There are many qualities that good coaches might have. Some authors might split them into many and others might lump them into smaller groups. Count me in the latter. You can list many more (honesty, integrity, consistency, and so forth) but to me they are all subsets of those listed.
Teaching. A coach must be able to teach her players to ‘see the game’. Basketball is a game with far more subtleties and complexities than one might imagine. Seeing the game, reading the action (including fakes), and learning to react to it defines the player AND the coach. Not every player learns the same way. About thirty percent of players understand what coaches are trying to convey, and about twenty percent care. The best coaches raise both numbers. We give our players laminated sheets listing core offensive, defensive, and team values and we repeat them over and over.
Philosophy. Every program needs a philosophy, where everyone in the program understands where the team is headed. Phil Jackson says, “basketball is sharing” and Bill Russell “create unselfishness as the most important team characteristic.” Two of the most successful figures in basketball history begin at the same place.
Energy. Players need both energy and the ability to energize those around them. Coaches can help supply some of that energy, knowing when to apply pressure and when to lighten the mood. Most players want to improve but they also can be overwhelmed by studies, personal issues, schedules, and other idiosyncratic factors. The coaching staff has to recognize who needs what, when.
Flexibility. “You can’t fit a square peg in a round hole.” The coach might want to play a half court, methodical style, but have the wrong personnel in size or temperament to do so. Or she might want to play a full court, pressure defense and not have the athletes to achieve success with that strategy. She has to recognize the strengths and limitations of individual players and groups and work to maximize what can be done. “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can.”
Communication. Players (and at some levels their families) need to know where they stand. If they are dissatisfied with their ‘minutes’, then they have to know where they need to improve their skill or how they play the game. A coach who is a poor communicator is likely to be an ex-coach. But as Bob Knight says, “a coach who listens to the fans is soon likely to be sitting up there with them.”
Discipline. Human nature is that players have a tendency to “do their own thing”. You might have a Bill Russell, whose “own thing” changes the sport, but there was only one Bill Russell. Players must be on time, ready to play, and use their practice time well to be successful.
Accountability. Coaches own what they produce. A coach might not have the best talent, but has to get the most from the talent she has. The best coaches are not only accountable, but introspective enough to see where their and their teams problems lie. We tend to suffer ‘attribution bias’ where we decouple outcome and responsibility. If we succeed, then it’s about us, and if we don’t then it’s the officiating, weather, or other factors.
The skill least well taught in basketball is shooting for a variety of reasons. But the biggest correlate of winning statistically is shooting percentage differential. If you can’t shoot, you can’t win.
Fairness. Coaches tend to fall into the categories of ‘task oriented’ (the hard guy) and ‘player oriented’ (players’ coach). Players tend to ‘fatigue’ under either style, as the hard guy wears them down, and players tend to lose discipline and focus eventually with the players’ coach (see Terry Francona). Fairness involves the challenge of seeing player growth and performance as it is (without bias) and communication outlined above. But fairness is a two-way street, as players have the obligation to practice and play with intensity and concentration.
Industry. Coaching well demands a lot of time, with practice preparation, learning more about coaching methods and the game itself, and dealing with the nuances of schedules, travel, and so on. Few coaches are lazy, and the saying goes “there are more bad players then bad coaches.”
Compassion. No matter how much effort you put into your program, you will experience setbacks. The coach has to care about her players and assistants and show that they care.
The coach who can incorporate all of the above into her personality is exceptional. We want our players to know the game, love the game, and eventually have the ability to teach others. But do we want anything less for the teams we follow or coach?
