'Business as usual' approach works for LHS
Published: Thursday, March 01, 2012
FRANK JOLLEY | Staff Writer
frankjolley@dailycommercial.com
To outsiders, Wednesday's practice for the Leesburg High School boys basketball team looked like any other workout the squad has held this season.
The calendar proclaimed it to be the last day of February, but it could've passed for early December, mid-January or even some time in November.
Players loosened up with a shootaround and a few demonstrated their ability to dunk the basketball -- to the amazement and amusement of teammates. Wind sprints were run and coach Marcel Thomas directed his charges through drills and ran plays until the Yellow Jackets were playing up to a level he demanded.
Not one time did anyone mention playing for state championship or getting ready for the latest biggest game in school history -- a Class 6A state semifinal game against Jacksonville Wolfson.
And that's just the way everyone wearing a Leesburg uniform wants it.
"We know what's at stake when we play on Friday," Thomas said. "If we want to play for a state championship, we have to beat (Jacksonville) Wolfson. It's a big game -- our biggest of the year -- but it's still a basketball game, and we're getting ready for it just like we've prepared for every opponent this season.
"The stage is just a lot bigger and the stakes are a lot higher for this game."
Leesburg learned how to get ready for this year's tournament based on last year, which resulted in the Class 4A state title.
Because Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., the team has been provided with hotel rooms and will leave for Lakeland at about 4 p.m., following a brief walk-through practice. In addition, meals have to be arranged, coaches have to set and enforce player curfews, and other often-overlooked aspects of travel have to be accounted for.
Thomas believes the key to winning on the road in "foreign" surroundings is to keep the team's routine as normal as possible. Because of travel, lodging and dining concerns, it is often difficult to maintain a sense of normalcy, except on the basketball court.
"The court in The Lakeland Center is the same size and the baskets are the same height as they are in our gym," Thomas said. "From that perspective, playing in Lakeland is no different from any game we've played this season. We've got enough veteran leadership who went through last year's run to the state championship to keep everyone focused on the game. We know what has to be done and we know how to get it done.
"Our focus now is the same as it's been all season -- to get the job done."
Thomas' players share the coach's sentiments, although they admit the week of preparation leading up to Friday's game is not the same as a regular-season contest. Some of that, they said, is at the players' urging.
"We've been more intense this week than we have been all season," said senior D'Mauri Jones. "Practice has been a little harder, but I think that's the way everyone wants it to be. Our focus has to be on the game, we have to be ready to play defense. That takes intensity.
"Intensity helped us win a state championship last year, so our goal is to do just what we did then."
If the Yellow Jackets play on Friday as they practiced on Wednesday, they will be a loose group. No one was overcome by nerves as game time drew closer.
It's part of Thomas' master plan. Prepare the same for each game and when a March megabattle crops up, it'll look the same on paper as an early season contest in November.
The end result may be a win in both instances, with the second victory likely resulting in a state championship.
No comments:
Post a Comment