ESSENTIALS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
HEAD COACH
1. LEADERSHIP – Above all, a successful coach must be a great leader. Deal with the world as it is, not how you wish it could be. Be honest with yourself and your situation. The attitude, work-ethic, and enthusiasm of any team are a reflection of the leader. A leader earns respect and a loyal following by being true to himself and those he leads.
2. COMMUNICATION – The ability to effectively communicate with players, assistant coaches, administrators, media, officials and supporters are of infinite importance. No matter the situation, the coach has to know how (and sometimes when) to communicate with individuals in a positive and constructive way. Must also be a good public speaker.
*Many hours go into preparation for the first team meeting!
3. PLAYER-COACH RELATIONSHIP – This is based on Trust. You must have great rapport with your players and coaches on and off the floor. They must feel comfortable enough with you to be able to come to you at anytime about anything. There must be an atmosphere that the player feels comfortable. Have to find out what’s important to them.
4. BE AN EXCELLENT TEACHER – Great teacher of fundamentals. This means improving the ability of the individual players. Of all the important physical skills a successful athlete must have, fundamentals are the most important.
5. MOTIVATION – Without motivational skills, it is hard to be a good coach. Challenge players. Some want it in various ways, they are all different. Communication skills become important in motivation.
*Great leaders have a knack for helping others see the best in themselves!
6. ORGANIZATION - Must be a great organizer. Organize your staff, prepare them to move on to become a head coach themselves. Have a year-round calendar, especially an off- season calendar. Have a plan for everything you do in your program.
7. CREATE A SYSTEM AND SELL IT – A great coach must be a great salesman and sell their system. An identity for your team. What will people say when your team’s name comes up?
8. BE POSITIVE – Players must understand you are on their side! Is okay to use negative comments when winning. Must be positive and use positive re-enforcement after a loss.
9. HIGH ENERGY – If players feel your energy, it’s contagious. Being in great physical shape for a coach is important. Your physical condition is an example for your players.
10. INTENSITY – Players will play with intensity if their coach is intense. Must develop an intense work-ethic. The only way to get ahead of the competition is to out-work them. Compare yourself to your peers, do you work as hard as other coaches?
11. WILL TO WIN – How high is your will to win? If a coach doesn’t take losing lightly,
the players won’t either. Talk to the team about how you expect them to handle losing. All great coaches are dedicated.
*The average self-made millionaire takes twenty years of hard work and dedication to get to that point!
12. EGO MANAGEMENT – How do you manage it? Your own, your players, your coaches. Let your assistant coaches talk to the media every now and then. Feed the egos that work under you. Don’t be afraid to hire someone better than you at some part of the game.
13. FIND A MENTOR – Someone you can lean-on when you need advice. Use them for outside opinions.
14. CONSISTENCY – Be consistent with what you do. Don’t surprise them.
15. PREPARATION – All great coaches are prepared. Scouting report, are players
prepared? Are you prepared if an injury happens? End of game situations, work on those situations.
*Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.
16. CREATE A WINNING ENVIRONMENT – Make people feel good about where they are playing. Proud of who they are playing for. The name on the front of the jersey.
17. CLEARLY DEFINE ROLES – Can be an uneasy time. Discuss roles in pre-season practice. Pecking order in shots taken. Tell players up front where they are.
18. CREATE TEAM CHEMISTRY – Take them bowling. Play a game of wiffle ball. Things off the court can be very important in building team chemistry on the court.
19. GOAL SETTING – Create a vision for your team through goals. Set goals that are attainable. Do something every day in goal setting – Goal setting is nothing more than the laws of expectations and what you expect from your team.
20. PROBLEM SOLVING – You have to turn a problem (or loss) into a solution. Forget
the “What ifs” if you have a problem. WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
21. OPPORTUNITY – Look at every loss as an opportunity. That’s when you are needed. They don’t need you when things are going well.