The FREEMAN
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2008
What went wrong... a Coach view
The turnaround is complete. And it came just in a little late.
For the owner of the ROIS Knights, their team's championship loss was not only elating but considered to be a victory. The trophy came in their third full season as a team; any longer and their chances of ever reaching number one would have declined dramatically, recent history shows.
"We had a sense of urgency from day one, and we knew we had a three-to-five-year window to make progress to build a championship team," said Clint Mondano, coach of the team.
Spending time and making sacrifices was critical. But there was a heavy dose of pure desire in the mix, too. "We kind of lived and died with the team," Mondano said.
"All you can really do is plan to contend for a championship," Mondano said. "You can't plan to win one."