Start of a New Year!

First of all, I hope anyone reading this had a safe and Happy New Year!

What an ending to 2010! When I wrote about the roller coaster of ups and downs the season could bring, I didn't think it would be illustrated so dramatically in the Bethel Holiday Tournament.

Going into the game against Cooper, I expected us to come out on top. We were coming off a few good practices, we finally had all of our guys back in the line-up and Cooper, while still talented didn't quite have the same firepower they've had the past few years....I even told Pat Delahunt ('07, captain) and Neal Gupta ('07) before the game that I would be disappointed if we lost. Yikes!

After the game, we found ourselves in an all too familiar position...(and I'm not referring to the lopsided loss!)...but a point in the season where, as a coach, you feel like the team is at a crossroad.

Obviously, it was a disappointing loss...but what would be our response as a team? Would we feel sorry for ourselves? Would we scatter? Or...would we rally around each other and come out fighting the next chance we get? In the moment, it's a horrible feeling. There's an uncertainty...one of concern, but also one of excitement.

It happens every year, but the circumstances always differ. In the locker room coach talked about our team in 2005. We ended up 3rd in the state that year and Travis Busch went on to win Mr. Basketball for the state of Minnesota. But, there was a point in the year were we were a .500 team and lost to Forest Lake at home after scoring 9 points in the first half. After that Forest Lake game in '05, the kids re-grouped and beat Stillwater at their place!

It was a very similar feeling Wednesday night.

Wow. What a difference 24 hours can make. Despite playing without Jordan Van Eps (let's hope he can get healthy soon!) and Blake Anderson only playing 14 minutes because of foul trouble, our kids responded by playing with incredible energy and cohesiveness to beat Rosemount 48-33.

While getting a win is always satisfying, I hope our guys took more away from the past few days than that. I hope this is springboard into our second season (Conference), but we will undoubtedly still have ups and downs along the way. But, experiences like this will help us keep climbing the mountain TOGETHER no matter what twists and turns our season takes along the way!

PS...It would be great to have another crack at Cooper in March!
mk