The House of Excellence
A Personal Coaching Philosophy
Kirby Schepp
Introduction
This personal philosophy based on my 15 years of coaching experience and 25 years of experience in sports. It is not a static document, but rather anongoing journey that will evolve and change over time as more experiences present themselves.
Basketball is a team game, and a coach’s role is to train and prepare the team to meet their goals within a given season. When one season ends and another begins, some players will retire or graduate and other new athletes will be developed. New team goals and aspirations will emerge as the personnel changes. However, the coach is the often the one consistent element in the team. The coach is there year after year, not starting fresh but building on the successes and learning from the failures of the previous seasons. Each year the new team has the previous team’s values, expectations and traditions to follow and build on. It is for this reason that I look a coaching basketball not as leading a single group of athletes but rather the building of a program. From the perspective of the head coach it not just about a single year or team, but an on going process of constructing something that is bigger than just one bad year or one championship season or one all-star player. For this reason I see success and excellence in university basketball as the development of aprogram.
I have chosen to use the metaphorof a house, because like a house, the program needs to be built from the ground up and constantly maintained. The house may need new additions or repairs just as the program may need to develop the people, athletes, systems and teamwork. The parts that make a strong house;the foundation, walls, support beams and roofcan all compare to things that make a strong program.
The House of Excellence
The Parts of the House
Community: The Seed of the Successful Program
A strong relationship with the surrounding community is the base that the house is built on;it is the beginning and the end of any successful program. It is important to realize that the most important resources are talented people that contribute from the surrounding community. For this reason, it is crucial that the program gives back to the surrounding community by developing quality people and programs and becomes a positive influence that in turn enhances the community.
The core of the support staff; assistant coaches, managers, trainers and administrators, represent people in the immediate community. While it is certainly desirable and necessary to attract talented people from outside the community, the core of the program should have a strong local flare that reflects its roots and develops a loyal following. The strength of this part of the program is therefore dependant on the quality of people that can be found in the community. These people will serve the program and to be served by it. A workplace that has a positive exciting “team” atmosphere and changes a group of colleagues and makes theminto a family develops loyalty, camaraderie and selflessness. This strengthens the program long term and creates an atmosphere that will deepenits roots in the community.
The core of the athletes that represent the program on the court will be developed in the surrounding community. For this reason, it is important that the program is seen in a positive light by surrounding coaches and people within the sport. The program should play a large part in the promotion and development of the sport with these people. This investment will be returned many times by the production of quality skilled athletes that can directly affect team performance, as well as increase loyalty to the program among the people within the community.
The Foundation of the House of Excellence:
Enthusiasm and Industriousness
In John Wooden’s legendary pyramid of success, he labels the two cornerstones of his philosophy enthusiasm and industriousness.
Enthusiasm:Your energy and enjoyment drive and dedication will stimulate and greatly inspire others. (Wooden, 1988)
Enthusiasm is the genuine energy with which each person must bring to the table each day. To me, coaching basketball and leading a basketball program is not a job. It is something that I wake up excited about each day. Something that I am passionate about doing the best I possibly can not because I am supposed to do it or because I am being paid to do it, but because I love the game, the challenge and people that have invested in the program. This passioncan separate ordinary achievers from extraordinary ones. When the program is made up of a group of people who share this enthusiasm, it can make the difference between excellence and mediocrity.
Industriousness:Success travels in the company of very hard work. There is no trick, the there is no easy way.(Wooden, 1988)
Industriousness is the most conscientious, assiduous, and inspired type of work. Willingness to work and an appetite for hard work must be present in order to be successful. Without it, you have nothing to build on.Every person in the program must be committed to the goals and direction of the program and must pursue them with vigor every day. The combination of industriousness and enthusiasm in the people that make up the program is extremely important to the success of the program. This is why they make up the foundation of the house of excellence.
The Walls of Support - Preparing the Athletes to Play
Fundamental Skills
Basketball is unique among team sports in that there are fewer specialists or one dimensional players. Now more than ever because of the international game, each player must be a total player, or what has become known as “global player”. All players need to develop ball handling, shooting, passing, rebounding, footwork, movement and decision making skills.
It is my belief that the skill development process in all areas is a year round endeavor that athletes need throughout their playing careers. Coaches must work athletes continuously to improve skills in all of these areas. They need to be given all the necessary resources to develop their individual game to the fullest in order to make the team better as a whole.
Physical Conditioning
Basketball is a physically demanding sport. All players need to be physically prepared to play the game at an extremely high level. Therefore, it is important that all players develop their bodies by improving muscular endurance, muscular strength, aerobic endurance anaerobic capacity, flexibility, power, speed and agility. An elite program focused on excellence must provide the coaching and resources necessary to help prepare the athletes year round to compete at the highest level.
Systems of Play
Offensive Systems
I believe in a flexible offense that utilizes the strengths of the players that particular team has, not a set pattern year in and year out regardless of the personnel. I believe in putting each player in position where they can be effective at all times. This means getting lay-ups by our best finishers and open three point shots from our best shooters. I believe in the team working together to get great shots rather than one-on-one play. I believe in giving your best players opportunities to make plays and the freedom to do so.
On each offensive possession, we are trying to:
- Fast break as much as possible, play as little 5-on-5 as possible.
- Space the floor at all times.
- Create help situations.
- Create foul situations.
- Attack the offensive boards.
Defensive Systems
I believe that whenever possible the defense should dictate the play of the offense. We should decide how they are going to beat us and force them to do things they do not want to do. I believe in primarily man-to-man defense but also recognizing the value of using multiple and changing defenses.
