My Basketball Coach and Winner’s Mindset

Michael Wang (7th Grade)

“Come on, hustle boys, hustle!” my coach, Izzy, yelled as we ran around the basketball court to warm up for our game against the New England Storm.  This was my first season playing on an organized basketball team and I was far less skilled or experienced than my teammates. I’d always been athletic, but I didn’t start basketball until a year earlier when I was in the 6th grade.  I thought I might have started the sport too late, and was unsure if I even wanted to continue after this season. “Tweet!” The sound of the whistle pulled me out of the 8am lethargy, and the game started. 

We got completely hammered.  It turned out that our opponent was much stronger than we were, and we gave up trying.  We would run back on defense slowly when we lost the ball, and we stopped trying on offense when the score gap increased. We must have lost by 30 points.  I felt awful, having woken up so early just to get destroyed. It felt like I had just been slapped across the face and couldn’t even defend myself. When I went home that day, I told my mom I wanted to quit, feeling so down and upset about the loss. 

It was impossible to get into the mood for practice the very next day.  Walking into the gym, I expected to be commanded to run sprints or do push-ups since we had lost so badly. But Coach Izzy just looked at us and told us that we needed to have the mindset of a winner. He told us that the season had just started and other teams had an advantage. He told us if we wanted to win, we had to show it. 

I looked at my teammates who returned the glance at me. We knew the coach was right. It was time to get to work. I had been distracted by going back and forth on whether I should play again the following season, but now I was just focused on winning this season. 

That week, Coach Izzy pushed us to our hardest every single practice. Every day after school, I shot layups at home and I was always dressed for playing basketball. I’m sure my teammates made an effort as well because, during our warmup in the next game, we seemed a lot more confident. While we were lining up, this game no longer felt like just a recreational game but a championship game. Then, as if a door slammed shut in my brain, all my worries and thoughts were gone. I felt relaxed and free. All I could think about was scoring and winning the game.

“Look up! Behind you! To the right!” During the game, we were all talking and helping each other. It almost sounded like an argument. Every time we shot the ball, all of us tried to rebound, not just the tallest guy. And everybody made an effort to get back on defense as fast as we could. It was a close game until our opponent pulled away at the end. We lost, but we were only off by 10 points this time.  More importantly, we all felt a much stronger desire to win and we got much closer to a victory. 

Coach Izzy taught us new plays during practices and helped us fix the flaws in our games.  When we pulled into the competition arena the following week, I felt confident and was determined to hustle more and try even harder.

In that game, we were so organized as if we were playing off a single script. Everybody knew where to go on defense, where to pass on offense, and when to shoot. We quickly got ahead of the other team and I managed to score 6 points. Then, our best player was ejected from the game. He fouled 6 times, which meant he had to leave. Coach Izzy called a timeout. “Michael, I need you to give me a spark. We can pull away and win this game.” I nodded and felt even more confident with the trust that Coach Izzy put in me. 

With one minute left in the game, we had a narrow two-point lead. Then, my teammate stole the ball. In a split-second decision, I burst down the court like a bullet. My teammate threw the ball at me, and I put up a layup, the shot I had been practicing all season. I stood in awe as the shot sank in. 

We won that game. We all felt accomplished, and even our star player, who fouled out, had a big smile on his face. Our coach high-fived all of us and patted me on the shoulder. “Practice makes perfect. Practice makes perfect.” 

I’ve stayed on the team since that season.  Coach Izzy got me to love basketball, which is a great sport and which has allowed me to make so many friends. Moreover, my coach instilled in me a winner’s mindset, as I no longer give up easily but try to find a solution. I also learned that if you want to get better, you have to work harder. I will never forget that coach and that season, as they’ll stay on in a special place in my heart.