Trading time off to teach during time outs

Seniors Sean Lee, Jason Lee and Andy Lang are focused not only on their final year of college, but on bettering the lives of Bloomington youth. The trio is coaching a kindergarten-through-second grade basketball team at the SportsPlex for the second season. \nNot only are they the only coaches in the league who are IU students, but they are the only coaches who were asked back for a second year as well.\n"I wasn't really expecting to go in to coach a team for a whole season," Lang said. "Both Sean and I worked at the SportsPlex, and our boss asked us to fill in as a substitute coach for an evening. The parents told us that there was no coach for the team and asked us if we wanted to do it."\nSean Lee said that once the opening was available, they were happy to take the job.\n"At first it was weird because we are the only IU students who have ever coached a team," he said. "Normally you would think that it would be a parent with a child on the team. We were a little worried about getting respect from the other coaches, but soon they saw how much fun our kids were having."\nJason Lee also said that he felt awkward at first, mostly because of his youth.\n"Kids expect an adult as their coach," he said. "And I think they were taken aback when they saw three college guys instead."\nThe trio cast aside the reluctance and doubt on the part of the children by using a fun, creative approach to coaching. Lee, Lee, and Lang created themed games for their athletes and made sure that basketball was always fun first.\n"For some games, we dressed as professional coaches, in a suit and tie," Sean Lee said. "For another game, we dressed in camouflage gear and told the kids that it was going to be a war out there.\n"Once we even dressed as referees. They loved it."\nBut in addition to the costumes, the coaches also came up with different activities to make the games more memorable for their players.\n"I think the funniest thing that happened all season is when we made a banner for the kids to run through before one game," Lang said. "We accidentally made the banner too tough, and none of the kids were able to run through it. They were upset that they couldn't break it, but they appreciated the thought. That's what makes coaching great; we come up with cool ideas and then get to act on them.\n"Another neat thing we taught the kids was a victory dance. After they made a basket, the whole team stopped play to do a dance celebrating the points. Unfortunately, the kids didn't get to do the dance that often."\nAll of the preparation and thought that was put into preparing for the games was not reflected in the record of the team, which went winless. Despite the record, Lee, Lee and Lang were named Coaches of the Year and were moved up an age group. They are now coaching third and fourth graders.\n"I think the best part about coaching is seeing the kids improve," Jason said. "We help them have a good time, learn something and give their best effort. Seeing how happy they are when they play is an awesome feeling"