Classrooms across the state have been shut down due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, so students have turned to online learning for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic school year.
But students aren’t the only ones benefiting from virtual learning.
Local high school basketball coaches have begun hosting online virtual coaching clinics on Zoom, a video-conferencing platform, to share knowledge learned about the game of basketball.
“It’s about sharing as much as we can that we’ve learned from the game, the more people will learn. That’s kind of the philosophy behind it; share what you know, because ultimately, the kids are the ones that benefit,” Edinburg Vela boys basketball head coach Lucio Rodriguez said. “The more that we learn, the more we can teach our kids that come through our program, so just becoming better coaches by learning from each other, it’s a win-win for everybody.”
Vela’s Rodriguez and Edinburg High boys hoops assistant coach Steven Guerrero started the initiative in the Rio Grande Valley after seeing virtual clinics pop up in coaching circles online.
From learning the execution of different offensive sets to different schemes on the defensive end of the floor, the virtual coaching clinics have at least temporarily taken the place of in-person clinics coaches would normally attend during their respective offseasons.
“The coaching community is a very close-knit community. Coach Rodriguez and I, as well as other coaches, feel like we have a lot of great coaches here in the Valley and we just kind of wanted to share each other’s knowledge and have learned from each coach who’s presented on how they do what they do,” Guerrero said.
Coaches who have attended the virtual meeting range from as West as Zapata, as East as Los Fresnos, and even all up to the Austin area. Presenters include hoops coaches in the Valley who offer knowledge to both young and experienced boys and girls basketball coaches.
La Joya High’s boys basketball head coach, Eric Montalvo, delivered the first presentation, highlighting the Coyotes’ transition offense. Harlingen South’s boys basketball head coach, Brian Molina, presented to the group on the Hawks’ run and jump defense. And on Monday, Rodriguez shared knowledge on the Vela SaberCats’ flow offense.
“It’s been good for us to kind of help each other grow. It’s always good to see when a team from the Valley has success, not just here, but when they make deep runs in the playoffs and they go up North to San Antonio or against the Laredo schools. I think for us, this was a step in the right direction to help us all get better and help grow the game,” Guerrero said.
Rodriguez and Guerrero plan to continue growing the game with the virtual coaching clinics as everyone deals with the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re just trying to grow the community and see if we can get more coaches involved. We have some college coaches in the pipeline that are willing to come on and present, so we’ll have them on in the near future, as well,” Rodriguez said.