Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Keeping cool after tough loss

Terrance Harris had a right to be really upset Wednesday night. But he wasn't.

Well, I wasn't with the Mission Prep boys basketball coach all night. Maybe he went home after the Royals were upset 64-62 by Bakersfield Christian in the semifinals of the CIF-Central Section Division V playoffs and broke a stack of concrete blocks with a head butt like those karate guys on TV.

But whatever frustrations Harris might have had after a loss that, let's be honest, nobody saw coming — he kept them inside.

Seconds after the final buzzer sounded and the Royals had ended their first post-Tom-Mott-era playoff run with a disappointing loss, Harris calmly walked over and did a radio interview. Then he talked to me (which, I admit, isn't always THAT fun.)

In journalism school, at least mine, they tell you to give coaches and players a 10-minute period to get over the game. But Harris took no cool down time, no time to gather his emotions. Just, hey, let's do this. And it was a classy and respectable thing to do.

Mission Prep lost. And it was a bad loss. One they should have won had they come out a little more focused. Plus, the Royals were getting handcuffed by the referees.

I've seen plenty of other coaches from high school to college turn around after a game like that and blast the officiating, completely duck interviews or fire off "no comments."

Publicly, Harris stood tall, was accountable and made no excuses. That attitude was certainly refreshing.

If you see him around town with a Band-Aid on his head, though, give my condolences to the concrete blocks.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Terrance Harris is a class act.

Anonymous said...

SEEMS TO ME THAT TERENCE HARRIS DID WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF A COACH WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CHARACTER OF HIS/HER PLAYERS. SURELY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COUNTERPRODUCTIVE TO THROW A TANTRUM OVER THE ACTIONS OF THE REFEREES WHILE IN EYESIGHT OF HIS PLAYERS. BOTH WINNIING AND LOSING SHOULD BE USED TO BUILD A PLAYERS CHARACTER. I APPLAUD MR. HARRIS FOR NOT TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THE TRIBUNE TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR HIS ROYALS. I CANNOT SAY THE SAME FOR MR. SCROGGINS WHO DECIDED TO USE THIS BLOG TO ACCOMPLISH THE VERY SAME THING. HEY MISSION PREP LOST. JUST DEAL WITH IT.

Anonymous said...

mission got wat they deserved. They had no right to win that championship game. All mission prep does is cheat there way to the finals by having foriegn exchange students come and play for there school illegally. now that they got caught i dont think there going to be such a winning team anymore. by the way TEMPLETON IS THE BEST IN SLO COUNTY!!!

Anonymous said...

I agree with the above poster...Templeton is the best team in the county...the best at DONKEY BASKETBALL.

That might be the dumbest thing I've ever seen, second to only to the statement that insinuates that the THS basketball team can actually compete. The Mission girls basketball team could beat any THS basketball team...easily. You guys are a bunch of jackasses...pun intended (just in case you THS people don't get it).