In his book Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future, Andy Stanley has some great ideas that can be applied to basketball coaches
and team captains. Stanley identifies these five keys…
- Competence: Do Less, Accomplish More.
- Courage: Courage Establishes Leadership.
- Clarity: Uncertainty Demands Clarity
- Coaching: Coaching Enables a Leader to Go Farther Faster.
- Character: Character Determines the Leader’s Legacy.
Now let’s apply these to coaching basketball.
- Essential #1: Competence.
Stanley encourages you to focus on your strengths here. Are you a micro-manager, or are you secure and smart enough to delegate tasks so you can focus on what you do best?
- Essential #2: Courage.
Stanley says to have “the courage to initiate, to set things in motion, to move ahead.” Coaches often get caught in a paralysis of analysis because we often want things to be perfect. You cannot worry about the fans, the talk radio guys, or the message boards- take the information you have an make the best decision you can. Then always evaluate and learn from the situation.
- Essential #3: Clarity.
Stanley writes that “uncertain times require clear directives from those in leadership.” Coaches face uncertain times many times during games and during a season. Clear, consistent communication from the coach and team captains can help instill confidence in your team. Think about your body language, tone of voice, and choice of words in a timeout.
- Essential #4: Coaching.
The best at anything are always learning. Always have an open mind- even to ideas different from your own. Always look at what you can adapt to fit your personnel and situation.
- Essential #5: Character.
Stanley argues that this gives you the “moral authority necessary to bring together the people and resources needed to further an enterprise.” If you want people to believe in you, then give them something to believe in! You cannot hold your players or staff to a higher standard than you hold yourself!
If you are interested in getting the book you can buy it off Amazon by clicking this pic.
Until next time, Coach ’em up!
Hal Wilson
After coaching and working with basketball teams at the college and high school level in a variety of roles for 18 years, I have returned to finish my Ph.D. in Kinesiology at The University Tennessee. This www.CoachingBasketballWisely.com website is a way to share the coaching tips, strategies, and techniques gathered in a career in coaching. See more info on me here. Please sign up for our free newsletter at the top right of the page.
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Our Coaching Basketball Wisely podcasts are way to help basketball coaches of all experience levels learn how to coach basketball, and how to coach basketball better, faster! Whether you are a youth basketball coach, a middle school basketball coach, a high school basketball coach, a college basketball coach, or a professional basketball coach we all need to keep learning! If there are particular basketball coaching tips or topics that you would like to see covered in future episodes please let us know!!
