The Paradox of Patience in Coaching Young Players

John Wooden's Pyramid of Success has been around for a long time, over forty years. When I learned about it in high school (1969-1973), I had no appreciation for two elements near the top...faith and patience. In a more secular vein, I often refer to those as BELIEF and TIME.

The 'Pyramid' has broad applicability within the '10,000 hours' concept, whether in music or the arts, professions, chess, and other complex cognitive tasks. 

I really believe that we can't arrive at COMPETITIVE GREATNESS without both. Of course, merely believing and waiting don't produce results...which is why the "core blocks" (CONDITION, SKILL, TEAM SPIRIT) mean so much to me. 

I coach girls. Biology underlies some of my beliefs about basketball coaching. 

It doesn't take a genius to see that (on average) 15 year-old girls have achieved over 98 percent of their adult height. Waiting for the short stature girl to grow (rather than changing her position earlier) or disenfranchising the taller girl ("she needs more experience") in a seniority system are what I call "false patience". 

Parents of older players often may try to 'protect' their daughter's position or minutes by 'working' the coach or the system (see The Politics of Coaching by Carl Pierson). For example, prohibiting rising frosh from participating in summer workouts "holds down" the competition. I want players whom I have coached to have the same chance to contribute as other players. When those young players have made the sacrifices, successfully exerting their belief and time, they earned the opportunity. In other words, patience is not always a virtue. A level playing field demands impatience. 

Finding 'belief' shortcuts defines impatience. When belief expresses itself through confidence, then time injects itself in both. Confidence itself is not random. The reference notes, "having  a high expectation that you’d succeed was the strongest predictor of actual high performance. Self-confidence was also correlated to doing well in school." Which returns us to the vitality of mentoring (coaching) to develop confidence in our students (players). 

In a Game Plan for Life, Coach Wooden writes, "Mentoring can be any action that inspires another; every time we watch someone and make a mental note about the individual's character or conduct, we're being mentored." He continues, "a hero earns our amazement; a mentor earns our confidence...Mentors are, after all, primarily concerned with teaching, and a teacher is there to inspire." 

As coaches, we mentor as we add value, add belief and exercise patience. Sometimes we are confronted with choices involving patience. For players to develop, we value patience; in advocating for them, we want impatience.