Now this may seem kind of obvious, but you'd be surprised the confusion this can create! The coaches primary responsibility is to prepare the players, but there's more to consider:
Define the Goal: is the goal to have a winning team? Fair game time for everyone? The coach and the board need to make sure everyone is clear on this.
Prepare for and Run Practices: The coach is responsible for running the practices. This means that they need to come to practice ready to go, not trying to figure out what to do once they get there. The focus is: conditioning, team building and tactics.
Leadership Development: At a minimum, this starts with picking team captains, but captains don't magically appear and know what to do. Guiding the captains in their responsibilities and preparing future captains.
Coordinate Support: Usually a coach can't do it all. There may be times when they need someone to work with the goalies or new players. Identifying those skills takes time - getting to know the parents and building those relationships is where it starts. Once they have some people selected, they need to define the goals, pick times, and monitor progress. It's important to understand a coach as a manager of resources that will improve the players and equip them to meet the goals of the program.
Get to Know Coaches: It's super important for the coach to get to know the other coaches in the league. This happens at games, league meetings, emails in off season, etc. Building these relationships helps to smooth any problems that they will encounter later. And there will be problems.
Player Feedback: There is, of course, constant feedback to players, but a formal assessment of the players mid season is highly recommended. This way they can know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Writing out a player assessment and giving this to the players is very valuable.
Track Metrics: The coach needs to figure out what to measure - goals, assists, player time, endurance, speed, etc are all numbers to track. You can improve what you don't measure.
Protect Players: Make sure the players are safe in games or practices. This is a very physical sport and these are teenagers, so there is risk here beyond the control of the coach.
Understand Rules: The coach should know the rules of the game, seems obvious, but newer coaches may not be up on them. At least get the rule book and look up rules as situations arise. It's recommended, if possible, take a referee class.
Character Development: This is not the coaches responsibility, it's the parents. That said, there opportunities to influence this development by providing timely feedback, setting the tone at the start and end of practices, etc. Make prayer a priority at the end of practices. Also, the coach should take the opportunity to share their testimony.
Schedule Review: The coach will need to review the draft season schedule that's being worked with the league. The scheduler usually has questions about number of games per week, should we schedule games near tournaments, what vacation is the coach taking, etc.
Who does the coach need to coordinate with?
Athletic Director: This is probably the most important working relationship. The primary focus here is schedule for the week, specific and special equipment needs.
Scheduler: Usually more at the start of the season when the season calendar is being developed.
Board Chairman: Focus will be on status of program and any special issues.
A recommendation about the relationship between the coach and the board: the coach is not a voting board member, there are meetings where the board should have time to discuss issues without the coaches present. Get your board to discuss this and write down how this should work. You'll want to coaches there sometimes and not others. Just be clear about it.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Friday, April 3, 2015
Basketball Banquet
Last time I shared something about my experience with working with other coaches in other sports. Think I mentioned that last week I attended the basketball team's banquet and wanted to share some random observations. I love the end of season sports banquet! Eat great food, talk with cool people and wrap up the season on a positive note. So here are my observations in no particular order with no particular agenda:
Pot luck dinner: Yum! It's funny: have people bring what they want and you'd think you'd get too much of the same thing - but this banquet had a wide variety of foods. Taco salad was a big hit.
Coaches really spoke from the heart about the players - they really understood the players. Very articulate. Sometimes when I've presented participation awards to the players, I struggle with getting the words right. These guys didn't have that problem.
Each player got a participation award.
Coach wasn't afraid to talk about what the player struggled with that season - was a challenge to them for the next season.
No trophies were handed out. Certificates were handed out for: Rookie of the Year (best first year player), Excellence in Conduct, Leadership, Most Improved, Most valuable. These were handed out for JV and Varsity.
The JV coach has a tradition, going waaaaaay back, for handing out chocolate milk after games and practices for good effort. He does it a lot and the players really work for that milk! At the banquet he hands out quart size chocolate milks for special efforts - the kids eat that up!
The coaches really track performance metrics. The players will do free throws, dribbling drills, etc. before or after practice and have the players record the numbers. The coaches track the progress and acknowledge that at the banquet. Really good idea. I keep lots of numbers, but not metrics on things that show improvement in skills. Need to do that.
Varsity coach has a quick talk on advice to seniors. He had five points: (1) Be a veracious reader, read you bible, (2) Reject passivity, don't be a spectator, (3) Serve your king with valor, (4) Find time for silence and reflection, and (5) don't just do what everyone else is doing.
Seniors have to give a speech at the end of the banquet.
Varsity coach gave the seniors two books.
Everyone loves a good video of the season. Having the right lens for taking indoor basketball pictures is key. The lens is expensive, but worth it.
Have a video of a game to play during the meal. Plan on having 1-2hrs of video.
There was a special table for the coaches and their wives. Lots of honor and acknowledgement given to the wives. These coaches have coaches for years without kids on the team. That's a lot on a family and that honor was well done.
When going for dinner, the senior got to go first, then families, then the players.
Pot luck dinner: Yum! It's funny: have people bring what they want and you'd think you'd get too much of the same thing - but this banquet had a wide variety of foods. Taco salad was a big hit.
Coaches really spoke from the heart about the players - they really understood the players. Very articulate. Sometimes when I've presented participation awards to the players, I struggle with getting the words right. These guys didn't have that problem.
Each player got a participation award.
Coach wasn't afraid to talk about what the player struggled with that season - was a challenge to them for the next season.
No trophies were handed out. Certificates were handed out for: Rookie of the Year (best first year player), Excellence in Conduct, Leadership, Most Improved, Most valuable. These were handed out for JV and Varsity.
The JV coach has a tradition, going waaaaaay back, for handing out chocolate milk after games and practices for good effort. He does it a lot and the players really work for that milk! At the banquet he hands out quart size chocolate milks for special efforts - the kids eat that up!
The coaches really track performance metrics. The players will do free throws, dribbling drills, etc. before or after practice and have the players record the numbers. The coaches track the progress and acknowledge that at the banquet. Really good idea. I keep lots of numbers, but not metrics on things that show improvement in skills. Need to do that.
Varsity coach has a quick talk on advice to seniors. He had five points: (1) Be a veracious reader, read you bible, (2) Reject passivity, don't be a spectator, (3) Serve your king with valor, (4) Find time for silence and reflection, and (5) don't just do what everyone else is doing.
Seniors have to give a speech at the end of the banquet.
Varsity coach gave the seniors two books.
Everyone loves a good video of the season. Having the right lens for taking indoor basketball pictures is key. The lens is expensive, but worth it.
Have a video of a game to play during the meal. Plan on having 1-2hrs of video.
There was a special table for the coaches and their wives. Lots of honor and acknowledgement given to the wives. These coaches have coaches for years without kids on the team. That's a lot on a family and that honor was well done.
When going for dinner, the senior got to go first, then families, then the players.
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