It’s very exciting to join a new program and start fresh.
Whether we’re a young coach or a wily veteran, head coach or assistant, there are still some important things to remember as we begin this new job.
8 In-Season Team Building Ideas
11-time NBA Championship coach Phil Jackson said, “The strength of the team is each individual member, and the strength of each member is the team.” As a coach, you understand the importance of building a strong team.
There are plenty of teams that consist of skilled individuals and athletes with tremendous physical assets. However, some of these teams never reach their potential because they are just a bunch of puzzle pieces that don’t seem to fit together.
Utilizing Committees On Your Team
There’s no doubt that you want a stronger culture and a successful program. This is oftentimes accomplished when you have athletes that are good leaders. This might manifest itself in the form of strong team captains, upperclassmen, or an overall atmosphere of all players taking responsibility for the team’s leadership.
However, whether the leadership on your team is currently where you want it to be or not, you can do something to make it even better.
11 Off-Season Team Building Ideas
There’s more to a good team than just talent, strategy, and philosophy. The best teams have a high level of trust, respect, and a sense of purpose. This doesn’t happen by accident. Building a strong and healthy team is intentional.
There’s an old adage that says, “One day the winter will come calling and it will ask what you did all summer long.” You reap what you sow, and this is no different for your athletes, your team, or even yourself. The off season is a great time to prepare for the upcoming season. It’s a great time to build strong habits.
6 Ways to Better Utilize Assistant Coaches
The late great Billy Graham liked to say, “A coach will impact more young people in one year than the average person will in a lifetime.” The quote didn’t distinguish between head coaches or assistant coaches. All coaches have an opportunity to make a difference.
As a head coach, your platform is greater and you may have more opportunities, but your assistants can make a tremendous difference in the lives of your athletes – both from an athletic and personal level. The best programs have great coaches. A good head coach can only do so much if the assistant coaches are not very good.
Having a good assistant coach isn’t automatic even if that person has the knowledge or experience.
Here are 6 ways that you can better utilize your assistant coaches more effectively…
What REAL Leadership Looks Like
You’re a coach, which means you have a position of leadership. However, keep in mind that just because you have a business card, plaque on your office door, or embroidered shirts saying “coach” doesn’t mean you are a good leader. There are plenty of politicians, CEOs, administrators, and yes, even coaches that aren’t maximizing the leadership potential of their positions.
Your status as a coach provides you a tremendous opportunity and starting point to make a positive impact on people. Leadership isn’t about positions or status, but about influence. Anyone can be a leader because anyone can have influence. However, you have a head start because you have power, status, and authority. You have a built-in platform and opportunity to use your power for good … or for bad.
How to Take a Team from First to Worst
“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that it doesn’t go into a fruit salad.” (Miles Kington)
After two different head coaching stints, I was presented an opportunity to coach at a dream job. It was the same type of school I was currently at but had more resources, more stability, a much nicer campus, and nearly every key player was returning from the prior year’s Top-25 team. The coach had left to take a big-time Division I head coaching job and they wanted me to replace him.
When you listen to coaches speak at clinics and conferences, they are quick to outline what they’ve done to rebuild a bad program. Most stories present an example to follow or a cautionary tale. In that dream job, I took the program from first to worst. That’s right, I ruined that team in just one year.
Not only did we have one of the worst seasons in school history and a 16-win DECREASE but we also lost twice to the team that I had just left.
#Oops.