When I worked with behaviorally challenged kids I quickly learned that the usual therapy approaches were often ineffective. Creating metaphorical, interactive experiences provided far more beneficial insights and learning opportunities than lectures. The most significant breakthroughs occurred in the backcountry when a kid was cold and hungry because he failed to pack his gear correctly or on the water, with wet clothes, wet food and wet sleeping bags because two canoe partners couldn’t communicate and execute their paddle strokes in the white water (sometimes even in the flat water). It was during those times, after the natural consequences kicked in, that a kid was most willing to take a look at his decisions and most open to considering alternatives.

White water canoeing with a partner can be a lot of fun, or it can be a nightmare. It’s different than white water rafting because the raft is more forgiving of tactical errors, sometimes bouncing off a rock or even over smaller rocks. Kayaks are way more agile and maneuverable. In a kayak you alone make the decisions and execute the strokes needed to get through the hazards.

Working through white water in an open canoe is the ultimate communication activity. Put two people together in a canoe and send them down river. You don’t need Class 3, 4 or 5 rapids to test your communication skills. Working with your partner to maneuver on a moving body of water will test your ability to get along and express your true feelings appropriately. The conversation is typically loaded with, what Sponge Bob calls, “sentence enhancers” https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x59efqe

There will be obstacles in your path on the river. If you strike them you can take on water or tip over throwing you into the rapids and peril. You can get lucky and miss a rock in the river but there will be more waiting just ahead. Better to learn how to work together with your partner and maneuver your canoe to go where you want it to go. Canoes most often tip when one or both partners panic and lean to one side. Safely navigating in white water takes trust – in your canoe, your partner and your skills. Those skills include technical skills, communication skills and the ability to see and read the river environment – to see the hazards, obstacles and threats and choose a safe path.

It’s not as simple as “you paddle on one side and I’ll paddle on the other”. Things happen quickly in white water. Unless you and your partner work in unison, combining the right complementary strokes at the right times, you are likely to move downstream like a pinball pinging off the bumpers – across the flow and slamming into the bank on one side then rattling off the rocks, back across to the other side and on down river.

When last season fell short of the player’s expectations I think they became more open to considering a different approach – just like the wet and cold canoe partners became open to feedback. After three straight trips to the state sectional finals you can understand why they were reluctant to look at things differently. But in reality things were different. A lot of exceptional offensive talent graduated in 2016 and 2017. This team needs to win in a different way. This team can win with 6 or 7 players averaging 6-8 points per game. There could easily be a different “high scorer” in every game.

Sometimes we get in our own way. We keep trying the same stuff and getting the same results. We can try harder - using the same tactics – and still fail to get the results we want. It takes more than effort to change the outcome. The effort needs to be purposeful – directed at the specific change you want to make. Changing and improving requires a commitment, not only to making an effort but to a purposeful effort, targeting a specific focused area of improvement.

Even though you haven’t actually paddled together you know you’ll find obstacles in your path as you become a better team. To get past them we’ll need to be better at our technical skills, our communication skills and our ability to read the social environment. We’ll need to work in unison and develop team chemistry. We’ll have to believe that we don’t have to get our points to contribute. We’ll need to trust each other and share a commitment to the same goals. If we can bring all of this together we can reach our potential. 

There’s been lots of progress this summer. We’ve had glimpses of what it looks like when we paddle together, each executing our unique but complementary strokes. We have to remember what it feels like and be ready to do it when we hit the white water again. We have to keep working on our technical skills and our communication skills. This is not just the verbal communication we sometimes use on defense it’s also the unspoken communication, the chemistry that develops when players know each other and help each other play to their strengths. It’s reading the social environment and having the social skills and the courage to speak to players who are not keeping their commitment to the team.

This will be our challenge going into the next season. Will we stay calm or panic when things get tough? Will our effort be purposeful or lack focus? Can we avoid creating white water when there is none? If we do hit white water will we quit and let the river take us where it wants to? Will we fail because we try to beat the rapids with a solo effort? Will we just paddle harder and harder when we just need to paddle together? Or can we - will we - trust each other and the skills we bring, communicate and execute as a team, working hard and with shared purpose? Of all these questions the only real question is, what are we willing to do to get the outcomes we really want? 

We have to continue to get better because come November we’ll be in the river, ready or not. Everyone who knows you believes that you can do it. Don’t let anything or anybody get in the way of what you want. Keep building on the progress you’ve made. Don’t shy away from the white water when it comes – take it on.

On another note it was also fun to watch the summer league JV team play this summer. With a blend of rising sophomores and eighth graders (soon to be freshman) the team was more than competitive, posting several come from behind wins. On a number of occasions they were asked to help cover varsity games when older players were away. They always held their own. This is why the middle school players work on their game. It won’t be long before they get to test their skills as part the Voorhees program – and a chance to be part of an incredible legacy.

We’ll be posting information about the fall program later this week.

Make 3 more layups, 3 more foul shots and commit 3 less turnovers in each game and the difference in your results will be significant. 

Bob Peterman