Reflections from Coaching

Two weeks ago, I finished my second year of coaching Middle School guys’ basketball at Grace Baptist Academy in Chattanooga where I also teach Bible. My team this year played in a 7th grade league and our roster was made up of nine 7th graders and two sixtth graders. Of the eleven guys on our roster, seven had never played organized basketball before. So there were times that required a level of patience that I don’t normally exhibit. Over the last two seasons, I’ve made some interesting observations about coaching, leadership, and the game of basketball.

No one understands the role of a coach until he has done it. It kills me to hear casual fans criticizing professional and college coaches in any sport when, in all likelihood, the critic has never been on a sideline making decisions to help determine the success of the team. Fans don’t attend practices and workouts. Fans don’t study film, breakdown the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses, respond to the media, face the music for every call gone right or wrong, or have to address the team both at the height of victory and the depth of defeat. Buying a ticket to a game gives a fan a chance to cheer for a side, not a right to call the shots or persecute the one who does.

On a similar note, people who are not referees do not understand that line of work and the effort it takes to do that job really well. I read a blog post recently that cited Arizona State coach Herb Sendek’s message to his own players about criticizing officials. He tells them, “You have a choice. You can pick one. You can either coach, officiate or play. Just pick one, because it’s as hard as hell to do any one of the three, let alone two of the three.” I’d like to say that I never tried to do the job of the official (I tried), but I do have tremendous respect for the guys who do it.

Coaching at any level can be taxing simply because of the time and preparation that are required to be successful. But I really enjoy most aspects of it. My competitive nature allows me to channel my focus onto establishing a game plan and then executing it. I even look forward to practice most days because of the chance to be better than the previous day.

By nature, I am a teacher. And coaching is really an extension of my classroom. I get to put in a system that I believe will be successful and will help the guys on my team understand the game better. Of course I demand that they work and play hard, but I also require that they play very smart. I love the chances I have to teach the game of basketball and the valuable lessons that can be learned from it. I want the guys I coach to see me as a teacher and leader more than a guy who simply wants to win.

I’ve noticed now that when I watch basketball on tv, that I am much more interested in the coaching side of it than ever before. Much more of my attention is focused on the strategy of the game than simply the players or the outcome. I keep a notebook while I watch games now so that I can see how certain coaches react to certain situations, and then I try to implement what seems to work best.

Of course, coaching is not an exact science. If it were, everyone would do it the same way. Many different coaching personalities have been successful in high school, college, and professional ranks, and the same is true for the various systems that are taught. Teams have won championships playing man-to-man defense has have teams that play a zone. Up-tempo styles have won as well as patient, methodical one.

One thing that makes coaching fun for me is simply that I love the game of basketball. I love playing it, coaching it, and watching it. To me, basketball is simple, because the ones who are willing to work the hardest at it are typically the ones who will be the most successful. My personality is competitive, and so I love the chance to outwork someone else in order to achieve more.

My team this year made it to our city championship game where we lost. For the season we were 13-3, and I’ll get to coach the same group of guys next year when they move up to 8th grade. Hopefully my patience will grow and my players will realize that basketball is not the most important thing in life. But it sure can teach us a lot of lessons along the way.