Why Coaching Basketball Is Hard (but Worth It)

"Any idiot with a whistle can coach." - Anonymous parent

I coached for about twenty years in the middle school girls basketball travel program, only six as the head coach. Brad Stevens is right, "Coaches get more than we give." The mostly positive relationships with players and their families, watching youngsters develop into young adults, is a privilege.

What 'structural problems' go with coaching?

1. Playing Time 

Allocation of scarce resources is economics. The best part of being an assistant was not owning playing time. Remember the "Golden Triad" of minutes, roles, and recognition. Everyone wants to play more, contribute more, and be valued more. That's normal and even more so with "pay for play," though participation fees don't buy minutes. I never accepted compensation to coach..."worth every penny." 

Here's a lengthy post from a Facebook basketball group:

“In the state of Texas for public schools the governing body protects coaches and basically put in an amendment for parent behavioral expectations and rules. Violations of those can result in the dismissal of the athlete from the athletic program if the coach and or AD choose to act on it. Never had to act on it personally just always included in the players manual and pointed it out when meeting with parents.

However I did have an older coach tell me that in the early 2000s he had an affluent family that was pestering him so he finally called them in and asked, "Who should I bench to play your kid? If your kid goes in, who comes out?"

At first they wouldn't say a name and sort of hemmed and hawed around it but the coach said "If you want to make coaching and playing time decisions for me then I need a name." Finally they say "Little Johnny, he could play half the game and our boy could play off the game."

Coach says "Okay, one second." Then grabs his phone and starts dialing. The phone rings and a man picks up. Coach says "Hey John Sr., I have the Williams here and they want to discuss your son's playing time with you."

They went ghost white and wouldn't speak. Coach gets off the phone with John Sr. looks them dead in the eye and says "unless you're prepared to think about everyone's kid in this program and not just your own don't come back in here again.”

2. Expectations 

There's a cognitive bias called "endowment effect." If it's ours, then it's more valuable. We think our coffee mug is worth five dollars, but others won't pay us more than three for that mug. 

Coaches work to add value. We can't always meet those expectations. 

They don't "vote" for valedictorian. The award goes to the student with the highest GPA. Coaching is more subjective. Coaches cope with expectations of community, fans, family, and players. The "Prime Directive" implies that parents understandably want what is best for their child above all else. That's normal and expected, and relates to that "Golden Triad."

Every coach has critics because nobody meets everyone's expectations.  

3. Resources

There's never enough gym availability or practice time. When some other teams practiced eight or more hours a week, we had three. 

One year I was told that we could have only two hours of practice time. I threatened to quit and meant it. They found us an extra thirty minutes each practice. 

Competing against a team that keeps eight players with more practice time than our 12 or 13 with far less time...tilts the playing field. Allotting anything close to "fair" distribution of minutes creates marked imbalances. Fair playing time meant losing. 

4. Parents

I am thankful to have known many parents and extended families. Few expressed open criticism or hostility. More than zero. Never automatically dismiss someone else's opinions. Their perspective may have merit. Or as Mom often reminded us, "Who died and made you king?"

5. Talent Dispersion

As children drift toward other sports, coaches have fewer "sport-specific players." There's only so much talent to go around. Gradually we had fewer and fewer basketball first athletes. "Repetitions make reputations." Don't expect that players who care most about their non-dominant foot striking mechanics or golf swing to be elite hoopers. Volleyball attracted more and more of the best athletes.

The "best" players have access to more coaching, more sport-specific skill training, and more strength and conditioning. Those players can become elite. Less committed players don't become elite. 

Nothing is guaranteed. Coaching will always be hard and yet always be worth it. 

Lagniappe. Writing out our goals can help with commitment.