We’ve had a great summer at the Rebels, so to end off the season we have a few, OK a lot of, words from team manager/coach/all round good guy: Andy Malthouse.
As a coach of a team, before that first game comes around, there are a lot of uncertainties that occupy a considerable amount of your time thinking about them.
You worry about firstly having enough players and worrying about how they will all fit together as a team.
Do you have enough catchers, do you have enough pitchers? Why do I have four 1st basemen? That’s not going to work, what if I try this and what if he or she plays there.
Why is there a lefty on my team? God I hate lefty’s. 🙂
You worry about training sessions and keeping everyone interested and enjoying it. You have to set a goal for the season and you need to understand what each individual’s goal is. Why are they playing? What do they want out of this season?
But you know something? It all works out in the end.
My goal for any team that I coach is about participation and about trying to allow the individual to reach the goals that they have set. Yes winning is important, it’s one goal that everyone has but at the end of the day, winning is not always possible. Some teams are just that much better or we didn’t play that well or luck was not on our side. On those days, our goals may need to change. We need to focus on what I could have done better. How can I learn from what happened today?
Now looking back, I think that we all reached our goal. I know I did. We all seemed to enjoy training and playing and most of all, as a team we improved immensely during the course of the season. Yes there were some hard times as a team and as players but we bounced back from those. So much so that after losing 26 to 5 against North West Titans (our biggest loss), we bounced back and won 6 out of the next 7 games. We beat the teams placed 1st, 2nd and 4th on the ladder and the game we lost, we may have won if some of our stars were not missing that day.
So what a season, I only have satisfaction from coaching this year. It was a pleasure and a honour to be the first ever Coach for the Rebels in Summer. I also have so much respect and pride for every single person who put a glove on to play this season. I am also so very proud and thankful for the other people that helped us during this season. From Stu who umpired each home game, to Kim who scored with some cameo’s from Paula, to Jane and Paul’s parents who ran the canteen. They are all wonderful people and what a family we have here at the Rebels.
Well there you have it, our first summer season has come and gone, and what an amazing experience it has been for all involved.
We’d like to offer our hearty congratulations to the following players for their brilliant performances in the Rebel colours, and look forward to many more summers to come.
MVP’s – Bruce Barnes and Nathan Dalton
Batting – Nathan Dalton
Fielding – Gavin Alki
Coaches Award for Most Improved – Matt Prowse
