After one episode of the new TV show, I’m a fan! It’s interesting to watch the portrayal of a coach who’s clearly under the gun.
I have a question for coaches out there though: In the first episode, Should the head coach have stayed at the game (as he did), or should he have gone to the hospital with his severely injured player?
I have always held that, as a head coach, I should always accompany my players to the hospital if they have to be taken in an ambulance (and unfortunately have done so on several occasions). The only caveat is that I had to make sure there was a competent assistant coach to supervise and manage the rest of the game for the other players. In one case several years ago, I had a player who was severely injured near the end of a basketball game and her teammates (who were clearly rattled by the incident) chose to forfeit the game and go to the hospital with us.
I guess you could make the argument that there are more players who need you at the game, but my take has always been that the severely injured player’s needs exceed theirs at that point.
Having said that, I thought the show did a great job portraying the deflated feeling of the rest of the game after the injury. It was clear that players from both teams struggled to go on with the same intensity after the player was hurt. I also appreciate the huddled prayer with both teams at the end in which the player offering the reflection noted that the score of the game wasn’t terribly important at that point.
Posted by BBallCoach 
