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Coach's Corner ----------------

TRIBUTE TO BIG CHUCK PLYBON

Chuck Plybon ------------------ RIP

Ruth woke me Thursday Morning with the news that Big Chuck Plybon had passed away.  It is never easy to say goodbye to one of the Thunder family members and such is the case with Big Chuck.  He leaves us at a rather early age as he was in his 50’s.

We came to know the Plybon family when Kelsey joined the WV Thunder program as a 10 year old back in 2002.  Since that time Chuck, Carole, and Kelsey have been an important part of the Thunder team.

Whenever Chuck would telephone me he would always open the conversation with “Hi ! This is Big Chuck.”  He was the one to go to when a person needed some information on coaching assignments in the area, especially in Wayne County.  In fact he usually knew what was happening in the Wayne and Cabell Public school systems as well.

Big Chuck had several nicknames.  Most had a story behind them.  I swim with Scott Hackworth at the YMCA and one day he mentioned he knew “Mountain Man” and I asked him why he called him ‘Mountain Man’ and he said that when Chuck was in his early 20’s they used to play basketball regularly at the Dreamland Swimming Pool in Kenova, WV.  He said Chuck was so tough to guard that once he got the ball on the post he was simply unstoppable so all the guys would say, “He can’t be moved, he is like a mountain when he has the ball.” So the name stuck.  When word spread that Chuck has passed away, Jeff Ferguson, director of the GBA called and asked if ‘Big Country’ had died.  That was the name the GBA gave Chuck when we traveled to their events.

Carole and Kelsey were the loves of his life and he was indeed a dedicated husband and father.  He had been taking laser treatments on his legs so that he could get in the driveway and help Kelsey with her basketball game.  If there was a basketball event in the area you could count on the Plybon family being in attendance.

Chuck was a big supporter of the WV Thunder program and would do anything to help the program grow.  In 2008, I had some medical problems and Chuck stepped in and helped coach the team during my absence.  He loved coming to the Thunder practices and he seldom missed any of them.  He was the first one there and usually one of the last to leave.  He was a talker and it was enjoyable just listening to him and some of his stories about food, the people of Wayne County, and any sports story.

Chuck had a big booming voice in the crowd and that along with his large physical stature made him stand out in the crowd. A person always knew where he stood on issues as well as how the officials were doing during the game. Ha! Ha!  He had a big heart and would do anything for an individual.

Chuck you will certainly be missed.  Rest in Peace

Coach

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Achieving My Dreams
by Jessilyn Kiggans
6th grade Pleasants County Middle School WV

I went to the foul line hoping to score.
I had a lot of points, but I wanted more.
You can never have too much; keep that in mind.
If you think that's untrue, you must be blind.

You know, I've got a dream to play with the best.
But to get there, I have to beat the rest.
You can't beat the rest unless you score.
Practice makes perfect, and you will be sore.

The pain you face now will slowly fade away.
For now, you need practice; you're only part way.
It's not what your friends think; it's what you believe.
If you work hard, it's your dreams you'll achieve.

If you have bad grades, it will be a debate.
Pull up those grades; get your attitude straight.
But, practice not only for fortune and fame.
Practice because of your love for the game.

There is no gain when you bring people down.
When you do it, you'll not float; you'll drown.
Being nice to yourself is important too.
You're one of a kind; no one's like you.    

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AAU Age Determining for 2009 

Playing times

Districts may determine the length of games in their Qualifying Tournaments. However, it is strongly recommended that Districts follow the times below.

Division Game Length:

8/u 6-Minute Quarters

9/u, 10/u 14Minute Halves

11/u, 12/u, 13/u 16-Minute Halves

14/u, 15/u, 16/u-Jr. Eligible 18-Minute Halves

Open, AAU Junior Olympic Games 20-Minute Halves

-Overtime periods are 5 minutes, except for the 8/under, 9/under & 10/under age divisions. The overtime period for 8/under, 9/Under & 10/Under division is 3 minutes.

Half time is 6-minutes for all age divisions. Game time is game time. If a team arrives prior, then they shall have 10 minutes to warm-up. Game slots for all Divisions are one hour and thirty minutes. .

Tournament Days

Starting in 2009, the National Championship competition days will be reduced to five playing days.  Format will be pool play with teams split into Championship and Classic single elimination brackets.   

8/u & 9u

8/u & 9/u If a team is up by 15 points or more, the winning team can NOT press until the offensive team reaches the three point line. Penalty for breaking the rule is a warning first and second is an administrative technical foul If the rule is broken again, the technical foul goes to the coach.

