Teams’ zeal, relaxation cause losses

In the world of sports everything is about winning.

For the athletic teams of Contra Costa College, wins and losses are important to both coaches and players and while it is tough for teams to take a loss, it is also gratifying for Comet teams to win.

Over the years covering sports at CCC, one thing I have noticed about Comet teams is while the morale of a team significantly drops after a loss, it often gets over-confident after a win.

For example, after taking a 33-13 loss to Foothill College in its first game this season, the Comet football team was able to seal two consecutive wins against De Anza College and Gavilan College respectively.

Led by a strong defensive effort, CCC looked as if it could win every game for the remainder of the season.

Coach Alonzo Carter told his players after those games that they needed to continue their intensity and take it one game at a time in order to have an opportunity to win the Bay Valley Conference title.

Some players, however, looked relaxed after those wins, as if they had already accomplished their goal of winning the BVC.

The poor attitude displayed by the players came back to haunt them as they dropped two games they could have won against Hartnell College Sacramento City College.

It seemed the players were not used to winning and eventually got lazy and over-confident instead of heeding Carter’s message.

Another Comet team also seemed to overlook future opponents after sealing a win this season.

The Comet volleyball team won two consecutive matches on the road against Mendocino College and Los Medanos College prior to Friday.

Players on the squad walked around campus with their heads held high which they have every right to do, but to drop the same hungry mentality is the best approach.

This was shown in Friday’s game against College of Alameda as the Comets dropped all three sets of their match despite leading in two of them.

Athletes need to treat every game as if it were their last regardless of their, or their opponent’s, skill level.

The 2011-12 men’s basketball team did this as the squad went on a nine-game winning streak despite starting the season with an 11-8 record.

While last season’s basketball squad did not have a standout player or a very talented team, coach Miguel Johnson and  Comet players worked with what they had and each player on the team seemed to have a role to contribute to its success which was reaching the second round of the State Tournament.

If other Comet teams can have the same mentality, taking each game one at a time, the outcome of their respective seasons can be better.

The Comet football and volleyball squads still have time to accomplish a lot this year because every game of the season counts.