Great coach - not kidding

[Mark Padgett]

Took a MS game at the last minute last night, mostly because I had nothing else to do, the game was literally 5 minutes from my house and I got paid cash on the spot. Anyway, it was 6th grade boys in a huge competitive league that takes in about 10 cities around here. The visiting coach was a "gem". It was obvious after a few minutes that his team was going to win in a blowout. They were up by 18 after one. He took off the press. They were up 32 at the half. He told his team to pull up on fast breaks and that he wanted at least three passes before any shots, even offensive rebounds. They still would up winning by almost 50.

Here's the best part. He praised his kids after every good play and on the rare occasion they made a bad play, he just talked to them about how to avoid doing it next time and then patted them on the back. Not only that, he often congratulated the other team when they made a good play. After the game, he told the other team's players he thought they played hard and shook all their hands.

Oh yeah - this guy is former Oregon State All-American and NBA player Charlie Sitton. His son played on his team and scored about 30. I have never met Charlie before but I was incredibly impressed with his attitude. I wish I could clone him and have the clones coach all the teams around here.