Over the years I have witnessed some interesting examples of "over coaching" and "under taught" situations. This post is NOT about pointing fingers, because if I did point a finger, I would have a number of them point back at myself. If you have a coaching staff to lead, it is your responsibility to communicate your expectations to each member of the staff. Don't get frustrated with them for doing things you don't agree with unless you have spent time telling them what your expectations are and why.
I have witnessed coaching at lower levels have more, and I do mean more, out of bounds plays than I have at the varsity level. Yet, at the same level shooting forms and shooting mechanics have not been addressed. That to me is over coaching and under teaching. I have seen coaches who have a number of sets they expect their team to execute yet this same team does not know how to get open, and once they do get open they do not "catch and face." Another example of over coaching and under teaching. I recommend, if at all possible, you as the lead coach find time to witness other coach's practices in your program. In the famous words of Lou Holt, "When all is said and done, more is said than done!" Assumptions will destroy you as a coach. NEVER assume your coaches know the game well nor are capable of teaching the game well. WE all fall into the trap of ...... "We have to get ready for the next game." Which means to many coaches, I need another defense. I need to add a new man offense set or a new zone offense set. I need another baseline out of bounds play. Think about what caused your team to lose? How many turnover did you have? What type of turnovers were they? Did they block out well? Did they closeout well? Spend time on the things you do a lot of ....... defense, shooting, rebounding, passing, and ball handling.
Whenever I attended coaching clinics, many of the attendees do not pay much attention to the presenter if he talked about teaching methods, philosophy, etc. BUT the moment the presenter started with the X's and O's, the pencils of the attendees became very active. Someone much wiser than I said, focus on not beating yourself. You can live with the other team beating you but its much more difficult to face the reality that you may have beaten yourself. Time spent learning a new offensive set may very well have been better spent on learning how to defend the pick-n-roll.
Suggestions as to how to communicate with other coaches in your system about what you want taught:
1) Put on a coaching clinic on for your own staff.
2) Video tape your favorite and essential drills as a source for other staff
members.
3) Invite coaches to your practice and provide a drill file for them to have.
4) Visit their practices, and when possible, share your thoughts about their
practice.
5) Put on summer camps and use other coaches on your staff as instructors.
Let them teach skills at the camp. Gives you a chance to see how and
what they are teaching.
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