By Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr.
On August 31, 2012, the Boys and Girls Club located in Lansing MI, dedicated their gym to Coach James Porter and Coach Chris Ferguson. Coach Porter spent numerous years as the basketball coach there.
He was honored posthumously for his work with the youth in the community. Many great words were spoken about him, but what stood out most was when Earvin “Magic” Johnson said, “My uncle was more than just a coach”. All coaches should strive for that to be how they are remembered at the end of their career.
This is the perfect way to open part two of my three part series, “Tips For A Successful Season: Coaches Edition”.
1. More Than A Coach – As a coach, you may be the most consistent male figure in the life of a player. A lot of professional athletes will mention that a coach was a father figure and mentor to them as they were coming up.
Coaches need to understand and take that to heart. Most athletes will not go on to play professional sports, so coaches need to prepare them for life, as much as they do the next game. You may not reach them all, but try to have a positive impact on every player you come in contact with.
2. Know Your Personnel – The toughest task for a coach is managing attitudes and egos. Most coaches have their gameplan down pact. They know what they want to see executed.
However, if they do not have a handle on the their players attitudes and egos, none of it will work. Not all players will respond to discipline the same way. You may be able to yell at one player, and get a positive response in their play. That same approach may cause another player to shut down. So, as a coach, you have to learn what approach works best for each player.
3. Teach Fundamentals – The lack of fundamentally sound players is one of the biggest complaints you hear when watching collegiate and professional sporting events.
In football, you hear complaints about how poorly players tackle or catch the ball. In basketball, you hear complaints about poor ballhandling and shooting. By the time the players get to that level, it is difficult to change what they do. It has been engrained in them since little league. So, as little league, middle school, and high school coaches, you should prepare players with the fundamentals they need to flourish. Each year, they should be given tools to grow their game. As coaches, you have to introduce the fundamentals to the players and hope they cultivate that which you have introduced.
4. Handle Adversity Well – Players feed off of the way their coach handles adversity. In every game, there will be calls that go against you. To be honest, you will feel like you are getting the short end of the stick most times. As a coach, you have to handle that well. Last season while coaching, we had a game that our opponents felt they were not getting good calls. Their coaches began to get demonstrative and lost focus on coaching their team.
During a timeout, I told my team to put our opponent away. The other team was already on the ropes, with their coaches spending more time arguing than coaching and that energy transferred to the players. They were complaining about calls and yelling at the referees. They were mimicking what they saw their coach doing. We ended up winning by 15 points.
The moral of this story is, you are the conduit to your players energy. The way you act, positive or negative, will effect the way your team performs on the court or field.
At the end of the gym dedication Coach Ferguson said, “The thing I’m most proud of, is that our players became good citizens.”
As coaches, this is something else you should strive to say at the end of your career. As stated earlier, you may not reach all of your players but you have to try to get as many as you can. Your time with these athletes this season is precious, and you can effect the way the rest of their life plays out. Make sure it is a success.
I’m Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr. and I approve this message.
Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr. is a writer that enjoys watching, playing, and talking about sports. He coaches basketball at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. You can visit his blog at mrwilson42.blogspot.com for thoughts on current sports events. Follow him on twitter @JimmyLWilsonJr, and feel free to email any feedback to him at jimmyl.wilsonjr@gmail.com.
This was printed in the September 9, 2012 – September 22, 2012 Edition.
