Build Your Community
My Basketball Teacher
It took me a long time to realize the value of community. When you think of all the things you want to develop as a coach, community seems to be near the bottom of the list. It shouldn’t be. Community is that sense of togetherness that extends far beyond your immediate team. It can include anyone you want it to and literally, the more people in your community the better off your team will be. There were a few experiences I had growing up in the game of basketball that I probably should’ve noticed at the time but took me much longer to really see. The first instance that should’ve made me stand up and notice the value of building a community was set by my mother.
When I was in high school my parents basically worked around the clock. They both came from a little town of about 6000 people so it shouldn’t be surprising that they sought to build community. My high school team was pretty good. We weren’t as deep as some of the other schools in Ottawa but we did have some top level talent. With that kind of talent, you want to expose them to more opportunities to help develop them. But opportunities cost money. Something not all the families on our team had. My mom decided to create a parent-player association to help figure out how to fundraise for the opportunities that we wanted. We would meet at the school and go over fundraising possibilities. One of the biggest ones was working charity bingos where we would earn a part of the proceeds. One of the smaller ones was popcorn sales at lunch in the cafeteria. Our efforts allowed us to travel to the coast and play in the Coal Bowl Classic. That was one of my favorite high school playing experiences – again, in a small, well built community.
When I initially went off to university I didn’t see much community. Attending a big university there wasn’t a lot of community building. Our community was basically the athletes and more specifically the men’s and women’s basketball teams. I got my first degree and decided to follow a friend to a small northern university where I would work towards my teaching degree and my Master’s in Education while continuing to play basketball. Upon arriving I immediately felt the sense of community on campus and around town. I remember walking around campus on my first day and passing people who actually said hi to me. It confused me, and made me wonder, do these people know me? That sort of thing never happened at a big school. That initial sense of community only built the longer I went to school there. The whole town came out to our games and whenever we were out and about, people would ask us about our games or practices. They were genuinely interested in us as people.
When I started teaching and helping our athletes move on to university or college, that sense of community is something I sought for them. It’s one of the things that really made my playing experience. Building community isn’t easy. It takes a conscious and physical effort. But it’s not only great for the player’s experiences and possibilities, it also helps instill a positive culture around your program. Where ever you have the chance to build community, do so. Do it through volunteer programs, through outreach programs, through camps, through fundraisers and through showing your appreciation for your community. However you go about it, building your community will be worthwhile.