The Man (or Lady) on the Bench
Author unknown with a little help from the Lambee

The Lady on the bench is the woman for me 
She's not the star, but she is the key .
Without her aid and help each day,
I doubt if there would be a play. 
Every play by a team on "big game" day 
She holds the dummy and shows the way when
 The other team runs that certain play. 
When not being clocked, she's shooting fouls
Or doing dribbling drills and picking up towels,
Or a hundred and one other useful stunts. 
She's always the "others" in the rotation
And at game time she sits and understands the situation
She helps with equipment, and picks up balls.
Sets up the hurdles, and takes the falls,
But is always ready when some coach calls.
She's not on the sports page every time
When a "dollar" is waiting, She's the "dime"
She comes to the banquet with a little prayer,
Hoping this year the "letter" is there.
As she squirms wishfully in her chair.
And she suffers a little along with her coach,
As the names are read and no approach
Is made to her there is a wrench
In her heart.  But her teeth will clench,
As she says, "next year", this lady on the bench.
What happens to all the women like these. 
Who seem, all elbows, thumbs, and knees. 
Don't feel sorry for their frustrations,
They are the women who head corporations,
And sit on the councils of great nations. 
They learn the value of raw sheer grit,
The determination that won't say quit. 
The value of facing rugged strife
To face the gun with just a knife,
They learn how to make a fight in life. 
To the lady on the bench I give my hand
With the greatest respect, 'cause she's my lady
Please don't worry, she'll go far
Be it jet propulsion or motor car,
Somewhere in life, she will be a star.

Early detection the key to fighting prostate cancer...
by Coach Larry Lambert

The picture above has all three elements necessary in the process toward combating prostate cancer.  We have a patient who faithfully had his PSA checked every single year from age 50 on and also a rectal exam yearly.  Modern technology & equipment have made it possible to bounce back from the surgery quickly, especially with the robotic type, Laparoscopic surgery and then finally you need a skilled physician and staff to handle the procedure. In this process a surgeon maneuvers the robots arm which in turn control the camera and instruments inserted in the abdomen via remote control.

The Lambee certainly was fortunate that his prostate cancer was detected in its early stages.  One could say the groundwork was formed the year he turned 50 when he and his long time principal buddy, Joe Noble took time off from their summer jobs to get the PSA done.  Yes, school principals do indeed work odd jobs during the summer months. As life moved on Lambee’s PSA didn’t change much until about two years ago and the rectal exam was always ok.  In 2007 the PSA shot up to 2.2 and then in early 2008 it went up to 4.2 or so.  A doubling in the PSA is a red flag and I requested a biopsy to see if things were ok.  They first put me on antibiotics to see if just maybe it was an infection. This didn’t change the PSA and so the biopsy was done by Dr. Rocco Moribito.  Once the results were back I had a decision to make since I did have the early stages of prostate cancer. I don’t recall my Gleason score but it indicated my cancer was in the early stages and was the non-aggressive kind. The Lambee spent hour after hour researching on the internet and the choices that were out there as to how to treat it were enormous.  Dr. Morabito also met with Ruth and me and explained all the options. They ranged from --

Active surveillance, Radical Prostatectomy, Laparoscopic Surgery, Radiation Therapy, Brach Therapy, Hormone Therapy, and focused Ultrasound and many others.  However, it became apparent that the only choice for me was the robotic surgery.

The next step was to settle in on the doctor who would perform the surgery.  That too became crystal clear and the gentleman who is at the top of his profession in robotic surgery was Dr. James Jenson.  We were extremely fortunate that he is on staff at Cabell Huntington Hospital and does two of the surgeries each day.

After Ruth and I consulted with Dr. Jenson we were extremely confident that we had made the right choice and from there everything just fell into line.  I would love to say that everything went smoothly but that was not the case as it is in most cases of major surgery.  Whenever we had an unexpected problem, Dr. Jensen’s nurse Adrianna Montgomery was a simple phone call away.  In the event she didn’t answer the phone, she returned your call in less than 10 minutes.  One time when I had a concern about a particular problem she simply had me come in and met me at the office.  The care they give to their patients is simply outstanding.

In summary if you have early detection, an outstanding physician and staff, and modern equipment, men have a chance of facing down the dreaded diagnosis of prostate cancer.

I am pleased to report that after two months, I feel better than before the surgery. I don’t get up repeatedly during the night and can go longer during the day without visiting the bathroom. Shortly into the second month of my recovery all aspects that were of concern to me have returned to normal. The next big step is the PSA being done in a few weeks. Up to this point we have certainly been blessed and no doubt the prayers of everyone went a long way in the recovery process.

Fundamentals: A heartbreaking lesson

Every coach preaches the fundamentals of basketball. They preach it in every team meeting. They preach it in every practice. They even preach it before, during, and after games. Players hear their coaches and sooner or later they don’t even pay attention anymore to those words of wisdom. After Monday April 7, 2008 players may start to listen again. One of the most fundamental parts of the game of basketball is the free throw. A free throw is an uncontested shot, 15 feet away from the basket, that makes some of the best players in the game crumble. The national championship of 2008 will go down in history as a model for players to watch and listen to their coach when he or she tells them to practice their free throws. Any coach will tell you that the simple one point shot is severely important. After the 2008 Championship game that could never ring truer. Watching free throw after free throw and Memphis’s national title hopes clang off the rim was gut-wrenching.

