16/10/2019
🙌🏻
from Coach Mac (we've walked that path)
Here's the toughest opponent you'll face as a youth basketball coach: Status Anxiety.
This term was coined by Alain de Botton in his brilliant book of the same name.
Here's my interpretation for basketball coaches:
"Status Anxiety can be defined as the constant tension or fear of being perceived as 'unsuccessful' by parents, players, coaches, etc, when their criteria for a successful coach focuses only on the win / loss columns."
Let's be honest...
We all WANT to win. We're competitive. It's a knock against our ego whenever we look up at the scoreboard and see our team losing. It's painful walking up to the opposition coach after a loss and shaking their hand.(especially if they just used a 2-3 zone against 10-year-olds)
But here's the thing:
At some point in time, all youth basketball coaches are forced to pick their top priority...
Development or Winning
If a coach chooses to focus on "winning", here's what you'll see:
• 2-3 zone
• Full-court zone press
• Best players get majority of minutes
• Isolate your best player on every possession
While if a coach chooses "development", you'll see:
• No zones
• Man-to-man defense
• Even playing time for all players
• Positionless, motion offense
The question is:
"Are you willing to take that ego hit?" If you want to be a coach who puts development as their top priority, you have to be. Because the truth is:
Some parents will judge your coaching ability on the win / loss column
> Some players will prefer to play for the coach who runs a 2-3 zone
> Some coaches will mock you for not using a full-court press
The more you can stick to development and push the ego hit to the side...the better your players will be in the long run.