Philosophy and being an Assistant Coach

So I recently wrote something on the mindset necessary for being a new coach or when taking over a position and it got me thinking (yes, that sound you hear is the grinding of unoiled gears in my brain)–it’s not just important to approach being a head coach, principal, or teacher with a good philosophy; it matters for someone coming in as an assistant coach.

I’m a bit of a fish-out-of-water in this way.  I’ve spent the last 23 years as a head coach and club director, so other than working USAV-HP camps, my perspective is mostly from being the head coach.  A big thing for me is that my job isn’t just developing players, it is helping the assistant mature so they can eventually become a head coach (if that’s what they want), ready to deal with the myriad problems they’ll face when they are top coach.  You can  tell that as the person in charge of a program, I know what I want from assistant coaches.  Here’s my wishlist:

1. Loyalty

2. Understands position within the team–above the players, below the head coach

3. Acts professionally

4. Takes initiative communicating with the head coach and with the athletes

5. Isn’t a ‘yes man’

6. Willing to learn (especially younger, new assistants)

7. Open-minded

8. Isn’t passive during practices

I think these are all self-explanatory, so I won’t go into them.  After I typed those all out, I thought back to the assistants I’ve had as a high school and college coach.  How have I done selecting assistants who fit those 8?  Let’s see…I’ll list the coaches and put the #s from above that they have.  These aren’t in a specific order by the way.

A: 3, 5, 6, 8   (50%…ugh…)           B: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8  (62.5%) C: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)   D: 2, 3, 5, 8 (50%…ugh…) E: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 (75%)                 F: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!) G: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)  H: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)I: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (87.5%)           J:  1, 3, 5, 6, 8  (62.5%)1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)I: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (87.5%)           J:  1, 3, 5, 6, 8  (62.5%)1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (100%!!!)I: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (87.5%)           J:  1, 3, 5, 6, 8  (62.5%)

What’s interesting with this Gedankenexperiment is that if we look at the percentages, “A” would be the worst coach, C-F-G-H the best.  The thing is, I don’t value them in that order.  They are all individuals–with ‘A’ and ‘B’, I hold the lack of loyalty against those coaches–failed hirings on my part.  I don’t hold it against ‘D’ as much–because ‘D’ was 22, young, and more immature in the long-term than could be realized from a resume and  an interview.

It’s great to have these criteria–but in any given year, a specific coach may be more suited to fill the ‘niche’ the team needs better than a superior coach.  Coach ‘E’ helped my team succeed in a way that wouldn’t have happened with coach ‘G’ or ‘H’.  Does that make sense?

As a head coach–what do you value?

As an assistant, think about your team–what niche do you fill?  Do you have the criteria above?  Are you living up to your boss’ expectations?