On each defensive possession, we are trying to:
- Pressure the opponent to create opportunities.
- Take away the opponent’s fast break opportunities.
- Force low percentage shots at all times.
- Rebound the ball.
Mental Preparation
Psychological Tools and Skills
Just as each player needs basketball skills to play, they also must have psychological tools to be able to execute a game plan, deal with adverse game situations and perform in the big moments. Just ball as handling, shooting and footwork require time and practice, so does the critical mental skills of each athlete require significant training. In order to achieve maximum level that their abilities will allow, athletes need to have developed the skills to stay focused, manage their emotions, control anxiety, use positive mental imagery, use positive self-talk, set goals, stay motivated, and maintain a positive attitude.These skills are important for the athlete’s long term development, their preparation for competition and during the competition itself.
Scouting and Game Preparation
Preparation is the key to confidence. From a coach’sperspective, getting the team prepared to lay each game is a key responsibility of the coach. In order to consistentlycompeteagainst and defeat top teams, a team must know their opponents offensively, defensively, their strengths and weaknesses and develop and game plan that will work. This will build confidence, a belief that they can win and that they will win.
- If you know the enemy and know yourself, your victory will not stand in doubt – Sun Tzu, The Art of War (Griffith, 1983)
The Fire That Burns Inside
Intensity of Play
Great teams often have one quality that can be immediately recognized after watching them play only a few minutes. They play hard! One would think that all players play hard or do the best all time. Yet it is often it is often obvious to people watching a game that one team or one particular player seems to have a higher level of intensity than the others do. They just seem to get more lose balls, dive on the floor or rebound better. The games seems to mean more to them. They have an urgency and an intensity about them. While some athletes just have this quality, I believe thatthis can be brought out of many athletes that do not have it.
If not all parts of this equation are in place, under performance may be the result. If a coach is demanding but not supportive,a team may revolt against the coach and fight the demands. If a coach is supportive and caring but not demanding enough the team will be apathetic and may wonder; why are we not better than this? If a coach is inconsistent in either the demands or support the may be inconsistent performance.
The Roof Over Our Heads:
The Importance of TEAMWORK
T = Team Play
Actions speak louder than words. Teamwork begins with playing the game the right way. How this is accomplished will depend on not only the teams philosophy of play but their on court body language and they way they use each other to achieve the common goal. The game of basketball can be broken down into three goals at any time that all teams are trying to accomplish.
1. Get the highest percentage shot possible.
2. Force the opponent into a low percentage shot.
3. Get/Keep possession of the ball.
How does the team go about achievingthese goals? Do they know how to use each other to accomplish them effectively? Do all the players understand and embrace how we are going to get them donetogether?
E= Effective Communication
Effective teams have players and coaches that are constantly talking to each other. On-court communication will help players be more effective and off-court communication will help move the group out of the storming stage of conflict through the norming stage and keep the focus on the goal.
A = Active Leadership
Look at any team that has achieved success and you will find it has strong active leadership. Leadership that is committed to the goal and has the courage, strength and respect of the team to lead them in this direction, is invaluable to the success of the team.
M = Mission
One of the first steps of any team is to come to some consensus as to the purpose for their season. This involves answering questions and setting the compass in a common direction. Where do we want to be at the end of the season? How far can we go? What are we wiling to do to get their? What is going to take for us to get there? What can we do today to go in that direction?
W = Who Are We?
All teams need to establish some type of identity; a sense of collective self and of team personality that each person can identify with. A team without this vision of itself is purposeless and can be subject to personal agendas that work against each other and drain the team’s energy. From the common vision, the team can determine what is important, where it is headed and why it’s going there.
O = One Family - Togetherness
The team as family is what most people would call team cohesion. They are a group that because of its common purpose, direction and values enjoys being with each other and doing things for each other and the group. The attitude that this feeling develops is one of servitude for the team.
R = Roles - Fitting the Puzzle Together
Creating a winning team does not come from just having the right individuals. The team may have people performing jobs that do not add the best value to the group. Adding maximum value can be accomplished by first knowing the strengths of each individual and how best they can contribute to the goal. Secondly, by getting each person to accept and embrace that role. Finally, by getting the team to value each of the necessary roles; a team can reach its true potential.
K = Keeping It Together - Problem Solving
Selfish attitudes, lack of focus on the goal, jealousies and in-fighting all must be dealt with quickly and within the team or performance will suffer. A team needs effective strategies to prevent issues from arising and to deal with problems when they do occur.
The Chimney - The Final Product
The chimney represents the by-product of all of the things that has gone into building the house of excellence.This represents much of the reward for all that goes into the program. It is the ongoing mission of the program and the curb appeal of the house of excellence.
- A tradition of winning and excellence.
- Quality community programs.
- Developing quality people.
- Creating a positive icon in the community.
Completing the Process: A Responsibility to Give Back
When athletes graduate and move on, it is important that they take with them the values that have been instilled by their time with the program. It is the single most important way of giving back to the community. Producing quality people is the ultimate success above any wins and loses. It is the proof that what we are doing is worthwhile and of value to the community. This proof validates the loyalty of fan support, booster support and government financial support and is essential to the long-term success of the program.
Summary of the House of Excellence
References
Wooden, J. R. (1988). Practical Modern Basketball. New York, NY: MacMillan.
Griffith, S. B. (1983). Sun Tzu The Art of WarTranslated. London, UK: OxfordUniversity Press.
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