"Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton, Miami’s Jim Larranaga and North Carolina’s Roy Williams don’t look or sound poised to exit...Boeheim is 75, the oldest ever to coach in Division I men’s basketball. Krzyzewski is 73, Hamilton 71, Larranaga 70 and Williams 69. They are the five oldest head coaches in ACC men’s basketball history."
A few years ago, the average age of the coaches in the Men's Final Four was 62.5 years. This isn't unusual. Luigi "Geno" Auriemma authored eleven titles on the women's side and is 66 years old. Pat Summitt coached at Tennessee for thirty-eight years, winning eight championships before developing Alzheimer's disease, succumbing at 64 years old.
Amidst the pandemic, the NBA shared risk concerns about their oldest coaches. Gregg Popovich entered the bubble at 71 years. But the NBA chose no special accommodations after pressure from the NBA coaching community.
Age-related physiologic changes and illness are inevitable. Hearing and vision decline. Our muscle mass and strength wane. Joint pain becomes more prominent. Our ability to demonstrate many basketball technique abates. And mental faculties require attention with benefits from more sleep, dietary adjustments, exercise, and mindfulness training.
Interventions are inevitable. Krzyzewski had hip and knee replacements. But the issue isn't age as much as desire, the ambition and energy to prepare, recruit, and compete at a high level.
We become set in our ways. Rules and players change. Leadership expert Jeff Janssen explains that millennials are different. He lists seven differences:
1. Special
2. Sheltered
3. Confident
4. Team-oriented
5. Conventional
6. Pressured
7. Achieving
He also outlines eight coaching messages worth delivering.
1. Help your Millennials understand that adversity is inevitable, temporary, and helpful in the long-term.
2. Help your Millennials understand that getting better is a long-term process.
3. Understand that there are dozens of things that compete for your Millennials' attention and time.
4. Don't lecture - Edu-tain.
5. Provide opportunities for young Millenials to engage in free athletic play.
6. Develop your parents into allies, not adversaries.
7. Help kids fight their own battles.
8. Remember that people are people.
Brain fitness gains increasing attention as society ages. In addition to the sleep, diet, exercise, and mindfulness guidance above, a new book, The Ageless Brain, emphasizes additional tips.
Challenge yourself. Leave our comfort zone.
“Retire to something, not from something.” Stay relevant.
Learn something new every day. "We make our habits and our habits make us."
Stay connected to others. We are social animals. The coaching community offers a diversity of opinions and opportunity.
Find your balance. They recommend tai chi for sustaining balance.
Adapt or fall behind. When I left the Navy nearly thirty years ago, an older physician reminded me, "we all run out of silver bullets." Choose to make more.
Lagniappe: A grandfather was dismayed to see his grandson sitting on the front steps in tears, watching older children play. "What's wrong, Jimmy?" "I can't do what the big boys do." So the old man sat down and cried, too.
Lagniappe 2: Coach Castellaw breaks down what works for Tyler Herro.