ADVICE TO YOUNG COACHES

The following is taken from an interview with Seth Davis and Bill Russell:

Your first loyalty is to your players and because of that your top priority needs to be in earning their trust in you. Keep in mind that they are away from home—you are a primary source of support now and for this reason I always say: never give a scholarship to a kid that you won’t have over for dinner or to stay overnight because this team you’re creating is a new family for them. If your players don’t buy into you if they do not trust you—they can’t buy into the system, and when your players don’t buy into a system, the system doesn’t work. Evaluate your system and the way you teach for each team. Each team is different and it should force you to change how you coach. Red would always say “he’ll win with what he had” his focus was
always on his team—he never wanted a player from another team. On that same note you can’t change your players—you can’t make an unorthodox player an orthodox player. You must teach for that player and consider that constantly. Greg Anthony spoke of winning: You don’t win with the five best players—you win with the five players who play together best. Teaching needs to be done at a player and a team level. Focus on their improvement; when you’re dedicated to teaching in a positive fashion the team will benefit. Remember that passing and rebounding are “learned skills” and they are the most important piece of any offense. Rebounding is all about Footwork and Footwork is 95% Horizontal and 5% Vertical.

1. Love the game: Watch it, learn it and love it. Don’t think you know it all.
2. Know your team: When making adjustments, make adjustments your team can make. Know your strengths and limitations so you can set your team up for success.
3.Make rules reasonable: Your authority is established through proof not command. I’ve always said: the best use of power is not having to use it. If you make a rule make sure the punishment is clear: Red would fine a player $10 for being late to practice. Yelling is not a punishment, it takes a rules offense to a personal and negative level that hurts the whole team.
4. Loyalty is paramount: “I only ever played for the Celtics and I never would play for another team—they were loyal to me, and I was loyal to them”
5. Negotiation is key: Everything between a player and a coach is a negotiation. When you want a player to do something you want—you have to give them what they want. Negotiating so everyone wins is the goal.
6. Craftsmanship: Know what you need to do to get this done.
7. Winning: When I do my job and you do your job—we all win.
8. Own your decisions: When you make a mistake, when you fail to lead by example, when you do something wrong: own your decision. Accept personal responsibility, apologize and move forward. Be a model of positive decision making and turning a negative decision into a positive.