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PostPosted: 08 Feb 2013, 09:11 

Posts: 36
I have boys that play high school and college basketball, and I have coached basketball. That being said, I would love to hear from both coaches and parents that visit this site what they feel makes a coach a "good coach". Give me your top 5 points.

Love to hear from you all!

Thanks


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PostPosted: 08 Feb 2013, 11:38 

Posts: 900
1) Integrity (they are trusted)
2) They are passionate about coaching (that passion motivates their players and staff)
3) Good communicators/listeners
4) Teach life lessons, not just X's and O's
5) Their players enjoy playing for them

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PostPosted: 08 Feb 2013, 12:38 
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And 1 -

I coached high school basketball for 27 yerars / 16 as the head coach -

I don't think there is a top 5, sorry. There is so much to know and do to be a good high school coach. Some of it has nothing to do about the game.

* Treat the secretaries and custodians well..... they are the ones that will take care of you and your program.. I could give you so many examples... too numerous to write here.
* Get to know your feeded schools/coaches, try to see some of their games... this is NOT always easy, with practices, scouting and meetings, don't forget, coaching is 10% of your job (doesn't seem that way) teaching is 90@ of your salary. Being a head coach of a major sport is like another full time job.
* Communicate with the rest of the staff, let them know that you are there to help them with your student / athletes.
* Be a student of the game, never stop learning and be flexible.... do things on the court that will give your players their best chance of winning.
* Make sure that your players know that you are there for them, NOT just baskeball, but anything that is happening in their lives. ( IF they know you care, they will do anything for you )
* Be able to sell your philosophy of the game to your coaches and players, everbody has to be on the same page.
* As a coach, you can never have a bad day in practice or at a game, regardless of how you feel.
* Build your program from the gound up... make sure your lower levels are getting good coaches and that they know you care about them too.
* Have summer camps for all ages.... I ran a shooting camp ( had to, ran out of bigs after a few years ) and a team camp. All my assistants had camps during the summer.
* We were in summer leagues and went to a few shootouts too.
* Along with being coaches, we need to be social workers, counselors, friends / parents. People that your players can come to when they have problems.
* We have to schedule our non conference games for all levels......sometimes bus schedules ..... make a complete practice schedule for EVERY level, both boys and girls and what gyms they will be in.
* Get to know every kid in your program if you can and see as many of their games as possible.
* Meet with your coaches a few times a year... ask for suggestions and talk about any problem they might have.
* Make sure your kids are having FUN at practice and at games.

OK, I'm sure I missed a few somewhere .... and all of the ones that Rob listed. Which one are more important.... thats pretty hard to say - they are ALL important IF you are going to have a good program.


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PostPosted: 08 Feb 2013, 14:54 

Posts: 36
I wish you guys could of been my kids coaches. I see coaches changing whether it is an outside influence or what, but they are really missing a few key points that you both brought up -

1) Integrity (they are trusted)
2) They are passionate about coaching (that passion motivates their players and staff)
3) Good communicators/listeners
4) Teach life lessons, not just X's and O's
5) Their players enjoy playing for them - all of the players, not just the starters
6) Along with being coaches, we need to be social workers, counselors, friends / parents. People that your players can come to when they have problems.
7) Make sure that your players know that you are there for them, NOT just basketball, but anything that is happening in their lives. ( IF they know you care, they will do anything for you )

There will always be politics, favorites and the desire to win at any cost, but they(the coaches) are really missing out on a chance to be a positive influence and role model for the kids, especially when there seems to be less of those positive influences in today's society.

I don't know about your communities and schools, but I see less kids going out for sports than ever before.

My 2 cents worth....


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PostPosted: 09 Feb 2013, 18:00 

Posts: 900
And1 wrote:
I don't know about your communities and schools, but I see less kids going out for sports than ever before.
In our city (large city), I see ample opportunities for kids to participate in sports of all different types at various levels. They always seem to fill up, so I don't think participation is an issue, at least here in my city.

