New Mentor

In this month I had to find a new mentor because the basketball season where I use to do my mentorship ended. Luckily, one of my old coaches agreed to be my mentor. So now I will be doing my mentorship at the YMCA. I've already completed around thirty hours during my first mentorship so I'm almost done with the fifty hours. Also, my new mentor has agreed to let me be assistant coach for one of his teams which is what I will be doing for my independent component.

Advisory Meeting #2

EQ

How can a basketball player best maximize their team's chances of winning the championships?

Answer #2

A basketball player can best maximize their team's chances of winning the championships by being a leader and demonstrating leadership qualities.

3 details to support the answer (a detail is a fact and an example)

1. Leaders set the example for their team. For example, if your team is down by a lot but you as a leader continue to fight to win and never give up on the game, that will show your team that you are willing to fight to the very end to end. Therefore, you will lead by example and motivate your team to do what you are doing.

2. Leaders increase their team's morale before, during, or after a game. Not just boosting morale but also confidence, which in turn leads to a better game. For example, they leaders can really have a positive effect on their team by giving a speech before an important game. Also, giving positive comments, such as good rebound or nice shot, or quickly discussing areas where other players could use improvement during a game can also have great impact on your team.

3. Leaders have to earn their team's respect. They are also someone the coach can always rely on to execute plays and make sure everyone is doing what they are suppose to be doing. Almost like having another coach playing on the court with you. For example, if the coach calls out a play, the leaders usually make sure everyone is on the same page and knows what they're doing and where they're going. Which creates better, more effective plays.

Sources

My main source is my new mentor Coach Mike. He really helped me come up with this answer by explaining the importance of a leader. I also have one article on leadership qualities by basketballsuccess.com.

Concluding Sentence

Leaders play a big role in making sure their team is giving one hundred percent effort at all times by setting the example, boosting team morale, and executing coach's plans.

Independent Component 2

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.
I plan to be a coach or assistants coach of a high school level basketball team.
2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.
I will be attending and helping out with practices and games by coaching the team. And hopefully using tactics and my research to lead them to victory.
3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.
This will help explore my topic in more depth because I will now be in control of what a team and it's players do. That means I will be learning to how and what my tan resins to, which is part of my essential question. 

Lesson 2 Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of how comfortable I was able to present. I'm usually a little bit nervous or uneasy when it comes to long presentations but it was fairly easy for me discuss my answer support it with all the research I've done. 

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE        P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

I feel I deserve a P- because I did meet all the requirements to receive a P, however, I didn't mention my mentorship until a little close to the end. I feel like my presentation had lots of evidence of research that supported my answer and I was able to convince or rather persuade the audience into thinking that my answer was the best possible answer.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

I think what worked in my presentation were the brief demonstrations I did. For example, the low stance that is crucial for defense, the head swivel while playing help defense, and the closing out move. I feel like it gave the audience a little bit more understanding. Also the photos I used helped me get points across quicker and easier.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

I almost forgot to mention my mentorship and I sort of left it out until the near end. I also mentioned one of my peers presentation more than I should have. And I feel like I could have done a better job explaining the connection between my presentation and activity.

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be? 

I don't know exactly what it will be yet but I was thinking something having to do with getting open on the offense. Something close to like moving without the ball and putting yourself in a position where you can succeed.

Independent Component

Literal

(a) I, Diego Delgado, affirm that I have completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.

(b) Coach Juan Hernandez, YMCA youth basketball coach

(c) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AtPSdf9O4rJOdEF0SDdsU0tJVDNFbWUzRF9lSkRacFE&usp=docslist_api

(d) I completed a whole season of playing and practicing on a YMCA basketball team.

Interpretive

During my independent component, my coach didn't really have us work much on cardio. However, I believe cardio is very important because having endurance means you can continue to work hard while your opponents get tired. The picture above is a picture of me running in the fourth and final quarter. The fourth quarter is where fatigue is the highest. It is important to continue to play hard in the fourth quarter to not let the other team catch up, try your best for your team to catch up, or stay in the lead. At the time, I was in the cross country elective which helped me stay in shape and run fast. This was actually what I presented on for my ten minute presentation.

Free throws are easy points. Like the name says, they are free. Basically when a player gets fouled, they get to shoot with no one blocking them. That's why it is important to practice your free throw shooting. When I started my independent component, I was only making about fifty percent of my free throws.Which is pretty low. By the end of this component, I was making around seventy percent of my free throws. Free throws can determine weather you win or lose a game. That's why it is so important to make all of them. Making free throws might be my next answer to my essential question.

In this picture, you can see me playing offense in the low post. As you can see, there is much contact in the low post. That's why it is important to have good footwork. Good footwork means you are able to trick your opponent by being quick on your feet and making your move before they have a chance to realize what happened. Footwork is very important in basketball. Not just on offense but also on defense. I will actually be going over it's significance during my 30 minute presentation.

Here is a picture of me shooting. This picture is a great example of the importance of elevation during a shot. As you can see, I am at a much higher elevation than my opponent. That means nobody is blocking me and I have a clear shot to the basket. That means the chances of you making it are much higher. Which in turn means your chances of winning are much higher. Elevation could possibly be an answer to my essential question.

Here is just another photo of me shooting some free throws after I got fouled.

And here you can see me trying to get open. This is called moving without the ball and plays a big role in the game. The reason why it's so important is because when you move without the ball and try to get open, you have a much higher chance of getting into an open spot. That means you have created the potential to score without ever holding the ball in your hands. Which means your chances of winning go up. Moving without the ball is another potential answer to my essential question since it is so effective and really the only way to make yourself useful.

Applied

This component helped me understand the foundation of my topic better by creating a real world situation where I can learn from my mistakes and from other individuals to make myself a better player and gain experience and knowledge of my topic. For example, when I first started my independent component, I was really out of shape. This highly affected me because in basketball you can't slack off if you want to win. This helped me get a better understanding of the importance of physical fitness in this sport. Also, my coached focused on defense more than anything else during practice. I started doing research on defense for my research checks and I am now using defense for my first answer. Just actually playing the sport and learning first hand is a lot more helpful than reading alone, I think.