Coaching Your Son

You are looking at one half of a headache!

Happy Father's Day to all those Dads out there.

It just so happens that today's topic up for discussion coincides with this celebrated day.

An article written in the Gold Coast Bulletin talks about the potency of the Blaze backcourt consisting of veteran Shane Heal and Daniel Joyce, son of coach Brendon Joyce. Yes,...a father and son combo.

Let me make it clear that I am not a Joyce-hater, and I know there are plenty of you out there. I will also admit to having defended Joyce Jr many a time to a group of his peers. I believe the kid has some skills that could see him become a serviceable NBL player.

I believe he is critiqued from a slanted view on most occasions. He plays for his father and that is a tough gig. Not even the legendary Andrew/Lindsay Gaze relationship went without criticism.

Daniel is doing what anyone in his position would,...making the most of the opportunity that has been presented to him. Would you knock back a chance to improve yourself if you were en route to making your dream a reality?

However, I will invite you to read the following excerpts from a Gold Coast Bulletin article before I make my point.

"Coach Brendan Joyce said he had high hopes for the Heal-Joyce combo."

"It has caused a fair few headaches for teams already," he said.

"The way Shane and Dan make space and penetrate creates more opportunities for our big men to score."

You must be thinking what I'm thinking so I'll just go ahead and say it. No backcourt in the NBL is taking Panadol before matching up against this backcourt.
You can't knock Heal's CV. It speaks for itself: NBA, Europe, four Olympic Games and an NBL championship. However, one guy does not make a lethal backcourt.

Joyce Jr, as I mentioned, is an up-and-comer with potential. His greatest asset at the moment is his feel for the game. For instance, he knows where to find the open man when he draws the defense in with penetration.

On the down side, this has also led to him becoming turnover prone when the pressure is turned up. His shot consistency also needs to improve if he wants to be considered a true offensive threat and 50% of a strong backcourt.

Joyce Sr has made a big call on behalf of his son and he need know that opposition players will read it and step up to prove him wrong. Daniel already plays with a target on his back that reads 'Coaches Son' in the middle. Has Brendan just made the target bigger and brighter?

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