By Shane Dreiling
One of the things I most like to discuss with coaches is their coaching philosophy. Having the opportunity to visit many coaches across the country, I find it interesting to learn how their coaching philosophy has changed through the years. Now starting my fourteenth year as a coach, I know that my own philosophy has evolved through the years as I have began to understand more fully what kind of coach I am and what I want to stress to my players.
I find that too many coaches, especially young coaches starting out, choose their philosophy by emulating what coach is winning or what teaching techniques are most popular. They choose to model coaches without understanding why these coaches are successful and determining if their way can be their way as well. I made the same mistake starting out. I valued the X’s and O’s and the coaches I saw on television every night. I thought fancy drills proved my knowledge as a coach. However, I have learned to value the teaching time with my players much more than the X’s and O’s. While I am always willing to learn from any coach anywhere, I have begun to seek out coaches whose program model those things I truly find valuable…family atmosphere, a teaching environment, competitive desire and a willingness to serve and share with others.
I believe that your philosophy as a coach can grow by first knowing what you teach and why you teach it. For example, does the way you teach closeouts go hand in hand with how you teach team defense? Secondly, understand that your philosophy is your foundation, but a coach must be willing to adapt and grow with time. Are you willing to play more zone defense this year if it allows your team to be more competitive? Finally, the third aspect of growing your philosophy is simply paying attention to details. The coach who is carefully monitoring their program on a day- to-day basis will find themselves less likely to completely shift their coaching personality based on a whim.
I encourage coaches to sit down and evaluate their coaching philosophy. Is your coaching foundation the same as it once was and if not, does your time with your staff and players reflect these changes? My evolution as a coach began when I stopped asking coaches for plays and started asking coaches about how and why they do the things they do…it was and still is, time well spent.
