Wartburg/Coe

The Iowa Conference has gotten the best of us in our last two games. We ended the first semester with a loss against Wartburg College and opened the 2010 campaign with a loss at Coe College. In both games a slow first half has been our downfall. We have played each team almost equal in the second half of the game.

Consistent intensity is something we are lacking as a squad right now. To maintain a high level of intensity over a long period of time, two factors come into play; mental and physical conditioning. John Wooden speaks about mental and physical conditioning as two cornerstones of his pyramid of success. They are the base for fundamentally sound basketball, allowing the athlete to be competitive and creative on the court. Mental conditioning provides the athlete with the skills to recognize patterns, adjust play, and develop counter-attacks. Physical conditioning allows the athlete to perform skills proficiently under pressure and fatigue. At the point of exhaustion, the conditioned player has both the mental capacity and composure, as well as the extra energy to finish the game.

I need our players to be conditioned in this way. Not only will they play better basketball, they will be confident when they step on the floor. They will be able to fight harder and longer. I believe we have the drive, now we just need the wheels.