“There has never been a good coach who was not a good teacher. What is a good teacher? One who creates the right climate for players to learn.” - George Welsh - Former football coach, United States Naval Academy.
Back in the summer of 2001 a closed-door meeting of some of the country’s most identifiable college basketball coaches and top administrators went on for two days.
In the room, UNC head basketball coach Roy Williams, Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith, Kelvin Sampson, at the time, the leader of Oklahoma University men’s basketball, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse University along with Jim Haney, Executive Director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
What were they gathering for?
To officially submit a proposal of recommendation to change the title “basketball coach” to “teacher-coaches.”
"It's an issue of trying to identify the field of coaching in a way that's maybe been lost in recent years, to identify the coach as first and foremost a teacher." Event moderator Michael Josephson said.
"The real serious coaches have really treasured that kind of teaching role," Josephson continued.
Even in 2001 the recommendation was met with collective eye-rolls. The most cynical responses came from non-coaches. “Nobody’s going to pick this up. This will never work, it’s just an artificial construct.”
Now, 24 years later this type of recommendation would get laughed out of many rooms.
In an era of extreme change in athletics, has the art of teaching gone extinct?
Are coaches really teachers? Is teaching really an essential part of the sports experience? If teaching is a cornerstone of sports, what is the curriculum?
Coaching Is Teaching
Not all coaches are teachers, but the best coaches are teachers.
Former UCLA basketball player, Bill Walton had this to say about one of the greatest coaches to ever live, John Wooden.
“We thought he was nuts. But in all his preaching and teachings, everything he told us turned out to be true. He quotes poetry. He has a thousan maxims. He is a man who truly has principles and ides. He taught life.”
“He taught life” - that’s quite the curriculum to weave into a sport!
Another former UCLA Bruin, Kareem Abdul Jabbar had this to say about his coach, “He was more a teacher than a coach. He broke basketball down to its basic elements. His ability to make the game simple was part of his genius.”
Teaching is the backbone of effective coaching and leading.
The Curriculum
Beyond “teaching life” like John Wooden, Harvey Dorfman, one of the pioneers in sports psychology had this to say about the curriculum that must be taught by the most effective coaches.
Intellectual factors around the game
Technique - skill development
Strategies - tactics, “X’s and O’s”
Intellectual/Psychological factors
Goals
Commitment
Preparation
Concentration
Self-esteem
Courage
Confidence
Relaxation
Poise
Intellectual Team Factors
Execution
Competitiveness
Self-Sacrifice
Adversity
Responsibility
Attitude
Self-Discipline
Leadership
A Winning Way
If you are a coach or leader, how often do those under the sound of your voice hear you teach on this very important list of 20? How comfortable are you teaching on these 20? What areas make you uncomfortable or feel unqualified to teach?
A coach must teach these on a regular basis. That is, if they desire to be effective.
Effective - is the “fulfilling of a specified function.”
One of the key functions of coaching and leadership is the ability to teach. Not just plays and scouting reports (though those are very important), but so much beyond that.
So many, due to the changing nature of athletics, are drifting away from the core function of the title of coach as a teacher, and instead are caught up in only the role of coach as a vehicle driving toward statistical excellence - (W-L).
Others don’t view themselves as a teacher and don’t know where to start. As we wrap up this week, here’s a few keys to consider when it comes to teaching.
Teaching as coaching is not just a cozy philosophical idea - it’s a skill that can be developed.
The best of all-time wanted the title teacher and their players knew them as teachers
The art of coaching relies on effective teaching
We can become more effective teachers, not just of the game, but of life!
Here’s A Few Keys to Effective Teaching (Not even close to exhaustive)
1.) Assume the athlete doesn’t know
One successful college basketball coach told me recently, “We start from zero every summer. I’ve come to enjoy the foundation building of our culture and our program every single year. We start over every single year.”
2.) Be certain that assistant coaches teach the same principles/use the same language.
Teach them - to teach with you. Assistant coaches are an extension of you. They’re more than the busy work associated with running your program. Two-time national champion head coach, Kirby Smart has said, “Great assistant coaches don’t just coach players—they coach the culture. They’re the heartbeat of the program.”
3.) Use mistakes as a vehicle for teaching, rather than posturing or blaming.
Want your athletes to play loose and free? Give them permission to fail. If every mistake is met with an outburst of rage and embarrassment, you’re teaching them alright, teaching them to avoid failure.
High standards and execution are obviously important. Mistakes should serve as an opportunity to teach and re-teach as NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo famously said there’s “steps to success.”
4.) Connect with students
Don’t just love the sound of your own voice. Your team needs more than just you holding a microphone. They need connection. YOU need connection. Connection ensures the proper feedback loop to solidify processing and retention. This comes in the form of eye contact, listening cues and follow up questions among the many opportunities you can provide your students to share their thoughts on the subject matter.
What would you add? Reply and let me know.
Go teach this week!
Stay The Course,
