Know Who You Are

There's an old saying in the coaching profession. It's something all coaches should remind themselves. And it's also something that coaches should tell their players when discussing their roles on the team. It goes something like this:

"Know who you are, and what your game is."

I don't have anyone to attribute that quote to. I've said it myself for years. If I had to guess, I'd say I heard it from Don Meyer at a coaches clinic at some point. But in any case, it's something we all need to know. Who are you as a coach? What kind of team do you have? What can you and your team do well? It all comes down to understanding your strengths and playing to them. And knowing your weaknesses and compensating for them. A coach makes this decision for his team and players have to understand their strengths as they play their role on the team.

At the professional level, GMs can shape a team the way they would like. They can build toward a strength. Or they can scrap things and try to go a different direction-- sometimes with disastrous results. Take for example, Steve Kerr of the Phoenix Suns. He inherited a Phoenix Suns team that had had a very successful run with Steve Nash leading a fun to watch, fast breaking team. They were tailor made for the break with Amar'e Stoudemire as the world's fastest post player and an array of long range shooters. Then Kerr decided that he would trade for an aging Shaquille O'Neal and tried to make the Suns a better defensive club with a good scorer in the low post. I won't bother to mention what I thought of Kerr's decision-making, but I'll only state that this weekend, the NBA playoffs will begin and the Suns will not be playing.

Kerr spoke optimistically this week in saying that "the transition is in progress". But the reality is that the Suns are an aging team. Stoudemire is their best young talent, but inexplicably he was the subject of trade rumors. And the reality is also that Kerr failed to realize Who the Suns Were and what made them great. Instead, he bought into the "defense wins championships" motto (no motto is true every time and in every situation) and prematurely closed the Suns' window of opportunity for winning a world championship.

Basketball is a Complex Dance?

If you are a student of the game like I am, then you're going to love pondering some of the thoughts that Phil Jackson shares with us in my last post. I think that Phil Jackson is a brilliant coach. I use the word brilliant in the sense that he truly thinks outside the box. His "Zen Master" style of working with players and the incorporation of the complex "Triangle Offense" at a time when everyone else seemed to running free lance isolation and a seemingly endless array of set plays is completely out of the norm. And it's proven to be successful. Yes, he's had All-Star talent, but there's a long list of guys who couldn't win with talent or handle the prima donna-like personalities as well as Phil Jackson has shown the ability to do.

I love the manner in which Coach Jackson describes the process of playing winning basketball. I think that, in the quote below, he's primarily describing offense. The timing, the spacing, the speed of the cutting action, setting up screens, moving the ball, passing it to the right place at the right time. He speaks of trust. How many times have we seen players who are hesitant to pass a certain teammate the ball? Haven't we all had a player who was unable to make a pass against pressure or even a basic post feed? There's got to be cohesion and a sense of balance in every aspect of the game and Jackson captures it well with those comments.

Expectations- What can YOU promise to your athletes?

We coaches never hesitate to let our expectations known to our athletes. Sometimes, we can be quite demanding-- in practice, in games, on the court and off the court, in-season and off-season. But what can our athletes expect of us? It can be quite helpful to team building and the growth of your program, to openly share some things your athletes can expect out of you. These are things for which you are accountable. What can you guarantee? Well, nobody can guarantee wins and losses. Or that everybody will have fun. But I've listed a few items for you to consider if you'd like to come up with your own list of "coaching expectations."

Can you promise to enforce team rules? Even if the star player breaks them?
Should you promise playing time? Will everyone get to play in every game?
Will you guarantee that you will help any athlete who comes to you with a question or advice?
Should you promise to include fun drills in each practice? Once a week?
Can you coach your athletes in the same manner that we would want our own children to be coached?
Will you blame players or take personal responsibility after a loss?
Will you instill a team work ethic?
Can you guarantee that certain fundamentals will be taught? Will they be taught all season long or just early in the season?
Will you recognize opportunities to share "the big picture" with your athletes to help them learn a life lesson as the ups and downs of the season occur?
Will you teach sportsmanship? Even during times of adversity?
Can you provide a detailed scouting report before every game?
Will every practice be well organized?

Maybe you can come up with some issues of your own to consider. But as you can see, many of these questions can get us thinking about our own philosophy as a coach. Some answers are easy, others are not. If you are able to openly hold yourself accountable with your athletes, this will no doubt impress your players. They will gain respect for you. And in sharing these expectations that you have of yourself, this could motivate your athletes to hold each other more accountable to the team rules.

Confidence

Confidence
As a coach, you must exude confidence, and maintain an atmosphere on the team that will allow them to develop more confidence. A tense and worried team is not likely to perform at their best. Coaches should not doubt themselves publicly either. Players need to believe and trust their coach. They need to believe in the game plan. As a coach, you need to remember that no one else will believe in you unless you first believe in yourself.

Make sure you allow your team to build up confidence in its natural course. Building up false confidence can come back to haunt you since it will come crashing down when the team experiences unexpected failure. Confidence is stronger when it is built through accomplishments rather than words. In other words, success builds success. Beating good opponents builds more confidence than beating lesser teams.

Program beliefs

When a coach steps back and examines his or her coaching philosophy, it's always good to come up with a list of beliefs. These beliefs could be personal or for your program as a whole. Once you arrive at a list that you are comfortable with, it would be wise to share it with your coaching staff, players, and even parents. Below is an example of a short list of beliefs a head coach might have for his/her program.

The Beliefs of our Program
1. We would rather lose with class than win without it.
2. Team accomplishments are more important than individual achievements.
3. The coach is the guardian of the team. Sometimes players must be disciplined for the sake of the team.
4. Never discipline to punish. Discipline to teach.
5. The atmosphere of our team should be positive and enthusiastic because that will make the season more enjoyable and lead to better performance.
6. Players will play according to their personality, but coaches and teammates can make an impact.
7. We care more about team performance than wins and losses. We measure excellence against ourselves.
8. Confidence is the key to high performance. Confidence is stronger when it is built through accomplishments rather than words.

Players Accept No Imitations

Be yourself.
Coaching is too difficult to do well if you try to imitate others rather than being yourself. Players want consistency and the only role you can play consistently well is yourself. Your relationship with your players will be worthwhile if you still command their respect 10 years later. Set a good example.