For twenty years I was a high school basketball coach. I mainly coached girls but had a couple seasons on the boys’ side. Like most coaches, I started at a lower level before eventually moving into a varsity position. During my first few seasons while at the lower level, I was always amazed at how quickly the varsity team jumped right into plays, strategies, and scouting the opponent while I had to establish routines, define capabilities to align offenses and defenses, and create a cohesive and competitive culture. There was a lot to do before the first contest.
At a B or C level, while players’ skill development does occur, I more-or-less was building on their established foundations; I was bridging travel ball to the varsity program. This is similar at the middle school level: Teachers do work on skill development (learning how to learn) but generally-speaking they build on what they get so their focus becomes the knowledge and skills of their disciplines. While some students have had more experiences and learning opportunities than others, middle-school teachers prepare their students for high school’s rigor; they bridge elementary school to the high school system.
An area of focus that I did not anticipate going into coaching that took a great deal of energy was on how patient or impatient players were with themselves, along with at times how their parents were patient or impatient with them. There was a continuum of parents being encouraging or empathetic to judgemental and critical of their daughter, the level she was playing, and/or of me. Many were appreciative of what this level offered and recognized its value for their daughter’s future success. But there were more than a few that were not satisfied that their daughter was not on the junior varsity team at least and felt this level had nothing to offer. There were players that were so disappointed that they did not want to be on this team. They would prefer to sit on the bench at the higher level rather than play most of the time on the lower level. Creating a positive and collaborative competitive culture at these times was very difficult.
Fortunately this experience is not what happens in middle school. Every student is in every class at all grade levels with a few rare exceptions. And while there can be impatience at times, there is so much learning that takes place beyond content knowledge over each middle-school year that when one looks back on the year, it is typically with the amazement at how quickly it went, how beneficial it was. Even for those with great capabilities, a focus on working collaboratively with peers in a partnership or small group OR self advocacy and independent work at high levels of rigor become the standard. SMS students and their families recognize the value of this time for the daughter’s or son’s high school success. They appreciate the system, and this year more than ever, the Spectrum systems are bridging elementary schools into Spectrum High School, even in supporting those students that need a little more to get prepared for college and career.
At the end of this week, we will have reached the conclusion of a quarter of the year. There is a lot to do before the first days of high school, so for now, we will enjoy our established routines and a culture of teamwork, and we will settle in for the rest of the semester, bridging one quarter to the next, one year to another. The first nine weeks of the year are complete, and we are eager for more.
Weeks at a Glance
- Thursday, October 24 - Annual Meeting @ 5:30, high school
- Friday, October 25 - mid semester, end of the first quarter