Qualities of a Good Assistant Coach

These are some notes from John Margaritis the head coach at UC Riverside speaking at the Assistant Coaches Symposium in Chicago, IL on May 1st, 2011. He was a lifelong assistant coach until becoming the head coach at UC Riverside. He took over a team that had been 7-21 prior to his arrival and had them in the NCAA tournament 2 years later. He had tons of great insight and was a very funny and personable guy.

I. Knowledge of the subject- Be a student of the game. Learn as much as you can. Keep learning all the time. Learn about thing that you may never use.


II. Become a great teacher (affect behavior) At the end it’s not what you know that matters but what your students know and can execute that will make a difference. Make coaching your 1st priority.

III. Stay on task (Do not confuse the issue.) There are as many philosophies as there are coaches. Understand what the head coach wants and use your knowledge to improve individual and team play, rather than change the approach to basketball that the head coach wants.

IV. Make Coaching your #1 priority. (Minor input will not yield major results.) It’s way too competitive. There are way too many people that want your job so coaching at the D1 level is only meant for those few who are willing to outwork the competition.

V. Loyalty above all except honor (Be loyal) Always act as if your head coach is there to listen to what you hear and say. It’s important to your progress if people can trust you. It’s also important that you have scruples.

VI. Learn to evaluate talent. (Know what you are looking for.) It comes in handy when it comes to recruiting and or helping your won student athletes to get to a higher level.

VII. Be attune with today’s technology. (Stay current) Your ability to break down film, create scouting reports and preparing for the next opponent will not only help your team win the next game it will prepare you for the next job opportunity. “Be an assistant coach while you’re learning to be a head coach.”

VIII. Get involved with money. (Budget) Know how to manage budgets. Order equipment, set up travel, issue scholarships.

IX. Get involved with “student” in student athlete (Academics) Know what it takes for your players to get a degree. Oversee class schedules, study hall and academic progress and integrity.

X. Be a head coach (leadership) Take ownership. Be ready to take over at any given time, to handle boosters, to look and act as a head coach.



“Remember I’m the one that hired you and you liked me then.”

“The only way to win is to eliminate reasons why you can’t.”