“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” (Albert Einstein)
You’ve stocked up on more toilet paper than one person should own at one time.
You’re starting to wonder if your hands will ever smell like something other than hand sanitizer.
You’re binge-watching shows you would never be caught dead admitting to viewing.
You’re watching all of ESPN’s 30 for 30’s again.
Sound familiar?
BORED yet?
The one thing that we complain about all the time is not having enough time. Now we do. What will you do with this new found time?
As a coach, you might be getting bored but there are some things that you can do to maximize your time and make the most of the opportunity presented with the coronavirus situation we now face.
BORED yet? Here are 5 things coaches can do with the boredom.
BOOKS – Mark Twain once said “The person who does not read is no better off than the person who can’t read.” Whether you like turning physical pages, swiping a tablet, or listening to an audio book, this is a great opportunity to catch up on your reading. I have a stack of new books on my bookshelf and this is a great time to dig into them. Amazon is still delivering so you can get a book quickly if you have read all of yours already. If you need some suggestions, here is a list that may be of interest. JamyBechler.com/recommendedbooks
OPTIMIZE – This could easily have been organize but that is just one aspect of what you could be doing during this unexpected break. You want to get better. You want to grow and improve. John Maxwell likes to say that “change is inevitable but growth is optional.” You now have time that you didn’t expect and so you can take advantage of it. You can evaluate every part of your program and coaching without fear of tinkering or it affecting your next game. There is no next game to prepare for so do a deep dive into how and why you do things. Don’t be afraid to be critical of yourself in order to get better and improve. You want to maximize your potential as a coach. John Wooden used to say, “The best way to improve the team is to improve yourself.” As coaches, we usually reserve that statement for our players but it can also apply to us right now. Become a better coach during this “off-season”. Optimize your success by being honest with yourself. Coach Wooden also said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” Make this break count.
RECRUIT – This one is more for college coaches. You might have challenges in recruiting that you’ve never had to face before but it doesn’t mean that you can’t find an edge. Recruiting is all about shaping a narrative and telling a story about why you are different in a good way from all the other options out there. Why are you the right fit for a recruit. Though the coronavirus situation threw the monkey wrench into your recruiting gears doesn’t mean that there aren’t things you can be doing right now. Be sure that you read Dan Tudor’s article on the subject. Reach out to your recruits ASAP and find out what’s going on with their life. How has the pandemic affected their school, team, family, etc…? What are their thoughts on what’s going on? Have they started binge-watching new shows? Have they been able to keep working out? Besides the cancellations and postponements, what has been the most challenging thing about this unparalleled situation? Talk about how your team has handled it. This is a great time to use stories and mention how your team’s culture has helped prepare your players to adapt and overcome some of this challenging situation. Reinforce that this situation doesn’t change a thing in how much you want the recruit and how they fit into your culture.
ENGAGE – Even though we are supposed to be social distancing ourselves from others, there is no reason we still can’t engage and connect with others. There are plenty of couples that stay connected during long-distance relationships. This is no different. You can stay connected with your current players (or recruits) through Skype, Face time, social media, texting, emails, phone calls, or good old fashioned snail mail. Organize your strategy so that you can optimize your communication. This can maintain a healthy connection, which is needed during this time away and for when the players come back. Maybe set up a Facebook group with your players so that you stay in communication. You can put them on teams and do a weekly contest (e.g. photo captioning, Tik Tok contests, or creative selfies during their time away from school). Maybe you can encourage them to learn something new or have a contest related to that (e.g. juggling, playing an instrument, crocheting, scrapbooking, designing their own website, drawing, etc…). You can also use this time to engage with parents. For at least a few weeks (months?) you will not make them mad when it comes to playing time. Maybe you can mend some fences and soften them up a little bit. Here is a great article from Nate Sanderson about engaging with parents.
DEVELOP – This combines much of what we’ve already talked about. Just because your players are gone doesn’t mean that you can’t continue developing them and your culture. Every team in America will either get better or get worse during this time. Send your student-athletes some simple workout drills or things they can do at home. The internet is full of these videos from reputable sources in your sport. If you are connecting with them and engaging with them, you’ll be able to continually encourage them. Don’t look at this time away from each other as a dead period (unless, of course, it is legally a dead period). They might like the idea of sitting around all day and watching Netflix, they are going to get bored at some point. Help connect them connect the dots that this break can help them get closer to their goals (whatever they may be). Send them an ebook to read on their phone or tablet. Some of the books mentioned in the link above would be great for student-athletes. You can never go wrong with a Jon Gordon book, but we’ve also written The Leadership Playbook and The Bus Trip specifically for student-athletes and there are free chapter discussion guides available for each book at the links provided. This is a great time to help your players understand how to be better teammates and more positive leaders. Your team’s true culture is when your players hold each other accountable to the standards that they buy into. It is not the two hour practice that you control. Begin strengthening your culture during this break. By engaging and connecting with them to ultimately help develop them as people and athletes, you’ll make them better but also make your team better.