Before the national title many analysts had said that Memphis’s Achilles heel was their poor free throw shooting. Memphis had coasted throughout the NCAA tournament not having to rely on free throw shooting in the clutch, but when it came time to make those uncontested shots they faltered. This ballgame showed that it takes more than talent, skill, or determination to win a basketball game. It takes sound fundamentals. If Memphis had made one or even two more free throws down the stretch they may be national champions today instead of the Kansas Jayhawks. Those simple uncontested shots ripped a national title right out of one team’s hands on April 7, tearing apart the hopes and dreams of the players, coaches, fans, and families.

So what lesson can be learned from such a gut-wrenching display of sub-par fundamentals? Listen to your coach. When the coach says to practice the fundamentals of basketball, they truly mean it. Those simple free throws that everyone is taught growing up playing the game of basketball made the difference between what team took home a national championship. A second thing that can be learned is simply practicing your free throws. No one truly knows if Memphis practiced shooting free throws or not during their run to the national title game, and no one may ever know. This game could serve as a lesson to players to not disregard the 1-point shot and to practice it as much as possible. This could serve a lesson to coaches to make sure their players practice a shot that has been shown to be as critical as a 3 point shot. It also may serve notice to the basketball world in general that although the free throw may not be as worshipped as the dunk, as high scoring as a 3 point shot, or as complex as a zone defense, that the free throw can and will decide basketball games. As players of the game of basketball it is your obligation to make sure you listen to your coach and take the words of wisdom they offer when it comes to the fundamentals of basketball to not only help yourself become a better player, but maybe one day to help your team win the game.

Matthew Lambert
(coach's grandson)
 

Two Concepts for Breaking Full/Half Court Pressure

There have been tons of books written, DVD/tapes made and endless workshops held on ways to break the full court pressure.

If coaches zoom in on just two concepts to work on at practice their teams in no time will be handling full court pressure effectively and in a lot of cases will have not changed any of their press breakers to defeat the press.

The two concepts are Face Them & Come and Meet the Pass.  Which of these is more important is a difficult question to answer but without either, you are a good pressing team away from a defeat.

How many times have you seen a player turn at the last minute and not realize a double team is starring at them? How many times have you seen players wide open on the floor but the player with the ball has their back to the action, feeling more in their comfort zone if they can’t see the floor?  When a team begins to pivot, turn and face the defenders the minute a pass is caught that is when that team will take most pressing teams out of the defense by having little trouble in-bounding and then working the ball into the front court.  Facing the defender gives the player with the ball the opportunity to make a decision based on where the defenders are on the floor and at the same time they are able to locate the open players a lot quicker and make the proper decision on whom to pass the ball to.  If a player simply begins dribbling and then turns to head down the court they are at a big disadvantage as they have no idea where the double team is coming from or if they have open space on the floor to dribble or pass the ball.

There are countless times during a game when an offensive player who is receiving the ball stands flat footed or moves slowly toward the pass while a quick defender steps in and takes it to the rack the other way.  Teams that meet the passes cut down the steal opportunities for the opponent and to some degree negate some of the weak passes that teammates throw from time to time.  Players need to get in the habit of meeting the pass when the opponent is a pressure type team and as a matter of fact meet the passes even if the opponent is a passive team on defense.  You will have one happy teammate whenever they toss a weak pass but still see the receiver of the pass moving toward the ball and thereby cutting down on the distance the pass must travel to be completed.

Yes many things go into successfully breaking the press but if you face the opponent and meet all passes you are on your way to a successful trip down the court.

Coach L

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Thunder Factors

The coaches of the Thunder looked at setting up a formula so that when players and their families look at the stats after a tournament, there will be more there than just scoring and the goal is to work toward the players beginning to value such things as hustle plays, steals, block, rebounds and cutting down on turnovers.  To work toward that end we use the following formula to arrive at a player’s total thunder factors

Rebounds -- A player receives one thunder factor for each offensive rebound and two thunder factors for a defensive board.  The defensive glass is crucial for a team to compete.  Sometimes a player might put the offensive rebound up three times and sometimes four.  Therefore we give more emphasis to the defensive rebound but both are important in the road to success.

Assists -- We would like for our players to look at an assist as just as important as the two points that are scored from the excellent pass.  Therefore all assists are two thunder factors.

Steals -- Two points are awarded for a steal as this creates confusion for the opponent and can turn the tide at a moments notice.

Blocks -- One point is awarded for a blocked shot.

Hustles -- A point is also given for a hustle. A hustle can be earned by diving on the floor for a loose ball, deflecting a pass out of bounds, running full speed after a girl who is open for a lay-up regardless of whether the player catches the player she is chasing, or altering a shot.

Turnovers -- One point is deducted for each turnover committed.

Points  -- One point is given for each point scored.

Foul Shots -- Since foul shots can be so critical especially in the close ball games, we give extra points for foul shots that are made above 50% and we deduct points for missed foul shots below 50%

Web Design Ruth Lambert
ral220@zoominternet.net