Questions with Ludovica Albanelli

After losing a game I think of mistakes made, engaging more intensively in the practice and in the next games do not make the same mistakes and give it all.

When play basketball for me it exists only him, so crowd pressure does not feel it. 

We're all human, we're all wrong. I usually do not mind and go on my way. 

I do not think about anything, I play and I do everything to help win my team. 

I don’t have any rituals before a game because I just play ; I want to do my best every time, I want to be successful.

The most important game for me was the first one in U.S. with St. Paul High School because it’s from that game that I realized that i was opening a new life; I realized I was in the place I always dreamed about, I was living my dream and I still am.

I want my team mates to remember me for who I really am, on the court and outside.

I do not want to do any other sport because basketball is my life, my happiness. but if I have to choose to make soccer. 

OC MAGIC

Questions with Anthony Mendoza

Anthony Mendoza

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSsp26ziGnw&feature=em-share_video_user

How do you deal with the pressure of having to perform in front of the crowd?        

• The pressure of my mom watching me play is a lot worse than the general crowd but I just think " what's the worst that can happen " because at the end of the day it's just a game and I'm a kid 

How did you stay motivated after a tough loss? 

• After a loss I imagine what I could have done better to win and usually the answer is be a better shooter or play better defense so to fix that I automatically get in the gym to get better. Basketball is a game of adjustments where you have to keep getting better at your craft. And when I get tired I just remember the pain from losing is worse than the pain of working out. 

How do you channel your frustration when the referee’s decision doesn’t go your way?

• I believe and was taught that I work hard enough and am skilled enough that if a referee makes a bad call or a mistake on a call I have the power to still win or make the points back therefore, I don't get too frustrated. 

What are you thinking when you get benched in a game?

• Of course I am not happy but I know I am being benched for a reason, either I wasn't playing well or I am tired. Therefore, if I want to stay in the game longer I need to limit mistakes or try to get my second wind during a dead ball or a foul shot rather than needing to be sat down. 

Do you have any rituals that you must perform before a game and why?

• The week before a big game I work on my shot and handles a lot, mostly repetition. The morning before I get shots up but not so many shots, I work more on my form and touch. Then pregame I pray to God and ask that he would help preform.  

What was the most important game you played? Why?

• The most important game I've ever played in would have to be the CIF Championship that we would end up winning because this is the game that gave me a lot of exposure and an unexplainable feeling that I will strive for until my last time playing basketball. This is a feeling of pure joy that came from hard work which makes it so much sweeter. 

How do you want your team mates to remember you?

• I want them to remember as a good person. At the end of the day I want them to remember having fun with me and I want to have a bond in which we both pushed each other to get better. 

If you didn’t play basketball what sport would you like to play? why?     

• If I didn't play basketball I think I would put all of my time into school and also get more hours at work to save up for college and to possibly buy a house. I would do this because the way to be successful the fastest is to be the first of your peers to do something. If I could get a house first I would financially be ahead of my peers. 

www.ocmagic.org

Questions with Francesca

How did you stay motivated after losing a game?

How do you deal with the pressure of having to perform in front of the crowd?

How do you channel your frustration when the referee’s decision doesn’t go your way?

What are you thinking when you get benched in a game?

Do you have any rituals that you must perform before a game and why?

What was the most important game you played? Why?

How do you want your team mates to remember you?

If you didn’t play basketball what sport would you like to play? why?

1. I work out everyday to improve and win games. If I lose a game it means I did not work hard enough. So I just go back to the gym and work harder. Next time I will win that game.
2. A big crowd can be a huge obstacle for basketball players especially during clutch games or plays. Most of the time I personally don't think about crowds and people around me. I just stay focused on what I have to do on the court.
3. I just go on and look at the next play.
4. I start questioning myself on what I could have done wrong and how I could get better at it . Sometimes I know  the answer already other times I do not. So instead of questioning myself too much I just get ready for the moment I will sub someone or I will start in the game.
5. No I don't have any important rituals but...I make sure to stretch a lot! Lol
6. The most important game for me was the CIF final game in 2016. We won that game by 1.  I also have another favorite game and that is the State semifinal game that we lost by 1 and it was also my last high school game. I cried. We should have won that game.
7. I want them to remember me as a nice and funny person first and then like a great teammate and player.
8. I would have probably done canoeing. It's tough but fun at the same time.

www.ocmagic.org

Questions with Jordan

How did you stay motivated after losing a game?

