My playing experiences in team sports (Football, Baseball, Basketball.) From a young age up to high school. How the basic fundamentals of executing your plays the right way, can make the difference of winning or losing a game. This is a known fact and applies to all playing levels, Pee Wee, High School, College and the Professional leagues. Knowing how to correctly tackle, block, catch a ball or defend a receiver from catching a ball or, to not commit penalties or fouls by concentrating. The most effective way of executing your plays will be available on the interactive website : Teamsportcoaches.com. This will be a helpful tool for all players to review, especially professional players who constantly make these mistakes every game. These mistakes can be corrected but it depends on the players and coaches willingness to address them and working efforts to correct them. It's also about a coach having a deep bench and a winning team by having all his players play. The coach and all of his players agree and know what is expected of them. This makes playing the sport, a heck of a lotta fun, like it should be.
My playing experiences in team sports (Football, Baseball, Basketball.) From a young age up to high school. How the basic fundamentals of executing your plays the right way, can make the difference of winning or losing a game. This is a known fact and applies to all playing levels, Pee Wee, High School, College and the Professional leagues. Knowing how to correctly tackle, block, catch a ball or defend a receiver from catching a ball or, to not commit penalties or fouls by concentrating. The most effective way of executing your plays will be available on the interactive website : Teamsportcoaches.com. This will be a helpful tool for all players to review, especially professional players who constantly make these mistakes every game. These mistakes can be corrected but it depends on the players and coaches willingness to address them and working efforts to correct them. It's also about a coach having a deep bench and a winning team by having all his players play. The coach and all of his players agree and know what is expected of them. This makes playing the sport, a heck of a lotta fun, like it should be.
CHAPTER 1
High School History
As I sat in my gently worn brown leather recliner in
the corner of my living room, an interview with
former basketball coach legend John Wooden played on
my recorder. I quickly adjusted the volume and listened
attentively. He related a memorable experience as a high
school basketball coach in Indiana. A certain player whom
Wooden felt “didn’t have it in him” to earn adequate playing
time convinced the coach to let him play against a competitive
team equipped with star players. As a result, the boy
became just that—a star player. The coach apologized for
not giving all of his players ample opportunities to reveal
their potential—a problem a lot of coaches still struggle
with today.
“Looking back on your highly successful coaching career,
what would you have done differently if given the chance?”
“I felt bad for players who were not as athletically
inclined as some of the others and, as a result, didn’t get
much playing time. Despite this fact, they were grateful
to be on the team and help their teammates get ready for
games during practice.”
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This was a good relationship Coach Wooden had with
all of his players. Each individual player had a very good
understanding of his role on the team because the coach
worked with them individually besides as a team.
What Coach Wooden said was surprisingly similar to
what one of my own high school football coaches once said
to me about being a big help to the team.
Growing up between the ages of six and sixteen lends
itself to experiences both good and bad. For me, these were
my years as a good athlete playing baseball, basketball, and
football concurrently—for which I was rewarded accordingly.
I played competitive sports on organized town and
school teams. Football was the sport I enjoyed the most.
However, in my sophomore year—following a successful
freshman year playing in Catholic high school, with the
opportunity to practice with the varsity during the summer—
football lost its luster. I transferred to public high
school to eliminate an unnecessary commute and was
deeply hurt by the fact that I didn’t receive any playing time.
My football coach at the Catholic high school had been
planning to bring me up to the varsity as a sophomore. He
tried talking me into staying at his school, telling me that
he thought I was making a mistake by transferring.
“You might get lost in a public school,” he warned me.
“It’s much bigger than this school. You don’t know any of
the students or faculty there.”
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I listened to what the coach had to say, but I had already
made up my mind about switching schools.
The public school was in a good school district and had a
high scholastic rating. Their football team was mediocre at
best, with a winning record of 65/35. Because I considered
myself a good football player (maybe a little above average)
and I had played on winning teams since I was seven
years old, I hoped to succeed in playing on the JV team
and later varsity at my new school. To me, it made sense.
Unfortunately, the coaches of the JV and varsity teams did
not see it like that and hardly gave me any playing time,
either in practice or in games. Today I still feel that I was
as good as, if not better than, most of my teammates at the
public high school—except for a handful of “stars.”
