Opinion: Victory on and off the court

In My View

An excerpt of a message to the administrators and parent body of the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County from the boys' varsity basketball coach after the  team's recent championship win.

By Elliot Steinmetz

Issue of April 10, 2009 / 16 Nissan 5769

Now that I have had an opportunity to gather my thoughts, I am sitting down to write my annual post-season letter.

When I was too excited to fall asleep last night, I couldn’t help but think about what I wanted to write to all of you. My mind immediately went to last year’s letter and I went back and read it over twice. I found out something amazing. I could practically just re-send my letter from last season and call it a day. The attitude and class with which these kids handle themselves is what makes them winners and champions. The way they play on the court is just a bonus. It is a privilege each year for my family and me to be around the HANC kids, faculty and parents. There is nothing greater than to have my two sons being able to root for, look up to, and spend time with the HANC students and family.

We have a rule on the HANC basketball team –– we do not celebrate a win until we shake hands with the opposing team. We also do not celebrate anything but a championship on the court; we celebrate in our locker room. We have had this rule for a few years now. What I found special was that this year I never had to repeat it. At the end of each game, before I would even have a chance to say anything, our players were already telling each other how to act. They were reminding themselves what comes first.

This impressed me tremendously as well about this year’s team. They had such a swagger and confidence on the court. They knew they could play with anybody. There was no fear. But after the game ended, they always did the right thing –– congratulate the other team on a great season and do not embarrass them in front of their fans by celebrating on the floor. Even yesterday, in the championship game, in our last timeout we decided as a team to shake hands with Flatbush prior to our celebration. That is not an easy decision for high school players to make, but we should be proud of them because it was their choice and the right one.

I want to share with you what I told the team in our post-game locker room meeting last night.

I told them that I am extremely proud of what they accomplished this season. They played through tremendous adversity throughout the season. Many in the league felt the championship would come down to Ramaz, Flatbush or Heschel. Nobody really gave HANC a chance, but nobody on HANC said a word. We just played. We played through injuries, lineup changes, defensive adjustments and more injuries. Finally, we got it all together at the right time. That takes major character. For our seniors to lead us as they did, and for our juniors to step up as they did is extremely special.

However, I told the guys that they need to remember that at HANC we are a family. Their success is also a credit to the hard work that the teams before them put in. The seeds were planted two and three years ago with the dedication of players on those teams. The team last year took us to levels HANC has never before reached. This year’s team put the finishing touches on turning our program into a winner. We were lucky enough to have players in the locker room last night from all four of those teams celebrating together what each one of them helped to build over the last few years.

It was great to see the support from former players and players’ parents throughout the season. What a tremendous feeling it is to be part of such a close-knit school. I am not sure that people even realize how amazing it is for the players from previous years to be sending e-mail and text messages to the team before each game. In most schools those kids could not care less once they graduate. Things are just different at HANC.

This year’s team did not start out with the same natural chemistry that last year’s team possessed, but they certainly finished with it. That is a testament to what these players have inside, and a strong testament to one player who I want to mention in specific –– Seth Hochhauser –– who will graduate this year. Seth was an outstanding player, but it wasn’t his ability on the court or his stats that were special. It was his leadership and commitment. Over the two years that he played varsity, and the four years he played in the school, he was a leader and a winner. It was special for me to see him and his group of fellow seniors walk out the door with that trophy that they earned with many years of dedication, class and hard work.

Finally, I want to finish with a copy of my closing paragraph from last year’s letter, with no changes except for the ages of my kids, because it still rings as true now as it did then:

To me, that is what I am most proud of with this group –– the way they stuck together and handled themselves game in and game out. It’s easy to get along when you win. It’s also easy to be looked at as over-confident and classless. I can confidently say that this team knows how to handle winning and losing at every level with class and respect. That is a clear representation of the way they have been brought up by their parents and their school and I thank all of you for allowing me to take part in that.

My sons, Jacob, five, and Noah, three, come to a lot of the games. To see how our players conduct themselves on and off the court is a tremendous example for them. They spend many nights in our basement playing basketball and pretending to be one of the HANC players. When the guys are over at our house they take the time to talk and play with them and it makes them feel great. In a school where in four years I have heard nothing but positive comments and support from both the parents and administration, I can’t say it surprises me, but it certainly makes me proud to be a part of the HANC family.