Hoopers On The Bus

by Patrick Suessmuth

Opening note - be careful, this second article about Hooper, is not about Hooper (being 'On The Bus).

Hooper's changed.  He's become two girls basketball teams. They are now my Hoopers (plural) on the bus going to a pair of away games.

Hoopers as you know are special to me, if not to you by now.

Team one are Grade 9 and 10 Hoopers.  Our Junior Varsity club.  

Team two of Hoopers are the Senior Varsity club.

A nicer bunch of kids you'll rarely meet.

These Hoopers suffer...and they don't know it.

They labour, not play.

They strive, without fun.

Winning teams play the game of basketball having fun.

These Hoopers are not winning teams.

There's not a winning team in the school.  The school's got a losing mentality.

No one seems to care.

No one seems to see it (the losing mentality).

Definitely no one is doing a damn thing about it.

Good teams, with good kids, with winning skills, lose games they never should. Hey, the situation is bad.  Let me highlight how bad it is.  The two teams of Hoopers on this bus are O and 12. These Hoopers KNOW they aren't supposed to win.

They’ve had years of conditioning. It's over twenty years since either team has won the four team league championship.

They have played numerous games which they'd have won IF the game had stopped at the end of the third quarter. But what was happening, without a word of a lie, was at three quarter time our Hoopers would look at the scoreboard, see they were wining, get excited because this was NOT, supposed to happen. So in the fourth quarter they'd go out and make what's NOT happening happen.

Another loss.

Another fourth quarter let down.

Another game Hoopers let the opponent win.

Hoopers become good at saying, "We could a beaten them."

I've started to agree, "Ya we coulda, but we sadly didn't."  

Back to the present.

We're on the bus. We're going down the road to a O and 14 record.

Enough's enough.

As I've said before sometimes as a coach, "I am a little slow ."  It's taken me three years of working at this school to realize no one cares about winning.  A losing culture has developed.  We know our place.  As coach, I've finally got a case of the smarts.  I've had it with Hoopers' attitude (and mine too).

I'm tired of coaching and losing.

I've got to try something.

Someone's gotta care.

It's attack time.

I prepare (prior to the bus trip).

I have a captive audience on the bus.

Hoopers are relaxed.  Hoopers are enjoying the drive.  

I call for attention.

They're good kids.  I get full attention.

Hoopers' thinking, "What's this?  He's never done this before.”

I drew a deep breath, "Do ya wanta win to-day?"

Hoopers's heads nod up and down.  The odd half-hearted, “Ya-a-a.", is said.

I smile.  They're watching me...

"OK.  Let's talk about winning.  It'll take a few minutes."

Hoopers relax -sit back.

I start my prepared and well planned presentation, "Who's heard of the Pygmalion Effect?"

Hoopers silence is deafening.  Visually I see, "Huhs!"

So much for a well planned and prepared coach.

I recover, I ask, "Anyone heard of George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion?”

Nothing.  By now Hoopers realize they've got the coach.  Everyone's attention's up.  This is suddenly fun.  We've got the coach.  He's messing up (again).

I'm panicking.  This isn’t going right. I'm thinking, 'Coach get out of here.'  Desperation is setting in.

“OK. Who’s seen the movie (I date myself), My Fair Lady ." 

About half have.  Progress.

"What’s it about?"

Slowly the Hoopers tell each other the story line.  I prompt.  I encourage.  I ask, "When did Eliza become a Lady?"

One of the Hoopers helps the Coach out with a brilliant answer, "When she decided she REALLY WAS a Lady.”

"You got it.  Ya-a-a.  Eliza didn't become a Lady, no matter how much Henry tried to help her be one, until SHE DECIDED SHE WAS ONE."

All of us know how eyes will light up.  Bulbs will flash on - when a thought strikes home.  The Hoopers sat there looking at me expectantly, no lights flashing anywhere.

Message missed.  I've been expecting this.  I restate the, 'She decided.' point and say, “Hang on to that thought.  I'm going to explore something else related to it...”

Here I have a choice.  I can go with Norman Vincent Peale's book The Power of Positive Thinking or the theory of the Self Fulfilling Prophecy.  I go with the latter.  It takes me toward BELIEVE, where I want them to get.

Hoopers and I discuss the Self Fulfilling Prophecy.

The concept of - if you don’t believe in something, it won't happen, is developed.

The opposite is developed.  If you believe it's going to happen.  It will.  Eyes are brightening, but puzzled looks still prevail.  Hoopers are still lost.

I work the Hoopers.

We finally get, "Eliza didn't become a Lady 'till she BELIEVED she was one."

Bingo.  We're getting there.

Coach to Hoopers, "Now let's bring this BELIEVE into basketball."

They sit up.  (Thank goodness the Coach is finally getting there.)

They all know by name the Hooper made "famous" in the Foul Shooting tale. They've not heard this foul Hooper story.  (The Foul Hooper goes to another school in our area.)  I tell them the Foul Shooting Hooper story.

(I'm on solid ground here, kids love a good story.)  In the end Hoopers on the bus ask, "Coach, are you saying one word, BELIEVE changed his foul shot?"

"Yes - but only after he had managed to mentally shift from non-belief to truly believing in his shooting skills at the line.  Saying you believe, isn't enough. You've GOTTA MEAN IT. All negatives must be exterminated.  Put away.  Forgotten. Have you got what I'm trying to tell you?"

Hoopers on the bus are sitting up.  Leaning forward.  Eyes shining.  Heads nodding up and down.

I think, ‘By god they've got it.’

Now to drive the point home so it affects them.

"Who's gonna win to-day?"

A chorus of, "We are".

"Why?”

I get lucky, "We believe."

"You what?"

"We believe."

"Pardon”, I say, cupping my hand to the side of my ear.

"WE BELIEVE."

"What do 'You believe?", hand to ear.  

"WE CAN WIN TO-DAY."

I love my Hoopers.

We play our games.

We shout "BELIEVE" at each other during the games.

The home team fans pick up our 'crazy' spirit and shout "BELIEVE" at us from the stands.

They unknowingly help us.

We win.

We lose (by two points to a far better team).

We're respectable.

We've learned.

We're suddenly winners.

We believe...

The corner's turned.

Basketball becomes a winning sport in a losing' school. A year later three of our four teams go to the regional championships and one WINS it all.

We believe...

The coach is disillusioned.

The message's wrong.

Believing you can win - is good - but it is only a narrow corner gained on a bigger believe...   

(Click Hooper Learns Believe below for the next article in this believe series.)