A popular coaching phrase is, "Tougher Together." Coaches use it to try to get their team to understand they are not going to succeed alone- you need other people to succeed. The same is true for coaches, you can't succeed alone. To succeed, obviously a coach needs many things- good players, loyal players, supportive administration, and strong and supportive assistant coaches.
I would argue that one of the most important things for coaches is to develop a network of other coaches. When things are tough, a coach needs to be able to reach out and get support and counseling from other coaches. When the team is playing a school in another part of the state, you need to be able to reach out to other coaches. And when things are just not clicking with your team, it is important to be able to have other coaches you can get some advice or tips from.
Last season, I contacted 14 different coaches to get advice or help. My conversations involved the following topics:
1- Do you have a couple good out of bounds plays vs. zone defenses?
2- With your 1-2-2 zone, what are things that give it trouble?
3- How did you defend a really good perimeter shooter?
4- What are ways you got the ball to a big guard?
5- What are ways you disguise you backdoor action?
6- How do you attack a Box and One?
7- How do you run your lob vs zones?
8- How do you defend ball screens?
9- How will this opponent attack our press?
10- In your 1-3-1 what do you do vs a really good shooter?
11- How do you handle a parent who wants to coach their kid during games?
12- What awards do you give at the end of the year?
13- Do you have sophs practice varsity and play soph games?
As you can see, I don't hesitate to talk and network with other coaches. And realize, most of them are calling me when they have questions too. Coaches need to be willing to share information. A big part of my success was a result of my relationship and sharing with other coaches, but more importantly, one of my greatest joys in coaching was the relationships I developed with other coaches.
A Million Questions
My first year teaching, I was assigned to be head cross country coach. I had run HS track and had run in a couple college IM cross country meets. I knew nothing about the sport and nothing about training. Most importantly, I understood I knew nothing- humility helps you know you need others. Two of the best cross country coaches in the area were Bob LaCroix in Peoria and Gene Shipley at Moline. When we ran against their teams in dual meets or in invitational meets, I asked them a million questions. Not all coaches are willing to share, but these two were.
Go Camping
Early in my career, basketball camps were a big deal. In Galesburg, the Milwaukee Bucks ran camps at Knox College. It was a long week, and it was physically demanding. But for one or two weeks each summer, I was immersed into the world of basketball. All week, I hung out around coaches like Mike Jaskoski, Dan Sullivan, and Mary Kay Hungate. They are people I still have a coaching relationship with nearly 50 years later.
Football Coaches Have Good Ideas
Just because you coach basketball, it doesn't mean you can't get good things from other coaches. When I was first started at Galesburg, the most organized and most professional coach was our football coach, Kelly Kane. With both of us coaching track, we became friends and almost daily would go job for 30-45 minutes. Each of those days were like a clinic. "What should I do with the girl who isn't doing off-season stuff?" "What do you expect of your captains?" It day it went on and on with my questions.
Professional Organizations
One of the best things I did was to join the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Whether at an IBCA Clinic or at an All-State Meeting, you are going to be around the most professional and most active coaches in Illinois. In the 1980's, I first met Derril Kipp at the All-State Meeting. Derril invited me to bring our team up Maine West for a summer tourney. That changed our entire program. The first year at the tourney we went 0-4, but I spent probably 90 minutes talking to Derril about his league and how it was organized, his camp program, and his fastbreak. Then later before played Loyola at State in 1999, Derril was someone who I talked to for another 90 minutes about his thoughts on Loyola.
When Someone Comes To Your House- Speak to Them
If someone came to your home, you wouldn't go to another room and not speak. When I first started coaching, it was expected that the head coach of the opposing team would be there when you arrived, and they would sit down and talk with you. Are there coaches who I do not want to talk to? Absolutely and sometimes I don't. But usually I enjoyed talking with opposing coaches.
Learning Between Sessions
When you go to a coaching clinic, often you can learn as much between or after sessions when you talk informally with other coaches.
There Is Another Basketball Coach In The School
You don't have to run the same offenses or the same defenses as the boys team if you coach girls, but the boys coach can be a wealth of information. Mike Miller was a master of the sets and counters, I always tried to go to his practices. Mike Reynolds was taught defense better than anyone, and he was a master of building a program. My last year coaching, Coach Reynolds and I talked on the phone 2-3 times per week.
Small Talk
Coaching relationships don't just happen, you need to work at the relationships. It doesn't have to be anything big, but take the time to text or email other coaches. How many will you have coming out this season? Who makes up your practice schedule? Will you have any sophs practice with you but play with the soph team? I am not suggesting you make things up and are phony, but start out with simple non-threatening conversations? Reach out and congratulate a coach on a big win, or a championship. If you develop a relationship, then you can move to the point where maybe they will be willing to share scout info or you can even have x/o conversations.
Share
Don't expect another coach to share with you if you are not willing to share with them. In our conference, the rule was that you were not to share a game tape that a conference school had shared with you, but you could share any of your own games. Share you game tapes!!
Burn Bridges
I am not suggesting that you need to develop a relationship with all of your opposing coaches. You will realize at a certain point that some other coaches are not people you want to really develop a relationship. It could be because of their lack of knowledge or their annoying personality. When we beat another team but the other coach claims they were "homered"- don't come back later and want to have a professional relationship.
Hotline
I am thankful all of the opposing coaches who were willing to spend an hour on the phone on a Sunday afternoon, or fielded a text at 11pm, or talked with me during their lunch. But a special thanks to a handful of coaches who must have thought about changing their cell numbers-
Thom Sigel- who would talk except the Rocky week.
Mike Cooper- who must have heard 50 times, can you go over that zone ob again.
Jay Hatch- who can still hear me saying, "How would you defend this?" or "Do you think this will work?"
Bob Anderson- in my last season, he must have spent 40 hours a week working on scouting reports and talking to me.
Mike Reynolds- he has to of heard a million times, "Just one question..." - before I preceded to ask 20 questions.
My advice- don't do it alone. Build a coaching network. It will make you a better coach, and it will make coaching a LOT more fun!!
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