Coach Flip Naumburg's Journal

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

FIFTY SOMETHING

My brother-in law asked me today how many are on the CSU lacrosse team.  About 50 was my answer.  It got me thinking.  We often have fifty on the team with red shirts and all, though I have rarely if ever had a practice with 50 in attendance, at least all dressed and not injured, etc.  Then how do I know we have 50-ish?  It says so right there on the roster. 

Also, until I can put a name with a face I don't really count them, and as anyone who has played for me knows, the completion of me learning all names in a given year is none too quick of a process, but I've been to fifty and back that's for sure.

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?

Why do so many players continue to play on our team when most of the time 30 is more than plenty for a lacrosse team?  The obvious answer is that I have a policy of no cutting.  I don't think it is only that simple though.  There are many things for college students to do that are fun, but may take up less time and cost a much smaller pile of money than playing on this team does.

I thrive on player commitment.  Make no mistake about that.   I also like many kinds of energy making up our input.  On the other hand, just because I don't cut players from the "squad" doesn't mean I don't have my preferred "ways" of thinning the herd.

THERE IS MAGIC IN ROLE PLAYING

So, I kept thinking about this line of thought of why do we have numbers mostly every year.  I don't cut.  I don't have a magic number of players that I want on the team.  I don't know how many roles I have prepared and are available to them in a given season and on a given team.  I hope I never know beforehand.  I love to feel that stuff out as we go. 

I feel like there are always more possible roles and ways to play this great game of lacrosse, and it is an awesome game that has incredible dynamics built right into it.

BABY PLEASE DON'T GO

When a player loves the team and the game I always encourage.  I want them to play.  I want for them to have this lacrosse team on their resume' with the pride, fond memories, and the lasting friendships that come along with it. 

CRY ME A RIVER

We have had players that may have never played a true quality minute in an important game for their entire four years.  Not only might they have continued playing in spite of that fact, but they have often been as important to us as any player could be, because of something special that they might have brought to the team.  For example we had a player once, and what he did was he took it upon himself to cry all of our tears for us when we would lose a game.  These were crocodile tears mind you, not just sniffles.  Somehow it always helped us (me) to move on more quickly. 

I do hate to lose, and it does take me a while to get that bitter taste out of my mouth and to get on with it.  Anyway, I never knew that crying was a useful role on a team until I saw this one kid do it right.  Now, was he in scrimmages at times, perhaps during an important part of a particular practice, and that I would have preferred it not to be so?  Yes.  Was it worth those small moments of frustration as a coach?  Yes again.  The kid brought his heart on a platter to the team every single day.   I think they call it unconditional love.  As a coach I will never turn away that kind of positive.  I would be stupid not to consider using every resource available. 

HOW LOW WILL HE GO?

The "Flip" side of the "no-cut" thing is that if I am not pleased with the passion a player shows for the game, and sometimes more importantly for his team and teammates, I will basically do my best to get him to quit.  This method seemed to work pretty well in the past, but something has changed and now sometimes if I am mean and demeaning in my attempt to get them to walk away, they still might stay.  What happens is they will get themselves all fired up, and by God they are going to show me that I am in deed full of it, or myself, and that they CAN play, and I'm the one who really needs the attitude adjustment.  Then sometimes more really strange things happen, like I get to like them, or even stranger than that, they get to understand and like me.

FLIP'S BOTTOM LINE

It could never work for me to have everything set up perfectly in my mind like I know everything, or for me to believe or even to say something like, "It's going to be my way or the highway".  That just wouldn't work.  We'd be lost all the time.

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