Winning Helps, but Doesn't Cure All

Jake Diebler, a former men's basketball player at Valparaiso, is now a Student Assistant Coach for the Crusaders, and a men's basketball correspondent for the HLN Blog.

It is amazing how much smoother coaching is when the team is winning. The Valpo Crusaders are currently on a four game winning streak, which is quite a feat considering the tough competition of the Horizon League. The trend this year has been teams dominating on their home court, but we were able to pick up two road wins, which could prove critical down the stretch.

I must admit that I could not have anticipated the time commitment involved with being a college coach. Between workouts, practices, office work, study table, and travel, I can hardly find time to do much else. Not to mention, I have to take graduate classes toward my MBA a couple nights a week.

For the first few months, going from playing to coaching has proven to be the most difficult change. As a player I took for granted the late nights and early mornings of our coaching staff. Now I appreciate the commitment from coaches all over the country, who spend time away from their families to dedicate themselves to their profession. The biggest struggle has been adjusting to being away from my wife. Due to the conflicting nature of our schedules, we do not get to spend much time together during the season. Not only is my time
taken away from her, but also I do not get to see my family near as much.

I especially miss my brothers. My older brother is playing basketball at Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky, and my younger bro is playing at Ohio State, so you can imagine the limited opportunities we get to see each other. However, we have found a new way to interact: Playstation 3. We all really enjoy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and just recently bought the Bluetooth headsets so we can communicate with each other while we play. This game has provided us with a new way to communicate a couple nights a week, all while having a little bit of fun too!

As for my beautiful wife, we have decided to get a puppy, which will hopefully make my road trips a little easier on her. The puppy is a Morkie, and is supposed to arrive by the end of February. I believe the dog will weigh four pounds fully grown, so it wont be getting very big at all. I must admit I am kind of excited, but nervous that the little pup will be a lot of work. If you have any suggestions for names... let me know! It's a girl, by the way.

It's going to be a great second half of Horizon League basketball, so get ready Crusaders fans! Thank you so much for your support. It has been great seeing the team grow from the coach's perspective this year, and I am
looking forward to what the rest of the season holds for Valpo. We have a tough road trip ahead of us this week, but next week we return home to an ESPN game against Detroit! So bring your friends and family, let's pack the ARC, and show the nation why we have such a great atmosphere here at Valpo!