Terrence Worthy

I am honored and excited to be named the new Head Boys Basketball Coach at West Covina High School! #Bulldogmentality @latsondheimer @Tarek_Fattal @SGVNSports @MattyK31 @FrankieBur @pollonpreps

As an AD, one of the hardest things I witness our coaches deal with is a parent wanting it more than their child. Coaches use offseason work ethic, skill, athleticism, and what is most valuable to the team when determining playing time. Parents often hear from their child that the coach does not like them, that it is unfair, or that favorites are being played. In many situations, the harder truth is that the child simply does not love the sport as much as the parent does. That can lead to parents fighting battles with coaches that their child should be learning to handle themselves. One of the most important lessons sports can teach young people is how to communicate, compete, handle adversity, and advocate for themselves. Playing time is rarely about one conversation or one moment. It is usually about consistency, effort, preparation, attitude, and trust built over time. This has become an ongoing trend in sports today. The athletes who grow the most are usually the ones who learn to accept coaching, respond to challenges, and take ownership of their role instead of relying on others to fight their battles for them.

A good high school basketball team doesn't need 5 scorers. It needs a floor general, a lockdown defender, and somebody who knows their job is to rebound everything in sight. Roles win games. Superstars are built out of teams that commit to those roles.

Our youth system is beyond broken. We’ve devalued real coaches. Kids aren’t developed, they are overtrained, burned out, forced to specialize early & pressured to win at all costs. Structural change is needed. We don’t teach the game anymore! We promote the game & it’s killing us

As an AD, you quickly learn that people want to win. However, many do not like what the landscape of winning looks like. The reality is that athletics are constantly evolving. Expectations change, competition changes, and the level of commitment needed to be successful changes. When the landscape of your league changes, you must be willing to adapt if you want to remain competitive. Programs that refuse to evolve often get left behind while others continue to grow. Adaptation does not mean changing your core values or standards. It means finding better ways to develop athletes, support coaches, build culture, and meet the demands of today’s competitive environment. Growth requires honesty, flexibility, and the willingness to improve instead of simply wishing things were the way they used to be. In athletics, standing still is rarely standing still. Most of the time, it means falling behind.

“The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”

I will die on this hill. I will argue till I’m blue in the face. I will produce the data. Participation in youth sports/activities is as important as many of the classes my kids take at school. Maybe more important.

Culture is what you tolerate! Not the poster in the locker room, team slogan, or pregame speech. Team culture is rarely destroyed by one bad player. It’s destroyed when selfishness, laziness, negativity, disrespect, excuses, entitlement, and bad body language get ignored by coaches, defended by parents, laughed at by the bench, or allowed by veteran players and captains. The best teams protect the standard together.

“When there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.”

A high school basketball team doesn't win championships in March, it wins them in July, in empty gyms, with no crowds and no hype. The work you do when no one's watching is what shows up under the bright lights.

After coaching HS basketball for over a decade, it has become clear to me that defense & film study are not a priority for the majority of coaches and players. Players don’t watch film & most programs fail to incorporate consistent film study in their player development models.

As an AD, one of the biggest challenges is understanding what athletes and parents truly want. Everyone says they want to win, but too often the communication I receive is centered around why practice is being missed, why workouts can’t happen, or why the commitment isn’t possible. Winning is rarely about what happens on game day, it’s built in the unseen hours of preparation, consistency, and sacrifice. You cannot claim to want success while consistently avoiding the work required to achieve it. Too often, “we want to win” really means “we want the rewards of winning without the discomfort of earning it.” When that gap exists, the blame often shifts to the coach instead of the habits. Great programs are built when athletes, parents, and coaches all align in understanding that commitment comes before results. Wanting to win and being willing to do what it takes to win are two very different things.

We’ve started the youth basketball season where every team name ends in elite. Play a tournament where refs don’t call anything, zone is played more than not (even though highest levels rarely play it), and a successful weekend is getting a highlight to post on social media

"I haven't flinched. I'm playing the same exact style [...] and I'm doubling down on it. I'm not worried about trends." 🗣️ Tommy Lloyd staying ten toes down as he spoke after Arizona's Sweet 16 win. #MarchMadness

@WillBlackmon @latsondheimer Ryder! Good luck in high school young man!

So My son Ryder is a freshman in HS. He just turned 15 and he is 6’2 190 He plays Linebacker and Wing in basketball. That’s all

Defense > Offense

Communication is essential for leadership. To be a good leader, you must understand that everyone can’t be led the same. You must discover each person’s thumbscrew, for it is the way to move their will. More skill than force us required to know how to get at the heart of anyone.

“Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” -Davinci

🧠Concentration is the ability to focus mental energy/effort on what is most important in a given situation. Elite on-ball defenders have elite concentration…The power to exercise extreme focus is arguably the most important skill for performance in sports. 🪓🪵🪣💦

Elite on-ball defenders don’t negotiate with their standards. They are the gatekeepers of team culture. Their attitudes towards DEFENSE & EXCELLENCE is what establishes the standards & expectations for everyone else around them to abide by. This is how quality cultures are built.