NCDS: Jim Corrigan, Assoc. Head Coach - Old Dominion
By: Jim Corrigan, Assoc. Head Coach - Old Dominion
This has been a really different season and team for us compared to the last several years. In 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 we had very young teams. In 2007-2008 we had eight freshman and sophomores among our 13 scholarship players, and in 2008-2009 we had 10 freshman and sophomores among the 13 scholarship players. This season we have only two seniors, but we are a very experienced and veteran team.
Every team is different, unique in its' own ways. This year's team has shown a dramatic difference from previous years in many respects. Our approach as a coaching staff has been very different, because this team is very different - even though we only lost a single player off the roster!
During the previous two years it was necessary for us to move very slowly in the early part of the season. We had so much teaching to do in the basic fundamentals that it was difficult to put in a lot of our offensive and defensive schemes. When we started the regular season we had very little of our package in. It was far more important that we were very good at the things we did, than have a lot of plays and defenses in our package, and be mediocre at them. In both seasons it took our team time to grow and develop. But we never stopped getting better, we never stopped growing as a team, and we never stopped working hard on the fundamentals of the game. In each season we played our best basketball down the stretch. Last year, after and 11-8 start, we won 14 of our last 16 games including the inaugural College Insiders' Tournament Championship.
This team is very different from the last two squads. We have experience and depth, even though we are still relatively young with only two seniors. With only two freshmen, we began practice with a team that knew what we were trying to accomplish, understands how we do things, and was committed to working hard to get better and accomplish our goals. We had experienced some success and knew what it took to achieve that success. For this reason, we were further along after a week, in terms of what we had put in offensively and defensively, than we had been after three weeks the previous two years. And since we are red-shirting both of our freshmen, all of the players who will see game action are returnees with experience, which further speeds up the process.
It is very rare that every active player begins the first day of practice knowing all your terminology, play calls, defensive schemes, philosophies, signals, drills, program values, etc. They all need a little refreshing and reminding of certain things, but we do not have to begin from scratch. There is nobody looking at you funny when you throw out some terminology that is unique to your program (as we all have!), causing you to have to stop and explain what you mean before you can proceed with the drill or situation. We work on basic fundamental drills, as all programs do, but the veteran players already know and understand what we are trying to accomplish and why it is important. And that is a huge difference. In most programs the veterans lead the younger players, and this is true in our case as well. But when you have 10 underclassmen, even if the older players are great leaders, it takes a great deal of time to get them to understand and execute even the most basic skills.
We have been able to move very quickly in practice, and have much more put in than any of the last five years at the same point in time. We have seen the payoff in our early season games. Currently, we are 4-0, and we are playing at a level that we did not achieve last season until January. The challenge for us will be to keep getting better as the season progresses. We must keep the right focus on improvement so that we can play our best basketball in March.
Last season we did not have the same early success that we have seen this year, starting out 1-3 in our first 4 games. It was easy to get our players focused and have them concentrate on getting better. This season we must fight the natural inclination toward self-satisfaction that comes with success. At least for the time being. The season will bring the usual bumps in the road, and the ups and downs of a roller coaster ride. Each and every season has its own unique sets of challenges. This can be a great year if we are able to stay focused, stay committed to improvement, stay hungry, and are willing to pay the price necessary to achieve at a high level.
