Providing Insights on Leadership and Success. Coach Bechler is a John Maxwell Leadership Team Member.
The Hall of Fame basketball coach Tom Izzo likes to say, “A player-led team is always better than a coach-led team.” The best teams have athletes that step up and take a leadership role. The best teams have athletes that take ownership in the culture and are invested in the process.
This doesn’t happen if the coach is a control freak, micro-manager, or the only voice in a program. The best teams have athletes who are leaders. The best teams have strong leadership.
Southwest Baptist University has hired Bechler Leadership to help find a head coach to begin the men’s and women’s swim programs.
Clark Sheehy is in his second year leading the Bearcat athletic department after a long and storied career as a men’s basketball coach at SBU, John Brown University, and Fresno Pacific University.
Men’s and women’s swimming has been a Great Lakes Valley Conference sport since 2013. SBU will be the 12th men’s team and 11th women’s team in the conference.
As a head coach, you can’t be the entire program. You need assistants and you need captains that can help you lead the program towards success.
Great team captains make your job easier as a coach. Everyone knows this, but having strong team leadership is not as simple as a well-meaning wish and a snap of the fingers. Most coaches know what kind of captain and leadership they want, but oftentimes it doesn’t play out that way.
“You either get bitter or you get better. It’s that simple. You either take what has been dealt to you and allow it to make you a better person, or you allow it to tear you down. The choice does not belong to fate, it belongs to you.” (Josh Shipp)
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At 27 years of age, I was the youngest women’s basketball head coach at the NCAA level. Four years later, I was allowed to take my talents elsewhere.
How kind of them to let me voluntarily resign.
No matter how you spin it, I was fired.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (Thomas Jefferson)Here in the United States, we celebrate our nation’s independence from England on the 4th of July.
In honor of that, here are 11 interesting facts (at least to me they are interesting) …
Communication is perhaps the most important skill you can possess. It can make or break your relationships, friendships, and partnerships — and it’s the difference between your team reaching their potential or not.
Billionaire businessman Richard Branson says “Communication is a skill that you can learn. It’s like riding a bicycle or typing. If you’re willing to work at it, you can rapidly improve the quality of every part of your life.”
There are no small parts — only small actors!
This phrase has been uttered countless times when it comes to acting, but it also applies beautifully to your team. You could easily say there are no small roles, only small athletes.
A car is made up of many parts, from the chassis to the motor to the tires to the lug nuts. Even though some may appear more important than others, each component of a car plays a vital part to its’ operation. An expensive luxury car doesn’t get very far if the $5 spark plug isn’t working properly.
The leadership expert and author John C. Maxwell says, “We all need someone to help us in our pursuit of intentional growth and the right mentor helps you take massive leaps forward.”
Even coaches need coaches. Maxwell talks about “intentional growth”. This is when you make the conscious decision to make yourself better.
One of the best ways to do this is with a mentor.
The College of Saint Mary athletic director Robbie Shay has announced they are partnering with Bechler Leadership in its’ search for a new women’s basketball coach.
“We believe there’s a lot of potential here,” said Shay. “With our revamped scholarships, first-class facilities, and beautiful location we wanted to maximize the opportunities available to us to get the right coach in place. Bechler Leadership has had great results filling positions at other schools and we’re excited to work with their team.”
A strong culture requires trust and chemistry among all the team members. As coaches, we usually think of this in terms of our athletes. We look at team-building as something they do, as opposed to something we do.
If you’re trying to maximize the potential of your athletes, the coaching staff must be a cohesive unit that’s on the same page. You can’t expect our athletes to trust one another, communicate effectively with one another, or support one another if you’re not doing that as well.