End of game management - Got to be a better way

[Back In The Saddle]

Originally posted by Robmoz
Tightening up?

Perhaps if things weren't loosened up to begin with, you could avoid having to tighten up in the end?

Strive for consistency right from the beginning and you can avoid many adjustments that might be caused by your own style. Granted, each game is different but the tone is set early on (more often than not by halftime at least). At the break, you can correct some minor focus points but there should be no need to make great changes in the second half had you been consistent from the rip.

That's all well and fine as long as the game finishes the same way it started. But sometimes events occur that change the nature of the way the players play the game: second string comes in, lead changes hand late in the game, team getting blown out gets frustrated, etc. Especially at sub-varsity level you can't make a blanket statement about setting the tone early or imply that the trainwreck at the end of the game wouldn't have happened if the officials had been consistent. It's a lovely, utopian theory, but there are games where you have to acknowledge that despite your consistency it's time to tighten things up or you'll have a mess on your hands.