Quote Analysis: Playing basketball is not easy.  Playing organized basketball is not easy.  Playing high school basketball is not easy.  Playing freshmen basketball is not easy.  Playing sophomore basketball is not easy.  Playing JV basketball is not easy.  Playing varsity basketball is not easy.  If being a basketball player were easy, everyone would play, not everyone plays.  Many players choose to quit, what if Michael Jordan would have chosen to quit when he did not make the varsity team?  When things don’t go your way, you have a choice.  Quit and blame others, or work harder, which type of person are you?  Often in life, things do not go as planned, how we respond to that disappointment reveals our character.    

 

Personal Development:  During the 2013-2014 basketball season the members of the boys’ basketball program will be participating once a week in a personal development program.  Rather than watching game film, your son will be discussing and learning about what it means to be a good teammate, a man of character and integrity, and how to handle adversity.  Why?  Because being a good person is more important then winning our next basketball game.  Sometime we lose track of what is really important about participating in high school athletics.  This will be a chance to bring our basketball teams together, and discuss and question what it truly means to be a member of the boys’ basketball team.  

 

September Workouts:  The coaching staff has been very pleased with the 12-14 players who have been committed to our offseason workouts during the month of September.  Your energy, commitment, and attitude towards improving are not going un-noticed.  Coaches evaluate players year round, and if you have been in attendance you have been noticed. 

 

Fall League:  Fall league begins October 2, 2013.  Games are at 6:00 and 7:30 at Fossil Ridge High School on that date.  See forms on our website for the entire schedule.  Not all players will participate in the fall league.  Coaches will communicate with those who are participating and those who are not.  If you have questions whether you son is involved email me at jrakieck@psdschools.org.  

 

Fall Player Meetings:  Coaches have already begun holding individual player meetings in which coaches evaluate the skill level and attitude of each player.  Coaches will continue to provide documentation of those meetings to each individual player.  The coaching staff at Rocky holds at least 3 formal meeting with each player throughout the year, often times more than that.  If you have questions about those meetings, please contact Coach Rakiecki at jrakieck@psdschools.org.

 

November Schedule:  The first day of practice will begin on November 13, 2013.  Teams will be announced on November 15, 2013.  Our schedule is still being pieced together, but I do know that the first Varsity game will be Wednesday, December 4 at 7:00 PM vs. Heritage High School at Heritage High School.  As of now, all levels will be participating in a scrimmage at Windsor High School prior to our first game on either November 23rd or November 30th.  I will be publishing our final schedule on our website as soon as it is finalized. 

 

New Website/Communication Expectation:  This summer I spent some time creating a new Rocky Basketball Website in hopes it communicates more efficiently with players and parents than our old website.  We were all frustrated with the old one.  I would like to take this time and remind players and parents that the coaches expectation is that parents receive information from their sons first.  That means if the coaches tell the team that the bus leaves tomorrow at 3 pm, the players are expected to go home and relay that information to their parents.  The website is not fully complete and I will be fine tuning it throughout the year.  Plan on checking the website daily for updates and changes to our schedule.  The new website is http://rockybasketball.wix.com/lobobasketball.