"Never be a child's last coach." What makes 'bad' coaching? If we know that, can we avoid falling into 'bad coaching traps'.
We know that bad driving includes distracted driving, diverting attention from traffic, signals, conditions, and other drivers. Why would we allow ourselves that vanity, believing that our immediate need has priority?
Character
Leadership starts with character. Model character. A coach who disrespects others' time, ideas, effort, and beliefs is flawed. We've all heard that "Sports doesn't build character, it reveals character." In John Wooden's "Letter to Players" he acknowledged that everyone wouldn't always agree with his decisions, but that he made judgments that he believed were in the best interests of the team.
Character reveals itself in our ability to be fair, prepared, and decisive.
Disrespecting players sends a terrible message. Some might say this coach meant well but was too tough. Would you want your son to play for this coach?
Competence
Technical ability involves more than Xs and Os. When we watch a game trying to understand a team's emphasis and priorities, sometimes we can't find a direction. Or we see so much 'style drift' that no theme emerges. Is the team motivated and energized? Do they play together and "radiate joy" in Pete Carril parlance? Do they make good individual and collective decisions? Teams should reflect their coaching.
Execution occurs at the intersection of personnel, strategy, and operations. As we observe an organization over time, does it improve or lag? Are mistakes corrected or tolerated? The sandwich technique (correction amidst recognition of good play) doesn't tear players down.
Do players have and understand roles? When confusion exists about expectations and roles, performance declines.
Bad coaching produces defective culture and teams without identity.
Bad coaching yields chaos and confusion. Coach Don Meyer argued for three stages of coaching - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity. We need self-awareness and self-examination of reality. When we reflect on ourselves and our program, where are we? Do we sacrifice simplicity on an altar of ego? "Run play 475b".
Process outweighs content. Metacognition means 'thinking about thinking'. Do we model and teach improving at improvement? We can't expect players to know what to do unless we've clarified the process. "These are the best ways to get open when guarded that way."
Connection
Basketball is a game. We play basketball. My mother used to say, "play is children's work." Do we help our players play or obstruct? I teach players that they're not playing for the city, their school, their family, or their coaches. They play for each other. Bad coaching lacks commitment, structure, and communication needed to get players where they can't go alone.
Greet every player by name within the first ten minutes of practice. Bad coaches don't take an interest in player goals, desires, needs, and studies. Bad coaches don't help them achieve those goals (e.g. a letter of recommendation or a phone call when appropriate).
Praise energizes. Psychologist Henry Goddard found that "when tired children were given a word of praise or commendation, the ergograph shows an immediate upward surge of energy in the children." Bad coaches pick up a check, not their team.
Fortunately, we see a lot of great coaches and very few poor ones. Encourage the coaches whom you think are doing good work and encourage young people to get into coaching. It's good work.
Fortunately, we see a lot of great coaches and very few poor ones. Encourage the coaches whom you think are doing good work and encourage young people to get into coaching. It's good work.