What Do I Do Now? Part II

Last week I began discussing the role of the assistant coach. Here are some points to remember:

• Be loyal to your head coach

• Don’t try to make people think that you are smarter than your head coach
• Keep an open mind and always be willing to learn

The most important point: YOUR JOB IS TO DO EXACTLY WHAT THE HEAD COACH WANTS YOU TO DO! Understand your role before and after the game, at halftime, and during timeouts.

This week we continue in the role of the assistant coach.

1) Interact positively with coaches, players, parents, and fans.

Respect and develop your relationship with the other assistant coaches around you. The assistant coaches can NEVER be at odds with each other. It completely messes up the system. Earn the respect of the players. Be a role model for them by demonstrating good values and principles. Teach them how to be a part of the team. Ask about their schoolwork and about other areas of their life. Always remember: when it comes to girls, it’s easy for outside issues to get into the game. A player who is having a crappy day will more than likely step on the court with a completely different attitude. This attitude will more than likely hurt the team. Let the players know that when they step onto the court, whether in a game or practice, any outside issues are left on the bus (or when the bell rings to get out of school). Provide some time for the players to come to you with issues outside of basketball.

2) Professionalism

Look and act professional. Be clean and dress neatly. Demonstrate good sportsmanship

Here are some specific tasks that an assistant coach would more than likely be involved in:

Communication with the scorer’s table… keep track of your time-outs, fouls, etc.

Pre-game player match-ups - while our head coach is visiting with the opposing coach and officials, from the scorer’s table get the opponent’s starters, observe them in warm-up drills, and create your defensive match-ups (assuming you play man-to-man defense). Review these with the head coach.

Pre-game drills - some teams seem to require an assistant under the basket barking at them to get them to work up a sweat in their pregame drills. Help get them ready to play.

Keep stats - the shot charts, rebounds, assists, turnovers, etc. You may designate your statisticians and coordinate their activities.

Scorebook -make sure the roster has been entered correctly, and that the scorer’s table knows your starters before each half begins.

Clipboards, markers -make sure you have them ready on the bench, during time-outs, and in the locker-room both pre-game and halftime.

Uniforms, towels - help keep track of and collect uniforms. Have a good supply of dry towels on the bench.

Water - make sure players have water available on the bench.

Medical, first-aid kit - make sure you have it at games and practices, and that it is well-stocked. Know where to find ice.

Forms, money - your head coach might want you to help collect medical forms, and forms/money for special camps or clinics.

Scouting - your head coach may ask you to help scout other teams.

Help with youth clinics - help your head coach build the program by running clinics for young players… the young players are your future.

Run practices - there may be times when your head coach is unable to attend a practice. Be ready to step forward and have a well-organized practice ready. Teach what your head coach expects you to teach

Communication -help team communication by keeping a list of all player and coaches phone numbers, and establish a “phone tree” for calling each other.

It’s fun being an assistant coach.:) Know the system and you’ll be able to enjoy it!