Conticreative
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Coaching Education - 2006/07/19 01:28
Comments please. In Chapter 10 I discuss coaching education. Does anyone have any thoughts on my proposals? Is a coaching education curriculum appealing to coaches? league administrators?
What general areas do you as coaches (parents/others) feel are the most mportant and the least understood?
Thanks for your feedback.
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Hook
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Re:Coaching Education - 2006/07/31 12:42
Well, maybe not the MOST important, but important (IMO)...
1) Functional Training for Athletic Performance (think Gambetta)
2) Official rules, interpretations, and guidelines used by referees to make correct calls (besides "it looked funny to me")
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GAtwood
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Re:Coaching Education - 2006/07/31 19:48
Are you familiar with the CIF's coaching certification course? I believe older coaches who have been around were "grand fathered" past it, but I'm looking at applying locally, and was told I better take that course, so I did. I was impressed with the wide ranging content. It's not enough, but it's a start. But I'm thinking you must be referring to the youth (younger) leagues?
Persuading various youth league entities to adopt a "canned" coaching education program is probably something that could happen. Leagues are aware they have some problems, many of which could likely be mitigated by a good education program. Motivating volunteer coaches to adopt new information into what they do would be made easyer by the fact that coaches tend to want to make players better. As you know, the dilema coaches fall into is- do I develop athletes for long term improvement? Or do I take many short cuts in developing athletes, and instead choose to make my team win now (peak by friday)?
Two things pop out to me- First, I need to go back and read chapter 10 again.  Second, that to me the underlying value of your book is the theme thru out that the model of youth development we use in the USA is no longer the most advanced in the world, and actually barely functional. This is a cultural problem. I keep remembering your story of observing the differences between American kids, and European kids (Swiss?) coming into the gym and warming up. That picture of the American youth basically stepping inside the gym door (off the dribble) and jacking up a three, walking to the ball (missed shot), jacking another one (miss), etc, etc., I Bet That Describes Most Gyms Where Kids Are Playing Hoops in America. We have to influence that culture. So yeah, I'm with you on this crusade to get it back on track. ANd that was more than 2 things. 
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coachmccormick
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Re:Coaching Education - 2006/07/31 20:46
I'm somewhat familiar with the CIF course, but not the details. As it was explained, it is a very cursory, very general approach to coaches training.
I don't want to create a "canned approach." I guess that is a mistake I made in the book, as now I have people emailing who like the idea, but want to know exactly how to do things. I think coaches need to think and create things for themselves in their own situation. But, I am learning I am very different than most coaches.
I did some work for my DVD last week and the producer kept wanting m to tell exactly how I do everything and I had to make it up because I don't do one thing for every situation. Everything depends. To me, that's coaching. Seeing what the athlete needs and devising a plan to teach him.
My book was intended to supply information, and create a model, but be general enough so every coach could apapt the model to his/her own situation. I guess I was not explicit enough with this idea.
My idea for coaches education is similar; I think current coaching clinics are very specific (i.e. this is how we break a 2-3 zone at XYZ U.), but totally miss the greater concepts, the general, philosophical side of coaching. Basically, I see an absence of information on How to Coach and an abundance of information on what to do in very specific situations. So, some beginner coaches I know accumulate tapes and clinic notes and they have a dozen plays to run against a 2-3 zone, but they don't know how to teach, they don't understand how players' learn, they don't understand training theories or concepts, they don't believe playing soccer or volleyball might help a basketball player, etc.
And, this is the mindset I see a lot. And, I hope this site challenges all coaches to think about what they do and why they do and search for better answers, whether it is here or elsewhere.
In the USA Track and Field Coaches clinic, one speaker said, "Mentors are great. But, we want to give you a base of knowledge so you can be better than your mentor." Too many basketball coaches, imo, rely on what their coach did and simply do the same things without any thought as to why thy do them and if they are the best methods. If this site does nothing more than convince every coach who comes here to ask "Why?" it has served its purpose.
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coachvargas
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Re:Coaching Education - 2006/09/13 14:11
I'm posting here, though in reply to the string I started under "Are HS BBall Coaches the Key?", because I coaching education is where I was going, in a roundabout way, with my post.
My belief was simply that high school coaches are in the best position to teach and mentor youth coaches, as they're generally respected in a geographic area (even if their influence is based upon the "power" associated with their role in a given geography), and you would think that they might be self-motivated enough to run a couple of coaching clinics if it meant higher quality athletes coming into their program.
