Fast Five: Building Relationships

Repetition of major themes keys clarity...for example, the primacy of CHARACTER, COMPETENCE, and CONNECTION. 

How do we connect with our players? How do they recognize that we care, that we add value to their experience? 

1. Greet every player by name, preferably within the first few minutes of practice. It might seem like a small detail, but your name intimately links to your identity. When a pharmacist asks for the spelling of my name, I foresake the military alphabet for uniqueness- S as in somebody, E as in everybody, N as in nobody. 

2. Clarify everyone's roles. When Coach Wooden recruited Swen Nater, he told him he couldn't promise him any minutes, as Bill Walton was his competition. But he promised him that if he practiced hard against Walton, he could assure him that he'd improve and have a chance at a professional career. 

3. Set priorities. I can't reproduce my coach, but players and families know that 1) family events, 2) school, and 3) basketball are their priorities. But when you're on the court, your full attention, concentration, and effort belong to your team and to the game.

4. Simplify the emphasis. Bill Belichick sums it up; "do your job." You cannot do your job unless you know your job. Create a dialogue with each player such that she is 'crystal clear' about responsibilities. Can they handle the truth? 

I saw a sectional championship game lost (by a point) because of failed defensive rotation. The opposition had a tall (6'2") and talented post player. The pre-game scouting report showed the coverage and the protection (left). X4 would double the post and X3 immediately rotate to cover the opposite forward. Three times the double occurred WITHOUT rotation. Layups. I will never double from across because of that, and will double with a smaller player (X2 or X3). We need to have the connection to know the job gets done. 

5. Individualize feedback. Swen Nater's book about John Wooden (You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned) is full of lessons Nater learned from individually-tailored feedback. Wooden understood that he couldn't treat everyone the same, from his 1964 Championship team. He couldn't come down hard on the sensitive Gail Goodrich and he had to keep the uber-confident Walt Hazzard's ego in check. In The Heart of Coaching, Thomas Crane calls it a "performance-focused, feedback-rich" environment. 

Cultivated connections create trust, trust between player and coach, coach to coach, and player to player. When people know that you have a designed process to help them grow and achieve their goals, everyone benefits.