I think the bigger problem is finding qualified coaches at the lower levels and having leagues that understand the importance of the issues we discuss on this forum (e.g., having fun, teaching fundamentals, equal playing time at rec levels, not throwing chairs on court, etc.). I hear about kids dropping out after a season or two because they never touched the ball much or didn't like all the constant yelling. It wasn't FUN anymore.

The secondary problem I see is the whole sports club scene has become the norm. If you don't play club or AAU ball starting in 6th/7th grade, your chances of making a high school team in our city are slim. Unless you're some type of phenom. Nothing wrong with that option, we've somehow managed to play in very competitive leagues and still keep it fun.

Fortunately, in our city, we have a few leagues that offer 3 on 3 and 5 on 5 at several levels from 3rd all the way through high school levels. In fact, one league just started a developmental league for high school players who didn't make their respective team. The turnout has been exceptional, which says to me that kids want to continue playing, even if they don't make their high school team. That has been a void for a long time, as kids wouldn't have a place to play if they didn't make their high school team.

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PostPosted: 09 Feb 2013, 19:20 

Posts: 36
Good points CROB, totally agree, There are many people coaching that shouldn't be, but sometimes that can't find a coach either. The point about a lack of play time and coaches yelling and belittling kids is having an impact on kids going out for sports here. They work hard in practice and don't see the floor and therefore don't feel like they are part of the team. Kids coming up through the ranks see that and decide to spend time doing other things instead. It's frustrating.


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PostPosted: 11 Feb 2013, 12:58 

Posts: 176
I'll add my $.02. There are good programs and bad programs. A lot of what is driving players to "club" sports is the pathetic state of their local programs. Bad rules, bad coaches, daddy ball, bad parents, bad kids.

Yes, at the lower levels it should be fun, but the definition of fun changes as the kids mature. At some point fun needs to change from the after game snack to developing your skills and putting the skills to use on the court and achieving success. Rules like trophies for everyone and equal playing time soon lead to rules requiring everyone to "start" or play point guard (our league rules). We end up creating a generation of people to whom everything is given to them for just showing up, if they show up at all these days.

Sports is about pushing yourself to your limit. Exhausted, tired, spent, frustraited, you then have a choice -- quit or push forward and breakthrough your limits. Coaches help you with this -- and sometimes they yell. Sometimes you need a "kick in the butt." Problem is today, if little Johnny gets yelled at the parents call a lawyer.


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PostPosted: 11 Feb 2013, 13:39 
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Golfman -

How true... good and bad in all scenarios... as in life. It's up to the GOOD guys to make the difference.
.
golfman25 wrote:
Yes, at the lower levels it should be fun, but the definition of fun changes as the kids mature. At some point fun needs to change from the after game snack to developing your skills and putting the skills to use on the court and achieving success. Rules like trophies for everyone and equal playing time soon lead to rules requiring everyone to "start" or play point guard (our league rules). We end up creating a generation of people to whom everything is given to them for just showing up, if they show up at all these days.


The underlined part is bull. 1-6 should be all about fundamentals... an instructional time of their lives so to speak.... learn, play and have fun. 7-8 becomes more competitive, still learning a lot but playing to win. JMO High school is about winning,especially at the Varsity level. Teach fundamentals at every level, every day. Practice hard, play hard. Watching Freshman play is fun... they are still a little goofy, like to have FUN and that is fine... they get to the sophomore level ( I know, I coached there for 8 years ) they still want to have fun but they sure want to win.... they become very competitive. Varsity is all about winning the game.

As we coach, we do a lot more than teach / coach basketball... we try to teach them some life lessons while teaching the game. I had a couple of Thoughts for the Day at every practice.... something to make them think about life and what it takes to be successful.

Sounds like you are having a difficult time with someone/something.... hang in there, step back and remember what Al McGuire said ( Marquette head coach ) "This is just a game with kids in short pants playing."

As coaches we need to learn who needs a pat on the but and a kind word... and the ones that need the kick in the butt because they respond to that better. Not an easy task sometimes.


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