Edition #2 - 18/05/2005

As a passionate player I hate to lose, and you can never scrutinise team-mates or even yourself for that matter, as you should know that you gave it your all! I'm a firm believer in learning how to lose, before you can really learn how to win!

But as a fan, watching from the sidelines lets you see things differently, looking at the view from outside the circle, one might say!

Lately I have been enjoying looking on from the sidelines of the game whilst watching the exciting Bendigo Braves! They have won some close ones and also lost some close ones so far this season, and on Friday the 13th they destroyed their opponents (Knox).

Watching the Braves on Friday, I got my chance to look at things from the outside and casually scrutinise with fellow team mate Beau. With the Braves up by a large margin (30 points at one stage) and drawing close to the end of the 3rd quarter, I was amazed that coach Wayne Larkins wouldn't take the opportunity to play some of the bench players!

The bench can be a valuable asset, especially when you happen to lose a player to injury, or even to foul trouble. As a coach, it's handy knowing you can have two or three good bench players, who know their roles on the team and are willing to play it! But in my opinion, you don't get any good sitting on the bench for most of the game! To me - as a player, getting 2 minutes of court time isn't good enough, but in saying that, I believe you have to earn your game time, by training hard and putting in the extra yards. Any good coach would reward that!

On Friday night it showed, on both teams for that matter, which players had little confidence and struggled, due to the limited game time they had been given. As the forth quarter ticked away, the Braves had secured a lead that would take the greatest dive in sports history to lose. Yet Larkins still kept his main guys on. And as the loosing side became more agitated by their demoralising and inevitable defeat, you could see the anger - it would have been devastating if one of the main guys had been injured by a silly foul late in the game, when the result had already been decided.

When watching any game, especially in the NBA, one stat I've noticed for a winning side is when their bench has scored well and contributed! In my opinion, I feel Larkins should look to build a more solid team, with bench players he can have confidence in when the heat is on in a match, and give the young guys more opportunity to grow and mature! They can still turn what I believe is the sides weakness, into a strength - otherwise I believe it could be a contributing factor in why the Braves will fall short of the championship, this season at least!

Talent can be bought, but nurturing a player with a gift can be priceless!

See ya on the court!

PC signing off!