Friday, June 2, 2023

Measuring Coaching Performance

"She's a great coach." What's our metric?

Kristen McDonnell (@CoachKristenMcD) was named 'Coach of the Decade' by The Boston Herald, which provides the leading coverage of Boston area high school sports. How might they have arrived at that conclusion? She graciously provided an interview here. 

Her achievements at Braintree High School included four state championships, numerous conference titles, and development of numerous division one players. She briefly coached boys at Norwood High and quickly took her team to the state finals before returning to coaching girls at Norwood where she is in the Guidance Department. She's a leader in promoting coaching development with her "LeadHERship" sessions online for women coaches.    

What is the best metric to measure coaching at developmental and high school levels?  

  • "Basketball experience"
  • Getting the most from available talent
  • Wins and losses
  • Championships (state, sectional, league)
  • Player and family satisfaction (feedback metric?)
  • Player development 
  • "Peak performance" of top players 
  • Peer evaluations ("I know it when I see it")
  • Reputation "everyone knows that"
  • Self-assessment (what did I think of my performance?)
"Where I stand depends upon where I sit." As a player or parent, I might grade the coach based upon the "Holy Triad" of minutes, role, and recognition. A community might assess the coach based upon the team's record, the entertainment value of their play, or the perception of team culture. The athletic director might see "absence of complaints" as the gold standard. As a coach, I seek to understand what style of play and granular details of execution. Also, I’d be curious to see practice and gain insight into team culture. 

“The basketball experience” Did players enjoy being part of the team? Is program interest rising or declining?

Getting the most from players. Did the team perform as expected or at variance with expectations?

Wins and losses. Some teams schedule weak opponents to pad their records. Power rankings reveal that. 

Can the team beat good teams and win on the road? 

Championships. What’s the resume?

Satisfaction. The player experience is a big part of results…but not everything.

Player development and peak performance. Is the program producing successful players at the next level?

Peer evaluations. Do you work in a system where peers comment on the program?

Reputation. Character is what you are and reputation is what people think. 

Self-assessment. High performers are often the harshest graders. “The wind is always blowing hardest at the top of the mountain.”

Bottom line is that grading performance isn’t easy and grades will never be uniform or fully unbiased. 

Lagniappe. I loathe the term "dumb jock." Most elite athletes are elite students of sport. 
Lagniappe 2. 


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