J.A.M. Newsletter: 9/26/11

J.A.M. Newsletter: 9/26/11
Dear Coaches, parents, and players; Welcome to the third issue of our JAM Fall Newsletter. We thank everyone for reading our newsletter. We have reached the half way point now making the stretch run of the 19th Annual Fall Season. Things are heating up as this week featured a record amount of over-time contests. I know we all look forward to competing in some huge regular season games the next couple of weeks. It should be exciting! - Mark Sharpley An essential part of coaching is building relationships. We, as coaches, spend much time diagramming plays and developing new drills, but we don’t spend enough time trying to figure out how to better foster relationships with our players. The greatest compliment a coach can receive is “his/her players will run through a brick wall for him/her.” The question is: how do coaches develop strong enough relationships with their players that drive such a spirit? 1. Show them that you care. Always remind your players that you care about them. You must show them that you understand their condition, that you always have their best interests in mind, and that they can trust you. Understand that developing relationships with your players transcends basketball. You must show interest in their lives off the court – ask them about their day,their families, or how their classes are going. If your players feel that you are invested inthem as people, they will buy into you as a coach. Don’t just tell your players that you care, show them! 2. Be their Coach, ally and supporter, not their “pal.” Make sure that your players feel that you are approachable. Have fun with them, and attimes joke around to show your lighter side. Develop a relationship with your players so that they feel that they can confide in you during times of crisis or so that they feel compelled to share with you when something good happens in their lives. Even with allof this, remember that you are not their “pal.” There needs to be a figurative line in placethat maintains the distinction between player and coach. If you become their “buddy,”you will lose their respect as a coach and authoritative figure. 3. Give them ownership. It’s very important to give your players ownership in your team and your program.You and your staff will make all of the major decisions and will have the final say, but it is important to get as much player input as possible. You can create a sense of ownership by trying the following: - Get their opinion on leagues and tournaments your team is considering. - Find out what the “pulse” of the team is at various points throughout the year. Ask them how they feel about their team. - Have your players construct some team rules. - Have players fill out a program and/or team questionnaire. - Ask players to share their “scouting report” of another team or player if they know pertinent information about your opponent. - There are a wide variety of options that you can use. Be creative! If your players feel like they have stock in your program, the success of your team becomes more important to them. 4. Remember that it’s about them. Don’t lose sight of your purpose as a coach. If you got into coaching to make money orgain professional notoriety, then you are in it for all of the wrong reasons. Your primary purpose as a coach is to help your players develop positively as players and as young menand women. It should be about THEM. If you make it as such, players won’t have to be reminded too often that you have their best interests in mind. 5. We and us, not me and I. You must try to talk in the form of “we” and “us” and try to avoid alwaysreferencing “me” and “I.” It’s OUR team, OUR loss, OUR big win. WE need to getbetter. OUR man scored. WE need to take better shots. If you speak in terms of “we”and “us,” it will help bring everyone together to reach common goals. 6. Reinforce good habits and actions. Don’t always comment on the negative. Make sure you always reinforce the positive.This can be very difficult to do at times, but make sure you make an attempt. Coacheswho are too negative often times will “lose” their players respect. Relationship buildingcan be very difficult to accomplish successfully. It takes up a lot of time and effortand requires much patience. Sometimes the process won’t always go the way youthink it should or want it to. Even with all of the work and struggle that it may be, you must always attempt to develop positive relationships with your players. Without the foundation of positive relationships with your athletes, even the best of coaching will fallon deaf ears. Great Luck This Week
A Word to the Wise
"Leadership is difficult. It is a lonely responsibility. The best leaders are servants. It isalways about others." ~ Dale Brown