As I write this, we are in the midst of the NCAA tournament, a few games in to the Sweet 16. Before you yawn and think, here’s another great coach or a Cinderella team story, I can assure you it is not. My story is about “The Iron 5” and what I learned as I watched my son’s 5th/6th grade basketball team play a consolation game in the end-of-season tournament.

The team had a good season. Going into the tournament, they were 8-2 and seeded in the A bracket. The team was comprised of 10 boys with diverse experience and skill; the coaches were great – kind men who enjoyed teaching kids the fundamentals of the game and emphasized good sportsmanship and fun, as well as competition. The team lost their first game in the tournament, which put them in the consolation game on Sunday morning. Here’s where it gets interesting.

The coaches told the team that neither they nor their sons would be at the games on Sunday and a third player would be unable to play as well. The coaches’ sons were arguably among the best players on the team, typically scoring the most points. The team was down to seven players and no coach. One of the coaches turned to my husband and said, “It looks like you’re coaching, buddy.” My husband is a die-hard fan of all our kids’ endeavors, basketball being no exception. He is not, however, a coach (he’s an accountant). The coach assured him the boys would know what to do; he’d just have to run the substitutions and keep track of fouls.

Sunday morning came and we arrived at 8:10 for an 8:30 game. Two more boys arrived. I started to get nervous – we needed at least five boys to play and we were counting on seven. Two more showed up at 8:29. Coach Carlson pulled the team together and said, “We’re playing ball, boys. Focus on getting the ball to the hoop and taking the shot. Don’t press – you’ll run out of energy. We’ll take as many time outs as we can to give you a rest, but there won’t be any substitutions. Ready, go!”

The team held their own in the first half and were down by one point going into the second half. Spirits were incredibly high – they had played well and were determined to keep going. Unfortunately, the lack of substitutions took a toll in the second half and the team’s energy was flagging. They had fallen behind by 12 points with two minutes left in the game. At the time out, the coach said, “Let’s see if we can cut our loss to single digits – you’re The Iron 5 and I know you can do it!” Curiously, the team’s spirits remained high and they continued to drive to the last few seconds when a half-court pass was made to one player who, seeing the clock, took a long shot and sunk a three-point basket at the buzzer.

The Iron 5 lost 33 to 24, but they were jubilant. They stayed in the entire game, no one fouled out, no one was injured, and everyone scored – including the smallest kid on the team who had not scored the entire season.

Here’s what I learned about teams from The Iron 5:

1. Focus on a few important things – get the ball to the hoop and take the shot
2. Don’t underestimate how your team will perform under pressure
3. So called “B” players will rise to the occasion when given the opportunity and appropriate motivation
4. Time to rest and recover is crucial to sustaining performance
5. Accountants can coach when given the chance

 
The best part of this story? My kid scored the three-point buzzer beater.