Last Night's Playing Time

I currently coach the 8th ranked team in the province and last night we hit the court against the 6th ranked team. This game was billed as the Brandon rivalry and just so happen to changed the way that people in Brandon view Varsity girls basketball. The game didn't disappoint as the ladies battled hard for 40 minutes with our team finishing on top in a 2 point victory. Our team trudged out to a 12 point deficit due to a sloppy press and a stagnant half-court offence that produced many turnovers. This deficit subsequently led to a shortened bench in a very important game. For the record I'd like to state that I'm not in charge of minutes and substitutions but only 7 of our 13 girls saw the court. I feel there were times when we may have been able to shuffle the deck and provide some rest for our 5 starters but I hold my head coaches back. There is a clear skill difference between our starting 5 and our last five and in a game like this our head coach preferred to shorten the bench to insure a victory. Although a situation like this may require you to have knowledge of the personnel, I invite your opinions on playing time at this level, and your suggestions on what you think I team like ours could do better to rest the starters. Were headed to Selkirk this weekend and we'll see what the girls can do in practice tonight to get off the bench and contribute.

Until next game,

Coach Thiessen