Navy men?s basketball coach Billy Lange paced the sidelines recently, barking instructions to his players hoping to hold a lead while new Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson looked to get his team back in the game.
Lange?s team leads 30-19 early in the second half before Sampson?s squad rallies with a 16-4 run and eventually goes on to win, 48-43. The contest included key offensive rebounds, defensive stops and as much emotion as any NCAA tournament game.
However, this wasn?t a case of Lange?s Midshipmen nearly pulling off an upset over Sampson?s Hoosiers. The game was part of Operation Hardwood II, a goodwill tour sponsored by the USO and Armed Forces entertainment.
Lange, Sampson and Maryland coach Gary Williams werethree of 12 NCAA basketball coaches and sports personalities who participated in the program, which took place last month in Kuwait. The participants there got paired with teams of service members from seven Kuwaiti military camps and then coached them in a basketball tournament.
The trip gave the coaches involved a greater appreciation of the work that members of the U.S. military are doing in the Middle East. This includes Lange, who as a head coach of a service academy, already had an idea about sacrifices made by those serving in the military.
“It offers a whole new perspective,” Lange said. “Even though I coach at Navy, it?s still a college campus. It?s much different than being over in the Middle East, where we were 40 miles away from a war zone.
“I left the Middle East feeling better about what?s going on over there, after talking with the troops and seeing a presentation of the great work they are doing. The morale was high, and they were proud of what they had to do for the mission at hand.”
Before the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, athletes and coaches used to draw comparisons between themselves and those serving in combat. Clichés like, “We?re going to war,” and “He?s a warrior” were part of the everyday vernacular in interviews involving sports figures.
Thankfully, a good number of athletes and coaches now shy away from such comments. They understand that the true warriors are the ones serving on the front lines, battllng insurgents, snipers and suicide bombers.
“Instead of drawing comparisons to warriors, coaches today can look at other lessons from those in the military to motivate their players such as teamwork, leadership and trust,” Lange said.
Ron Snyder is a staff writer for The Examiner.
