I was at my son's basketball banquet and was impressed with the style and class of the event. The coaches were very articulate in their recognition of the boys - they really knew the boys, their strengths and weaknesses. They weren't afraid to mention the boys weakness, but did it in a way to encourage and challenge. I love sports banquets and this one was no exception.
I've gotten to know the basketball coaches over the past couple years and have made an effort to talk with them about their lessons learned, specific players, and have invited the coaches to come to soccer practices and games. I can't emphasize enough how important this is. Time is tight and if you don't have a child playing in the other sport, this can be a challenge, but the advantages can be great:
Player feedback: every coach has multiple players that have challenges. Being able to talk with another coach will always bring a fresh perspective or confirmation of particular situations. I remember sitting in McDonald's after a basketball game talking with the coaches about a player. He sat a pondered a moment then shared his perspective - one that I had never considered. In a Christian context, this is even more important, since we have a common base from which to talk about the heart of a player - very important.
Situation feedback: coaches face all kinds of situations with referees, facilities, finances, equipment, parents, other teams, etc. Getting their perspective may give you a heads up and keep you out of a sticky situation!
Coaching Practices: find out how they condition their players, what kinds of drills they do, etc. Even though they're different sports, there is a lot that can be learned.
Prayer: knowing what their going through will help you to know how to pray for them and how they can pray for you. There's more to this than doing sports.....
Bottom line is that a coach needs to be teachable and needs help, and what better place to get that help and provide help than with other coaches.
Friday, March 27, 2015
Monday, March 16, 2015
Position: Athletic Director
Well, our board had it's first meeting of the year, even with several feet of snow on the ground! Which is a good time to think about team responsibilities. Let's talk about the athletic director....
They are the primary interface between the coach and the rest of the world. Their position allows the coach to focus more on coaching.
Post the week's schedule: at the start, things are pretty consistent - practice M, T, Th, Fri from 4:30 to 6:30. But later when games start getting added, it's important to give everyone a heads up on what's happening that week. We use a Facebook group and people really appreciate that schedule for the week.
Verify Games: they call the other team's AD to make sure the game is still on, confirm time and location. This is very important! Are there any tricks to finding the place? Clarify who will verify that the referees will be at home games. It may be the scheduler, may be the AD, or someone else.
Equipment assessment: usually our equipment manager takes care of all things equipment, but there are special cases where the AD will review special situations. For example, review the goalie equipment: does each goalie have their own gloves, what condition are they in, have they grown and need new pants, are there extra pants floating around, etc.
Scheduling Games: We usually have someone to do scheduling for the team, but we did have a situation where we needed to have JV games scheduled and the scheduler couldn't do that, so the AD did.
Attend League Meetings: The league will usually have a couple meetings per year and it's good to have another set of eyes and ears present.
Schmooze: It's good for the AD to get to know other AD's in the league. This smooths the way for any future issues that will come up.
Who does the AD coordinate with?
Coach: Probably the most important working relationship.
Scheduler: Will want to be aware of any schedule changes or discussions.
Equipment Manager: do an initial discussion at the start of the season to see if there are any special equipment needs.
They are the primary interface between the coach and the rest of the world. Their position allows the coach to focus more on coaching.
Post the week's schedule: at the start, things are pretty consistent - practice M, T, Th, Fri from 4:30 to 6:30. But later when games start getting added, it's important to give everyone a heads up on what's happening that week. We use a Facebook group and people really appreciate that schedule for the week.
Verify Games: they call the other team's AD to make sure the game is still on, confirm time and location. This is very important! Are there any tricks to finding the place? Clarify who will verify that the referees will be at home games. It may be the scheduler, may be the AD, or someone else.
Equipment assessment: usually our equipment manager takes care of all things equipment, but there are special cases where the AD will review special situations. For example, review the goalie equipment: does each goalie have their own gloves, what condition are they in, have they grown and need new pants, are there extra pants floating around, etc.
Scheduling Games: We usually have someone to do scheduling for the team, but we did have a situation where we needed to have JV games scheduled and the scheduler couldn't do that, so the AD did.
Attend League Meetings: The league will usually have a couple meetings per year and it's good to have another set of eyes and ears present.
Schmooze: It's good for the AD to get to know other AD's in the league. This smooths the way for any future issues that will come up.
Who does the AD coordinate with?
Coach: Probably the most important working relationship.
Scheduler: Will want to be aware of any schedule changes or discussions.
Equipment Manager: do an initial discussion at the start of the season to see if there are any special equipment needs.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)