How do you deal with the pressure of having to perform in front of the crowd?

How do you channel your frustration when the referee’s decision doesn’t go your way?

What are you thinking when you get benched in a game?

Do you have any rituals that you must perform before a game and why?

What was the most important game you played? Why?

How do you want your team mates to remember you?

If you didn’t play basketball what sport would you like to play? why?

Jordan Williams:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qwF97NdOCw&feature=youtu.be

1) After a loss, I am usually upset because I wanted to win. I have that competitiveness in me. I stay motivated by thinking about what I could have done better. Then when I realize what I need to work on, I go to the gym to work on what I needed to work on so that I never get that taste in my mouth again.

2) What I do to deal with the pressure when having to perform in front of a big crowd is putting my headphones in, go sit in a place where I am isolated, visualize what I want to do in the game and where I want to be in the future with basketball.

3) I get frustrated when a call does not go my way so I try not to show it and I just flip the page and get ready for the next play. There is no point in dwelling on the past. You have to move on because basketball is non-stop, play after play.

4) When I am benched in a game, I think about the reason why I was taken out. I think about my last run and what I did during that time that could have helped or hurt us. Then after that, I  think about what I need to do better for the next time I get put in. 

5) I have some rituals before a game. The night before, I lay in bed and visualize the whole game. On game day, I put my headphones in, tune everyone out and visualize again how I want to play. It is almost like a reminder. Before that, I always say a prayer before the game to remind myself where I come from and also that God is always first.

6) I have not really had the most important game because I try to look at every game the same and prepare the same. I feel like if I look at one game as "higher than another" or "more important", then I will not play like I know I can.

7) I want my team mates to remember me as a leader, and that person that always pushes them to work harder. I also want to lead by example and work harder than everyone so I can motivate them. I feel like if my team sees me going hard, then they will  be motivated and

realize what it takes to get where they want to be. I want to be remembered as the hardest working person that they knew.

8) If I did not play basketball, I think I would play football. I love the spirit that football players have and they have so much love for the game like I do with basketball. I like to be around that passionate atmosphere because it lifts my spirit and makes me feel confident.

Questions with Greta

How did you stay motivated after losing a game?

How do you deal with the pressure of having to perform in front of the crowd?

How do you channel your frustration when the referee’s decision doesn’t go your way?

What are you thinking when you get benched in a game?

Do you have any rituals that you must perform before a game and why?

What was the most important game you played? Why?

How do you want your team mates to remember you?

If you didn’t play basketball what sport would you like to play? why?

After losing a game, of course, I was upset with myself, but I never gave up, I always wanted to do more so that the same things couldn’t happen again. I always thought that my team and I could do better in the next game, I had confidence in my abilities and in the ones of my team mates.

I don’t care about the crown, I play of my team and for myself, no one else. There is no point of feeling the pressure when you know that all you have to do is play the sport that you love and never give up.

Every time I try to don’t get mad to referee’s decisions because they’re human like us and everyone can make mistakes. It happened that some decisions sometimes made me upset but I don't blame them, I don't go up to them and say that what they called was wrong, I just go back and do something good in the next action.

When I get benched I think about all the practices before the game, I think about what went wrong but in the meantime I cheer for my team mates to do their best because I know that if I am on the bench it is because someone can do better than me in that moment.

I don’t really have any rituals before a game because I just get on the court and play; I want to do my best every time, I want to be successful.

I think the most important game for me was the first one in U.S. with St. Paul High School because it’s from that game that I realized that i was opening a new page of the book of my life; I realized I was in the place I always dreamed about and I couldn’t ask for anything else, I was living my dream and I still am.

I want my team mates to remember me for who I really am, on the court and outside. I want them to remember everything we faced together, form winning a game and be happy to losing a game and be sad. I want them to remember that I will always be there for them.

I don’t think I would be able to play any other sports, I mean, this is my life, this is what makes me happy but if I have to choose I would probably say swimming because that sport was the one I used to play before basketball.

www.ocmagic.org

Questions with Mike Moran

How did you stay motivated after losing a game?

How do you deal with the pressure of having to perform in front of the crowd?

How do you channel your frustration when the referee’s decision doesn’t go your way?

