Loyalty

As all our seasons are starting up, an interesting thought creeped into my head about the start of the season and the hope and promise it brings to all. Then I thought back to my first season of coaching where the head coach hammered home the idea of loyalty by the assistant coaches. I thought it was rather Machiavellian, why would we have to close ranks? Who would want to twist something any coach said to hurt the kids or the program or the coaches? It didn't make any sense at the time. The folly of youth!

As most veteran coaches know and this is a lesson that we will all learn at some point, loyalty on your staff is one of the most important commodities you can have. Obviously having several D1 or Pro players on your roster would be the first thing we all would want, but loyalty is a must. There are so many different special interest groups that will suck the life out of you, your team, and your program if you give even the glint of a problem within your ranks.

Parents who want their child to play more will approach assistant coaches with the seemingly innocuous question, why isn't my kid playing more? If you as an assistant answer with anything else other than your staff's party line you've just given that parent ammunition to approach the AD or principal to address "serious issues" with your head coach. Administrators and even teachers at your school can ask you how's things going and if you answer with anything negative, it will come back to haunt you and your head coach. It's a veritable minefield of potential problems from within your own school and district if the wrong thing is said.

Loyalty is also a must for any assistant who aspires to be a head coach one day. We've all heard horror stories of assistant coaches who say something behind their bosses back to create a conflict and have that head coach removed. It's an all too familiar story. A word to any one who thinks this a good way to become a head coach, beware. Word will get out quickly on how you ascended to your position, you will be found out and at that point you will quickly become a pariah in your coaching community.

The best way for you to become a head coach is to be a loyal assistant. Tell your head coach that you want to be the big man one day. If they're worth anything they will groom you, tell you the ins and outs of being the head coach. Work camps, increase the number of coaches you come into contact with, improve your knowledge of the game. These are all ways you can put yourself into position to become a head coach. You may think you're ready but believe this, it's a completely different world moving over 18 inches to the first chair on the bench. The number of distractions that take the focus off your coaching of the team increase twenty-fold and it's not as easy as it seems. The key to being a successful coach is handling those distractions and still coach your team. Having loyal assistants you can trust helps in that endeavor!

Anyway, as basketball season gets started, the BCR wishes you nothing but the best of luck this season!