Quote:
Originally Posted by nnfuller
I have to say i agree with the idea of looking for people who solve problems well under pressure. I may not be the best driver on my team at all times, but when it comes down to a real competition i seem to handle the pressure better.
|
This is an interesting point. In 2004, when I was a student, I was selected to be the HP. For those who don't remember, HP's played a huge role in that game, scoring similarly to the HP's in this year's game. I wasn't the best shooter in the world, but I understood the strategy of the game and obsessively watched matches that year. At any given competition, I could tell you the tendencies of every other team there. Did they like to hang? When did they typically go for the bar? How good was
their HP? I was like an NFL coordinator on the field. There was a student who was better at shooting than I was, but he was a sophomore and I was a senior and a co-captain, so I got the nod. In Atlanta that year, I went 0-5 in a match that we lost by 5 points. One made basket would have tied and two would have won it for us. I walked off the field and handed the HP button to Pat. All of the strategy in the world couldn't match on the skills he had.
Of course, the real stinger was at IRI that year, when my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) got to be HP for a match. She went 6-6, calmly walked off the field and said, "I don't see why that was so hard for you to do in Atlanta."
What's my point? I don't know.
But don't underestimate natural ability...especially in younger members. It should be the coach's job to hold the strategy in his mind. The driver should be focused on executing the strategy. Think of it like an NFL offense. The coach is the O-Coordinator. The driver is the QB. The driver needs to be focused on the current task at hand, the current play. The coach can focus on big picture things, like time left and current match score (especially this year). The coach being able to communicate is just as big of a factor as the driver being able to communicate. The decision on who the coach is can have just as big an impact on match success and the decision on drivers.
So, I guess the next question is...how do teams choose their coach?