3 Surprising Tips Coaching High School Basketball Prepared Me for Life as a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Outside of the courtroom, you can find me on the court – the basketball court, that is. I’ve always loved to play basketball.

I played in high school and decided to get into coaching while I was in law school to ease my rapidly increasing stress level.

As a basketball player, I was good at every position but a master of none. Being a star player was not in my future. Thankfully, I discovered that I had the perfect mindset for coaching, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

I’ve had so many fantastic coaching experiences, but the life lessons have really stayed with me.

Here are my top 3 tips, which I learned from coaching high school basketball and which prepared me for life as a Criminal Defense lawyer in South Florida.

There is no losing: There is only winning and learning

So many times after we’d lose a game, my players would focus only on the negative. They’d complain they worked so hard and still lost, get down on themselves for missing “easy” shots, and think they failed. But if you play long enough, you realize that losing one game can mean more than hundreds of wins.

Losing has taught me so much more than winning does. When you win, you’re excited, and all you focus on is the fact that you won.

But losing makes you think about where you went wrong and what you could have done differently. This self-examination has helped me improve and get my players to play even better next time. It took my team at American Heritage three tries to win a State Championship.

We had a very young team in our first year and were happy to make the final four. When we got there, we were blown out by the eventual State Champion. The following year, we truly believed we could win it all and make it to the championship game, but we lost in an upset with a team with fewer individual players, but we played together better.

Finally, on our third try, we were able to win by playing better as a team. Our teamwork was on display as we scored the most points in FHSAA history and won by a score of 98-70.

Luckily, we don’t lose that often in the courtroom, but those losses have set up some of our biggest legal wins. I remember being a young prosecutor, promoted first in my class, and going to trial every week against much more experienced criminal defense attorneys. While I could stand my ground and win quite a few, the losses impacted my growth as an attorney the most. I would come home all fired up, replaying the trial and focusing on things I could do differently to win next time. That great experience and learning from my mistakes has helped me become one of the most highly rated and reviewed DUI & criminal attorneys in South Florida.

Teamwork ALWAYS wins

In basketball, you’re up against five other guys on a court 94 feet long. You can’t do it alone. Even if you’re the best shooter, you’ll never have a chance to set up for the shot alone. When it’s you against five other people, you need help. And in life, you’re up against way more obstacles. You need to work together with others to accomplish your dreams. You will always go farther working with the right people than going it alone. In my coaching career, I surrounded myself with the brightest and best baseball minds.

We work together to passionately defend our clients and help them better themselves and their families.

I’ve taken this exact formula and brought it to Rossen Law Firm. Not only have I known both Manny and Walter from my coaching days, but I know that, along with our other attorneys, we formulate the best team of Criminal and DUI Defense Attorneys in South Florida. We work together to passionately defend our clients and help them better themselves and their families.

Training is the key to success

Luck is when opportunity meets preparation. You never know when your ample opportunity will arise, so you should always train like the state championships are tomorrow. If you’re always prepared, you’ll never miss your game-changing moment.

And I had, during our days as coaches and players, taken the same approach to helping our clients. Bouncing ideas off each other and collaborating in our case preparation and strategy sessions has helped us get even better results for our clients. Having a partner to bounce ideas off and present a different perspective is why our clients prefer our team approach.

We’ve successfully handled a variety of DUI, criminal, federal, and other cases and are confident we can give you the results and aggressive defense you deserve to protect your liberty.

We offer FREE Consultations & strategy sessions to new clients interested in discussing the details of their case so you know how we plan to get the best possible outcome for you and your case.