Coaching Your Coaches
If you look behind most successful head coaches you can usually find skilled and passionate assistant coaches. No single head coach leading a program of size can do it all themselves, so they enlist the help of assistants. It’s easy to take these assistant coaches for granted, what with worrying about a roster full of players, but with a few well-placed words and some thoughtful care, you can turn your cadre into valuable partners in success.
As head coach, you make the big decisions, garner the criticism in defeat, and bask in the glory of success after the win. But any head coach worth his or her salt knows that two heads are better than one and therefore put due stock in their assistants’ input. It’s a tried and true method of coming to solid solutions because a different point of view will often times illuminate unforeseen opportunities and pitfalls. Even if you choose not to follow the advice of your assistants, simply considering their opinion will show them that their input is significant. The mere act of listening is a sign of respect. That said, explaining your reasoning to your assistant coaches will instill in them some of the tools that have made you an effective coach; the sharing of knowledge will only benefit the group as a whole.
Whether it’s right or not, a coaches worth is measured in wins and losses. Part of being a good leader means sharing the credit in success and taking the blame in defeat. Assistant coaches, like anyone else working toward improvement, need constructive criticism to become better at what they do. One of the worst things a head coach can do is publicly criticize their assistants. When correcting those under you, and this is true for any profession, it is best to do so privately or in the company of a small group comprised of those who could also benefit from the instruction. Conversely, credit your assistants in front of everyone. It will build them up and inspire them to work harder and become even better at what they do. Furthermore, it will build loyalty and respect among the coaching staff.
To build and sustain cohesiveness with your staff, it’s important to take a personal interest in their lives outside the sport. Learn the names of their spouses and children. Being in touch with the people you work with will help you understand what’s going on in their lives and help you understand how it will affect their performance and the team, at large. Getting the coaching families together socially, say for a dinner before the start of the season, is a great way to develop a meaningful relationship with your staff that will translate to success on the field.
One part of being a head coach is continually developing the coaches below you, as their improvement will directly lead to improvement of the team. And that improvement should be answered with more responsibility; promoting your assistants means entrusting them with a larger swath of control. Creating this kind of professionally rewarding environment will not only raise your assistant coaches’ motivation level, but will also give them more confidence.
A team’s assistant coaches are a reflection of their head coach, so be the kind of leader you’d like to see them be.
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