Parents- Learn From A Pro Agent

I never dreamed an agent for pro basketball players would be a source of great advice for parents- but I was wrong! Quite simply a good agent helps their athletes grow and maximize their ability- and a good athletic parent is one who helps their son/daughters grow and maximize their ability!!

The other day I while walking the dogs, I was listening to a conversation between three NBA “experts” and an agent. The conversation really struck a cord with me as a former high school coach. The agents words would have been great advice for a parent of a high school athlete.

 

I went into this podcast with a negative perception of agents. My thoughts were that agents instill greed and selfishness in players. And honestly, I still have negative thoughts about most agents. And initially my reaction got even worse as he was talking about representing college athletes now. My thought was that it was just what a college coach needed, an agent giving them advice. 

The more these four talked, the more intrigued I became.

The NBA experts complimented this agent (unfortunately I was walking and missed the names) on what wonderful things he had done with lower tier players. They felt he had helped the players develop and grow into productive professionals. So the “experts” question,” What have you done to take marginal pros and help them become productive professionals?”

The following were what he had done to help develop his athletes:

1- As an agent, he wants to provide his athletes the best opportunities available for self-improvement- skill coaches, sports psychologists, strength coaches. 

2- As an agent, everything he says to the athlete “must be aligned” with what his NBA coach is saying to the player. The coach can’t be saying one set of things and the agent another set of thing- that will doom the player’s career. Conflicting messages create confusion and/or dissatisfaction. This agent felt that he needed to teach his athletes to learn to please their coach.

3- The skill coaches must be aligned with the NBA coach. If the NBA coach wants to the player to be in a role of being an on the ball defender on defense and a facilitator on offense, the skill coach needs to be working on those abilities. Stay in step with the NBA coach. 

4- An agent’s job should be to help the player succeed in the role they are in. The best way for a player to “move up the ladder” as a pro is to successfully fulfill the role they are in. If you can’t successfully fulfill a small role on the team, why would could think you can handle a bigger role? Often on all levels, a player thinks the best way to succeed is to shoot and score more. Don’t audition for your dream role, execute your present role- show reliability. If the coach can trust you, that is when you begin to get bigger roles. 

I am guessing that this particular agent is the exception, not the rule. But these are ways an agent can help their athletes grow, develop, and succeed. These are the ways parents can help their son/daughter succeed as an athlete.