It is finally basketball season here at Burton! Everyone is excited that the girls and boys both have done this school and the city very proud. We have a winning tradition here at Burton. In order to win, you have to have a great philosophy and Coach Chris Smith's philosophy is “Coaching is still a work in progress as this is only my second season as the head girls basketball coach. I learned some wise words from J.I. Burton state champion coach, Dr. Mike Goforth, now our principal. Those words were Effort, Attitude, and Ability."
He explained that a great player isn’t someone who just has the ability to be a great player. "They must also have a great attitude every day, and put forth great effort every day," he said. "If a player is lacking in any of those three areas, their performance is not going to be as successful as it could be. I am going to build my coaching and teaching philosophy around those three aspects.”
In order to have a successful program coaches have to express themselves and let parents know the expectations, as well. Coach Smith says his way of communicating with parents is to "have a preseason meeting with parents and players where I discuss the team rules and expectations. I give the parents and players the opportunity to also tell me what they expect from me as a coach. If I know what they expect from me and they know what I expect from them, our season usually goes pretty smoothly.”
While all this sounds good there’s always a problem in any sports with players missing practice. ”The only time this issue really occurs is in the early season when seasons overlap," Smith said. "For example, volleyball season, band, or cross country overlapping into the first couple of weeks of basketball season. If this occurs, there is no issue. If players miss basketball for any other reason, there are consequences listed in our rules contract that are pretty straight forward.”
Coach Smith describes himself as a new coach. " I have to learn from each team that I coach and take what I can from each team and their experiences. As a coach, every year the team dynamics are probably going to change based off of individual player strengths and weaknesses, " he explained. "So, the way I coach and strategize for each season is going to be based on those strengths and weaknesses.”
Coach Smith said that it is still too early in the season to tell exactly who his starting players will be for sure. Senior Sarah Mullins and Sophomore Maggie Williams were both starters on last season's team. "They will most likely start again if they continue to improve," said Coach Smith. Senior Zoe Ellis also started some games last season and got substantial playing time from the bench. The other spots will be up for grabs between Sr. Kaitlin Lindsey, Junior Akyssa Holinger, and Freshman Kaylee Jenkins.
Coach Smith’s expectations for this year are”like any other coach's expectations for their team. I want my team to be constant. Consistency is the key to success." He expect them to consistently show up for practice, play as hard as they can play and practice hard,and be there for each other as a family. "That will lead to consistent wins," he said.