A Worse Season

People keep asking me the same question. “Coach, was this season worse than last year?” And I always give them the same dry answer. “Yes. It was the worst season I can remember.”

Let me explain, because the numbers do not tell the whole story. Last year we lost six games. This year we lost six games too. So on paper, the two seasons are equally bad. Exactly as bad as each other. The win column looks the same.

But losing is not the worst part. The worst part is how you lose. Last year, when we lost, the players were angry. They wanted to fight back. This year, when we lost, they just shrugged. They looked at their boots. That is similarly painful, but it hurts in a different way. A team that is angry can improve. A team that has stopped caring is the worst kind of team to coach.

So which season was worse? The results were the same. The mood was not. And the mood is what keeps me up at night.

Next year? It cannot be as bad as this one. It simply cannot. That is the one thing I tell myself, and the only thing I believe.