Coaching basketball is an art that takes time and persistence. A mistake some coaches make is seeing the game as they see it and expecting their players to see the same thing. The ability to coach through the eyes of your players is what separates the great coaches from the good ones.
I was recently asked to offer advice and strategies for coaching basketball and becoming a college coach. Sport Management Worldwide offers several excellent classes including digital editing training. They train people to become professional sports general managers, scouts, business management personnel and broadcasters.
Course leader Jim Krause asked me to cover the topic of pitfalls for coaches. My goal was to cover five points but at one point got sidetracked.
The topic we landed on was the issue of over-coaching. Coaches tend to give their teams much more information than they can handle. This makes the coach feel prepared but what does it do to players?
A few years back, I was speaking with a long-time coach and he talked about "coaching through your player's eyes."
The more I thought about it the more sense it made.
As a coach, your knowledge of the game and strategy is only a piece of the overall puzzle. Have you ever thought about how your players process all of the information, plays, defensive principles, terminology and scouting reports you give them?
A wise coach will look at things from the perspective of the player. Through their eyes the game is seen much differently.
I offered this example to make a point. What if you walked into a calculus class on the first day and the professor began writing complicated equations on the board. Moving quickly, he completes 12 problems in 50 minutes......and.........expected YOU to understand every problem perfectly! Is this realistic? Of course not. Is that any different than coaching players that don't see things as you do?
The best way to know how your players see the game and understand what you are teaching; ASK THEM. You may be very surprised by some of the answers! Great coaches ask players these kinds of questions, even knowing they may not like the answers!
Give it a try and improve your ability to coach the game.
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