Of course, these coaches still must be taught or have a place to learn. I have a belief about what eventually would be ideal here as well, but before getting into that, I wanted to comment on a theme I've seen across these posts and others on the Net.
I've heard time and again about the marvel of coaches flocking to these X's and O's clinics, where they get the same stuff every time. My response is simple - there are coaches who love the game, and coaching, and want to improve...but what else is out there????
For me - I typically continue to shell out the $$ to attend these when they're around, pay for my assistants, and arrange through the local youth program I'm involved with to foot the bill for the youth coaches who are interested, often as a post-season bonus of sorts. I'm young...but I've been to enough of these to have heard most of it before, so instead I focus on finding a "new way" to explain the same thing.
I realized a few years ago, when I asked my mentor to come into one of my high school practices, the power of an alternate way of saying (or in this case simplifying) something. I was trying, somewhat technically, to describe a rotation (the what, how, and why) in a simple help and recover man defense, where I asked the on-ball defender to be the only one outside of the three point line, and everyone else to be jummping to the ball and to the middle.
My mentor asked if he could say something after watching for 2-or-3 minutes. He turned and said to the team - "ladies, if you're not OUT - you're IN." Astounding effect. Anyway, the point is that's why I go. It's all that's there. (and for the rare moments like Geno Aueriemma's talk this May - which was classic for the first five minutes - I'll recap quickly in another post if anyone's interested)
Another thing happened this year at the Nike clinic. Kevin Eastman was a speaker. Having worked with some coaches from Virginia and coached his son at a camp, I had seen him before. What was amazing was that here was this high energy coach devoting his entire time to teaching coaches ways to develop players...through drills, skills, 7-point ways to runn effective shooting workouts, etc. etc.
He offered to talk to anyone with questions after his session, and between other sessions. Half of the arena walked down afterwards, and again after the following session, to the point that I think they asked him to leave because the whole day was being backed up.
My point is, I'm not saying that Coach Eastman is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but that there is such a thirst for someone to provide instruction on fundamental basketball and how to coach it...and I'm wondering just what everyone is finding/using out there?
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coachmccormick
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Re:Coaching Education - 2006/09/13 14:48
I have heard the opposite. I heard a story about one of these clinics where someone like John Wooden started to speak about putting a practice together or something somewhat basic, and half the room left to go to the bar. They only wanted plays to run. Honestly, I have only been to one of these clinics, an adidas clinic in Reno, and it was not worth the time or expense, despite the presence of Ben Howland, Bob Knight and Pete Newell. Actually, the best speakers were Bob Burton, who had some nice sets and Randy Bennett, speaking on his defense.
My experience is everyone wants drills. I get frequent emails asking for drills. Do you have a drill for this, a drill for that? Me, I don't have drills, per se. I go to practice or a workout with a general idea and if I see a problem with something, I figure out a way to fix it. If I want to work on team defense and nobody on the team moves their feet properly, then I stop and go to a footwork drill to teach them to move their feet. Then, we return to the drill.
I see the opposite in Sacramento; I see a lot of coaches who think they know it all and are too proud/insecure to seek advice, ask an opinion, etc. Or, I meet guys who think they invented the game and refuse to share anything with other people. Again, that's what this site is for; an open forum to exchange ideas, concepts, stories, etc to elevate everyne's level of coaching. And, hopefully those who visit the site and learn something are motivated to return the favor and answer someone else's question. It's not required, but that's the goal.
I have challenged these coaching clinics in the past because, to me, they take the easy way out. Here is an opportunity for the "best in the business" to really teach something meaningful, and instead they diagram last year's offense, tell a funny story and leave to a round of applause. These coaches clinics could be so much more, with so much more mentoring and collaboration, but nobody wants to invest the time.
Personally, I have been asked about doing coaches' clinics. I don't do them. But, I'm happy to have anyone who asks come watch a practice or a workout or I have been to others practices to either assist or run a practice or workout. I think I can help a coach more by showing him how to coach, how to progress through a teaching series, how to communicate, etc by him watching me do it more so than trying to explain what I do on a day to day basis. The coaches I respect the most are those who allowed me to view a practice; Vance Walberg (Pepperdine), Randy Bennett (St Mary's), Bill Baxter (El Camino HS), etc. Those I don't really respect are those who refuse to allow people to their practices, coaches like Maura McHugh at Stony Brook or Jim Whisenant from the Sacramento Monarchs.
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