Poise

My St. Margaret’s tyro (6^th grade) basketball team recently played in a preseason tournament at Our Lady of Victories in Harrington Park, N.J. We have participated in this tournament for the last 18 seasons, give or take a year. It's a welcome annual invitation because of the many friends we have made in a town just down the road and across the New York border, and for the warm reception we always receive from our New Jersey CYO counterparts, who always present good competition.

OLV also is one of the few gyms that offers a locker room, before and after the game and during half-time, for the teams. Typically during the regular season, my players get out of their parents’ cars—or even walk to the St. Margaret’s gym—take off their coats, and are ready to go after a quick warm-up.

About a dozen years ago in a tournament semi-final game at OLV, I gave what I thought at the time was an unmistakably clear half-time speech to my team in response to their uncharacteristically sloppy performance in the first half. In my locker-room message I implored the players not to lose their composure in the second half.

“We’ve practiced over and over what we need to do here today,” I said. “Why are we losing our poise?” I reminded them of the drills we do repeatedly to counter pressure defense. “Let’s not forget what got us here,” I said. “Maintain your poise. Remember what we have worked so hard on during practice.” I used the blackboard in the locker room to illustrate the point. Finally, to emphasize what I thought was a cogent but concise message, I told the players, “Just remember one thing in the second half: Poise.

“O.K., then. Any questions before we take the floor?”

One hand went up.

“Coach, what does 'poise' mean?”