The first complete week of 2020 is over. When the dust settled there were some teams feeling the sting of defeat that aren’t used to it. Nagging injuries, fouls, cognitive fatigue may all have played a part in the results. Teams are building for postseason. The teams that can adjust to the inevitable bumps on the road will continue.
For the second straight week the lessons of Thursday were replicated on Friday. The trajectories in both contests pointed to running time. Those options faded. The only team to successfully reach the continual clock was North Branch on Saturday. Why the lack of finishing in the other games? Some might point to complacency, or contentment; it is hard to maintain the knife’s edge when holding a commanding lead. Human nature kicks in with a protection mode, the aggressiveness on both sides of the floor is lessened. What is required is the maintenance of behavior. In many ways this reverts to the confidence equation. I don’t aim for confidence; I aim for automaticity. When walking, no one thinks about picking up their left leg and then putting down their left leg. They just do it. No thoughts involved. When players get to that state of automaticity, that is where the magic happens.
Walking also plays a part in teaching. Why is it that coaches (and fans) berate players that are just starting out when they stumble and fall (by turning it over, missing shots, making mistakes). When a baby starts walking, they fall. The adults all celebrate when the kid starts that process. They don’t say, “You are terrible at walking. You need to stay on the floor or quit trying. You are an embarrassment to walking. You need to go to walking camp.” Understand this when pulling kids for mistakes you have not prepared them. To quote John Wooden “you haven’t taught it until they have learned.”
QUEST FOR 100
28 teams to go. Six regular weeks to go. A possible 36 dates. Add in postseason possibilities and the weeks increase to nine, the dates 52.
| Level | Seen | % |
| 1-10 | 10 | 100.00 |
| 1-25 | 22 | 88.00 |
| 1-50 | 40 | 80.00 |
| 1-75 | 59 | 73.33 |
| 1-100 | 72 | 72.00 |
| 1-125 | 82 | 65.60 |
| 1-150 | 93 | 62.00 |
SEEDING THE STATE
Turmoil in AAAA with the addition of one team and a rearranging of order. A new #1 in A.
AAAA
1 Hopkins #6
2 Rosemount #3
3 Farmington #1
4 Park Center #5
5 St. Michael-Albertville #8
6 Chaska #2
7 Stillwater #4
8 Blaine #7
AAA
1 DeLaSalle #4
2 Becker #5
3 Holy Angels #6
4 Marshall #2
5 Simley #3
6 Austin #1
7 Alexandria #8
8 Hermantown #7
AA
1 Sauk Centre #6
2 Fergus Falls #8
3 Rochester Lourdes #1
4 New London-Spicer #3
5 Minnehaha #4
6 Duluth Marshall #7
7 Holy Family #5
8 Belle Plaine #2
A
1 Cromwell-Wright #7
2 Minneota #3
3 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown #2
4 Walker-Hackensack-Akeley #5
5 Mayer Lutheran #4
6 Henning #6
7 Blooming Prairie #1
8 EGF Sacred Heart #8
UNBEATENS
We are down to a final four, one for each class. Six teams bit the dust in week 8.
Dropping included
AAA: Red Wing, Richfield (the two Rs)
AA: Holdingford, Spectrum (the two 6AA teams)
A: Hills-Beaver Creek, Minneota (the two 3A teams)
AAAA: 1: Hopkins
AAA: 1: Marshall
AA: 1: Pelican Rapids
A: 1 Waterville-Elysian-Morristown
STREAKING
New leader in AAA. All classes (but AAAA) now at 14 wins.
I screwed up. Minneota had the longest unbeaten streak in A to start the season. That ended Saturday against Goodhue in Kasson at 25.
AAAA: 45 Hopkins (32+13)
AAA 14: Marshall
AA 14: Goodhue
A 14: Waterville-Elysian-Morristown
NUMBERS
The games were not that competitive this week. The margin in the pp100 zoomed up to 28.24. Losing teams dropped almost eight points keying the decline. Winners rose three points, not enough to off set the losses with the losing teams. Three teams were centurions, three teams failed to get their nose above 60.
| Week 8 | W | L | PP100 |
| Overall | 7 | 7 | 81.39 |
| W | 7 | 0 | 95.46 |
| L | 0 | 7 | 67.22 |
| Margin | 7 | 7 | 28.24 |
| Monday | 1 | 1 | 80.85 |
| Tuesday | 1 | 1 | 80.00 |
| Wednesday | 1 | 1 | 82.17 |
| Thursday | 1 | 1 | 87.50 |
| Friday | 1 | 1 | 92.14 |
| Saturday | 2 | 2 | 73.26 |
| AAAA | 2 | 2 | 86.07 |
| AAA | 1 | 1 | 74.19 |
| AA | 3 | 3 | 81.01 |
| A | 1 | 1 | 79.59 |
HIGH: North Branch v Duluth Denfeld 101.6
BEST DPP100: North Branch v Duluth Denfeld 46.8
Week 1 88.4
Week 2 82.1
Week 3 75.27
Week 4 75.9
Week 5 83.79
Week 6 83.50
Week 7 83.94
Week 8 81.39
31 CLUB
Only seven games led to only eight members of the 31 Club, a drop by half from week 7. This was the second lowest total for the year. Stillwater had two players make the listing this week, both in the Tuesday game against East Ridge. There were two games that came up empty this week: Mayer Lutheran v Jordan & Goodhue v Minneota. The youngest 31 Clubber joined this year: 7th grader Addison Mack of Blake. So far there has been no eighth graders, seven frosh, 15 sophs, 46 juniors, 47 seniors.
| 31 CLUB Week 8 | 8 |
| 41 CLUB | 5 |
| 51 CLUB | 1 |
| GRAD CLASS 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| HS CLASS AAAA | 3 |
| AAA | 1 |
| AA | 4 |
| W | 5 |
| L | 3 |
HIGH: Mia Curtis of Minnehaha with a 49 and therefore a member of the 41 Club, the 22nd member from the 2020 season.
WEEK 1: 26
WEEK 2: 20
WEEK 3: 18
WEEK 4: 6
WEEK 5: 9
WEEK 6: 13
WEEK 7: 16
WEEK 8: 8