easier shots.