What are you thinking when you get benched in a game?

Do you have any rituals that you must perform before a game and why?

What was the most important game you played? Why?

How do you want your team mates to remember you?

If you didn’t play basketball what sport would you like to play? why?

Mike Moran:  Former Player from San Clemente High School, 1st team all league, now at Chapman College as a freshman.

I stayed motivated after losing by completing forgetting about that game, and refocusing on the next game. I deal with the pressure of having to perform before a crowd by not thinking about the crowd watching me, and the pressure is always on the other team. I channel my frustration when calls don't go my way by just forgetting about it and moving on to the next play. When I get benched in a game, I'm thinking about what I can do better if coach decides to put me back in. Before a game, I always stretch and listen to my music in order to relax myself, but also mentally prepare myself. The most important game I've played was against El Toro during my senior year. We needed to win in order to clinch the outright South Coast League championship. I want my teammates to remember me as someone who always put the team first before anything else and as someone that stood down to no one. If I didn't play basketball, I would have played football because I'm a physical player that likes contact and I would make a good WR.

www.ocmagic.org

Be a coach who asks questions!

Be a coach who asks questions.

Find your own voice.  What does this mean?  Many experienced coaches say this and younger coaches don't really understand it.  Here is what this means.  In the beginning of your coaching journey, you are like that person who was your loudest influence, by that I mean your former high school coach, maybe the person who coached you in college?  In the beginning you lean on that loud or impactful voice, but you have to find out and discover who you are.

Who was your loudest voice?  What did you learn from them?  How did they impact you good and bad?

Sometimes you will have to start from scratch.  There comes a point in every coaches life where there has to be an internal question asking what is your own personal measurement going to be.  Not the outside pressures.  There is one coach at the end of the year who is fulfilled.  One person who has won it all.  If that's what is important to you, just winning.  There will come a time in your career where you are winning so much that it's hard to keep feeding the monster that has been created.

Here is the decision that I believe you need to make.  Make the decision to approach coaching with the desire to win the Championship.  But the measurement of achievement is going to be:  Am I a better coach today than yesterday?  If at the end of the year you can say to yourself that you did a better job this year than last year, then you are feeding the monster inside of you, your own personal measurement.  It will be rewarding, you will keep your focus on why we do what we do.

So what's your measurement of success going to be?

Ask yourself how does it feel to be coached by me? There have been many times in my coaching career where I have not been who I have wanted to be.  You know going through a practice and leaving and not liking yourself that much.  After a game and talking to your team and walking out and feeling awful for what you said?  It's like this when winning is the thing that is driving you.

So ask yourself what does it feel like to be coached by you?  You know the higher the level the more pressure and you feel the entire world is watching, you feel you need to get the players you have to the top, it happens quick and soon you don't even realize what is going on.

Having great people around you is important so that you can be reminded of that little thing, "how does it feel like to be coached by me?"   No one is perfect so there will be days when you are not what you want to be.  But by being aware it will help you.  You will treat your players differently because you will be aware of your own standard, how does it feel, how does it feel to be coached by me?

I know there was a time that you didn't like how you coached someone?  How did that feel?

There is power in asking questions.  As coaches we usually are the ones who tell them where to go, tell them what to look for, what move you expect, etc.  But the real power is when you ask and they answer.  Try it, you will discover so much, because at first whatever question you ask they will try to please you the coach.  I usually tell my players right on the spot, I don't want the yearbook answer, I want you to tell me right then and there what were you looking at, what were you thinking.  I am looking for them to have a conviction in their belief of what they are doing!

Why do you think that coaches don't ask questions?

After the game, those post game thoughts.  Writing things down has a dramatic impact on how we process things.  Give your players the power to do that, right after a game.  To write down what their thoughts are is one way, not a play by play, just a simple analysis of their own involvement in the game.  Then respond to each player.  Sometimes you have to go backward to gain that common ground before you can move forward!

Advice.  One of the best things I have ever done is have those that have experience talk to those that do not.  Seniors to freshman, veterans to rookies.  "What do you wish you would have known as a rookie?"  The usual advice is trust yourself, don't be afraid, let others in, connect to others that you meet.  Not once has there been advice to work on your jump shot more, or work on 2 ball drills.

What would you tell yourself if you were 19 years old again?

Coach John Saintignon