Although I accepted that some players would always be
more talented than I, to this day I am confused about why
neither the JV nor the varsity coaches would not give me
any playing time. They insisted on making me part of the
bench rather than the team. But not only did they refuse to
give me playing time, they refused to explain why not.
Whatever the reason, I believe it was the responsibility
of the coaches to communicate their thoughts and feelings
regarding my skill level and potential as an athlete.
An understanding of each individual player’s strengths
and weaknesses and successful communication of opinions
about players’ abilities are key factors to a functional
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sports team. Players who do not receive well-deserved playing
time suffer greatly. The hurt, stemming from the fear
that his or her true potential may never be discovered, may
remain with a person for a lifetime.
In my junior year, when, just like the previous year, the
varsity team at the public high school was not performing
well and I was suffering from strong feelings of frustration
and defeat, I decided to quit the football team. I decided
that my athletic career was over, and I refused to put myself
through further emotional turmoil. When I told the coach
about my decision, he replied that I was an asset to the
team during practice and said he hoped that I was positive
I was making the right decision.
I was stunned by his response. How could the coach
hurt me as much as he had? How could he now say I was a
help to the team? Why wasn’t he a help to me? I didn’t want
to accept that I might be a lousy football player and resign
myself to serving as a crutch for the other players so the
coach could have a winning team. What nonsense.
This was yet another example of the lack of necessary
communication and understanding between players and
coaches. My decision remained unchanged.
Players join the team to play, and it is the coach’s job to
see to it that they all get to play. If the coach believes that
some of his players are not athletically inclined enough to
play, then they should not be on the team. Once he takes
them on the team, he has a responsibility to play them. The
players that do not get substantial playing time only get
emotionally hurt, and that is the coach’s fault. Players need
to play.
In competitive sports, winning is everything, right? Not so fast, says author Greg Ryan in the eminently engaging and highly readable Why Not, Coach?
Deploying clear, crisp prose and a cohesive, cogent “game plan,” Ryan lays out the how and why of the need for a more balanced and healthy approach to coaching. He makes the case that “winning” is about more than putting points on the board. Way more.
Key questions that anchor the text of this probing and penetrating tome include: Have you ever wondered how insufficient playing time on a competitive sports team may affect some athletes? If players can and do get hurt emotionally from not getting adequate playing time? Have you ever wondered what you can do about it as a coach or a parent? Then Why Not, Coach? is for you.
Thorough, thoughtful, insightful and inspirational, Why Not, Coach? is a breath of fresh air for any athlete, parent, or coach who wants to get the most out of not only competitive sports, but also themselves. One example is the discussion about how to achieve goals combined with hard work and the support of a coach in discovering one’s potential in not only athletics but also personal success. Ditto the “recipe” for a championship team (it’s probably not what you think).
One thing I especially appreciated about this highly readable book is how the author skillfully interweaves some of his own background and experiences into the text to emphasize and illustrate key concepts. Forming a Parent Coach Association (PCA) is one example. The shared goal of a PCA is to make sure all students feel safe, confident, and are eager to succeed. I also appreciated how Ryan explains that relying on one or two “star” players to win games is a bad idea and what to do instead. It’s compelling, absorbing, and long overdue.
Stand-out chapters include chapters 5 and 6, The Effective Coach, and The Qualities of an Ineffective Team-Sports Coach. The relationship between parents and coaches is also discussed. This is key. As any parent with a child or children in competitive sports can tell you, this relationship can be “make or break" for all concerned. Suggested activities coaches can initiate in order to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with parents are included.
Sections on Tips for Getting Along For Coaches and Players, Sportsmanship, and Playing Fair vs. Winning are simply outstanding. Ditto the section on the benefits of sports for young athletes.
As the mother of two exceptionally gifted athletes and two not-so-gifted athletes, I loved the “no player is left behind” principle laid out in this book. I just wish some of the coaches my kids had in their early years had a copy of Why Not, Coach?
You won’t have to wish that with a copy of this book. Combined with resources available via an interactive web site, this book gives you the tools you need as a coach, parent, or athlete to make sure no player is left behind.
That’s called a win-win-win. Oh yeah.