Watching the Indiana Fever game this past Sunday, I thought it was a game that every high school coach should be watching.
The game reminded me of a lot of lessons that I learned coaching HS basketball about what NOT to do.
I had the good fortune to listen to Hubie Brown at numerous clinics and his commentary during numerous games. One clinic topic he presented was about building trust, confidence, and stability in your team.
He explained on the pro level, players wanted to know when they were going to go into game, how long they were going to play, what their position would be, and when they would come out. He dove deeper into it and explained he wasn’t saying that it had to be exact, and in some games there might be adjustments based on a scouting report.
If a player averaged 22 minutes per game, and you were playing them only 15 minutes in a particular game, the player needed to understand why this was happening. The coach needed to explain to the player.
If a player normally went into a game with 3-4 minutes left in the first quarter, if the player wasn’t going into the game then the coach needed to give the player a heads up.
Coach Brown explained that doing this was how you treated professionals. This was showing the players respect and this was a way to earn the player’s trust.
In the Fever game on Sunday, Coach White dramatically changed the roles of Sophie Cunningham Lexie Hull, Raven Johnson, Monique Billings, and Ty Harris.
On the season, their minutes per game have been…
Cunningham 22, Billings 19, Hull 19, Harris 14, Johnson 10
In Sunday’s game…
Cunningham 7 (-15), Billings 4 (-15), Hull 13 (-6), Harris 5 (-9), Johnson 26 (+16)
I am not saying that if a player is struggling a coach can’t reduce their minutes. But if it is not clear to each player why their minutes are being cut in a game, as a coach you are going to have a problem.
Coaches must communicate and explain changes in roles. It is the only way a coach can possibly maintain trust.
A coach needs to understand that a dramatic shift in minutes for 5 players on your roster is going to be viewed as sending a message. The message cannot be left up to the players to figure out, it must be spelled out.
A change this late in the season is going to create doubt and instability, the last thing a team needs as they head into their post season.
Late in the season as a coach, the three most important things you want to be doing are- 1- building confidence, 2-building confidence, and 3- building confidence.
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