A while back, Mark Lebedew challenged coaches to realize something. While they are happy to point out excuse-making among their players, they are oftentimes just as likely to do the same thing. We may not be as obvious about it, but we do it.
Once upon a time I wrote about a conversation with a fellow US college coach who complained about the attitudes of modern players. My instinctual reaction was to think to myself that I hope lots of other coaches think that way. If so, I’ll have loads of coaching success by being more adaptive.
I’ve had similar reactions on reading about or hearing other coaches comment about entitled players or whatever. Mark cited the example of the SMU women’s basketball coach. The women’s basketball coach at Wisconsin took a similar view in a video that went viral through the coaching ranks.
I personally don’t think of players in generational terms. I look to work with each player based on their own personality, learning needs, and the like. It’s my job as their coach to help them get to where they need to be mentally and physically. I will keep working until I find the right way to reach, teach, and motivate them. [Tweet this ]
Mark and I seem to be in agreement on that.
The rest of Mark’s post takes on losing coaches going beyond simple excuses (it was the refs, etc.). They let themselves off the hook by saying things like “The players gave it everything they had.” With the assistance of some notable coaches, he makes the point that success isn’t just about effort and commitment. Rather it is their proper application. It’s our responsibility as coaches to get that application properly targeted.
The one push back I would have on some of that stuff is there are times when your team simply lacks the talent to win. I find it hard to blame the coach for a loss in those circumstances, or in them citing lack of talent as the reason for not winning. What I would look at, though, is whether the team played to the maximum of its capability – whatever that might be. Winning and losing may not be in the coach’s control. The manner in which they play is definitely something the coach is responsible for shaping, though.
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