For the third-place game, it was Cardinal Newman 68, SHC 58. An SHC tweet said the Irish were short-handed. Not sure why.
SHC - Cardinal Newman
- Thread starter Irish_Cheers
- Start date
They've been playing with 8 the last 6 games. I hear their pulling players from their JV team to try and give breathers. One player with the flu, one concussion, one ankle, one foot, and 2 transfers that aren't cleared until next week. They'll have to weather the storm until healthy
Some may be harsh and try to deflect from the fact and argue injuries and certain players don't matter. I am with you that certain players do matter. And that depth matters. That is why I'm impressed with what SMS is doing regardless to missing and losing so much. Teams are much better when they have a better supporting cast than without it. That is why when certain teams (that have decent coaching) will be better once their injured players return from injury.
Hopefully SHC and all other good teams get their players back from injury soon and each team remains healthy. And remember you always play to win, but improvement(something you have control over) is by far more important to stay focused on. Because with improvement happening the wins will take care of themselves.
SMS will be fine and can play through injuries. It makes it a lot easier when you have one of the best players in the nation and another D1 guard on your team. Tom also does a great job conditioning his teams. From the looks of it so far the OPEN is up for grabs and will come down to injuries and match ups when it's all said and done. This is a great learning experience for SHC right now and some kids who might not play a lot of minutes other wise are gaining some valuable experience against great teams. Next up Clovis West, SI, then Mitty!! I love the fact that coach Russell plays one of the hardest schedules around.
Good points all around. IMO as far as scheduling goes, it really depends on what group of kids your working with. If your team is young or has not been working together long a lighter schedule might be best for them? If your team has a good mix of youth and experience and/ or they've been playing together a while a tougher schedule might be best. I personally think doing whatever will help your kids continue to improve and expand on their knowledge and confidence level by season's end is most ideal. I don't see as much value in getting beat bad by a lot of teams early on unless your goal is to avoid the Open Division as is the goal of some coaches. Less ego is always better than too much in my opinion.
Last edited:
