The thought occurred to me recently that very few, if any, fans know what goes on behind that closed locker room door at high school basketball tourney venues such as the Bangor Auditorium.

And, quite frankly, why should they?

Unless fans were players or coaches, they would have no idea what transpires in a postseason locker room.

Let’s face it. This is an exciting time for all parties involved in the proceedings, but a careful examination of the locker room may reveal a couple of surprises for the casual fan, at least.

Let’s divide our inside peek at the proceedings into the following groups.

The mundane chores

Yes, dear readers, someone has to be responsible for all that basketball paraphernalia, and that job usually falls to the team managers.

Uniforms, medical kits, warmups and the like have to be taken care of before the start of the most important game of the year.

Sound simple? Guess again. The key to getting off to a good start at the tournament is to have all the equipment ready to be worn or used.

Coaches will have their team equipment managers check everything before the bus departure from their respective high schools. Unfortunately, that is not often enough scrutiny.

Lost sneakers top a long list of sundry items that can really disrupt tournament play.

But the organization of the routine, mundane areas of running an efficient locker room top any list I’d make for what must transpire in any efficient pre-game setting.

Pre-game checklist

Every coach and player has a set routine for himself or herself before taking the floor for warmups.

For coaches, explaining the obligatory strategy to his or her players is vital. Overwhelming them with different concepts and new ideas can be a mistake. My philosophy was always this: Keep it simple.

Explain defensive strategies, making certain all the while that everyone is on the same page.

Pep talks are all well and good, but the most important aspect of that pre-game is communication.

Proper numbers in the scorebook should be checked and double-checked to avoid confusion at the scorer’s table. There is no time for error now.

Halftime

Those 10 brief minutes may change the course of a game or reinforce what has been going well for a team.

As head coach, I always looked at my watch when the second period came to a close. I usually kept kids about 6 minutes in the locker room.

There is time for a beverage, certainly, but I always wanted to make certain that we were ready for what might lie ahead. As author Robert Parker would say, “Explore all possibilities from the opponent.”

Outlining what the opponent might do in the final 16 minutes of play takes an experienced approach.

Fans must realize that well-run halftimes are vital to any second half successes.

Postgame talk

At this point in time, coaches need to gather their players together and either send them off with an inspirational message, especially for seniors who have lost, or a pep talk to prepare for the upcoming game.

I was never fond of allowing my team to mingle with spectators. I wanted to keep them together as a team from the time we arrived at the building until we departed.

All in all, as simple as those locker room minutes may seem, they are vital to any success a team might have out on the floor.

BDN columnist Ron Brown, a retired high school basketball coach, can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net.