Muhammad Ali Center Athletes & Social Change Forum

March 21-22, 2014

Louisville, Kentucky

Chris Croft, Ed.D –University of

Southern Indiana

Role of College Basketball Coaches as Educational Leaders

College basketball head coaches have a role and responsibility to be educational leaders

Represent the university, athletic department, and their basketball program

Leader and mentor to student-athletes

Responsibility of Head Coaches

“I don’t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach college basketball, (Janssen,2006).”

-Duke Head Basketball Coach, Mike Krzyzewski

Character

Commitment

Caring

Confidence-building

Communication

5 “C”s: Components of Coaching Leadership

Shows who you really are and how you react to things

Players must respect the head coach and feel he or she is trustworthy and honest

Will make the best decisions possible for the success of the team and individuals

Character

“I like to think the players I coached, however they came to UCLA, left as men of character, (Wooden, 1997).”

-Former UCLA Head Basketball Coach, John Wooden

To lead by example so that players can see their active participation

To “preach what you teach”

To develop expectations that are passed from head coach to players

Commitment

“He’s trying to get the best out of you, and he’s trying to make you figure out how to bring that out of yourself, (The secrets of Geno’s success, 2014).”

-Freshman Connecticut women’s basketball player Breanna Stewart about Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Geno

Auriemma

Coaches must show players that he or she cares about them first as people, and second as basketball players

To being concerned with their academics and their personal lives

Caring

"I really think first and foremost you have to care about your athletes. I don't think you can fake that. I think that's got to be real and the reason I love so much what I do is that I get to work with people, (Janssen, J. & Dale, G, 2002)“

-Former Tennessee Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Pat Summitt

To develop confidence in players by believing in them

Occurs because of close personal relationships

Starts during the recruiting process, develops during playing days, and continues throughout life

Confidence-Building

“I’ve learned so much about basketball, life, and myself in one year being in this program. I was meant to be here, this is my stop. This was life-changing for me, (Kansas Basketball, 2014).”

-Current Kansas senior Tarik Black (referring to Kansas Head Basketball Coach, Bill Self)

To deliver messages yourself

One of the best ways to communicate is to listen

To give players the opportunity to express themselves, and therefore the head coach will more effectively be able to communicate with player

Communication

“People cannot be blamed for what they don’t know. It’s your job to make sure that the people you are leading understand your message, (Reynolds, 2000).”

-Louisville Head Basketball Coach, Rick Pitino

“To this day, I see much of my success as a coach linked to my ability and skill as a teacher...In fact, coaching is teaching and all of the skills that teaching requires; knowing the sport or activity; planning; developing people skills, communication, motivation, mentoring, and being a role model; understanding your players or students; and, of course, knowing how to teach, (Schempp, 2003, p. ix).”

-Gonzaga Head Basketball Coach, Mark Few

Janssen, J. (2006). Discovering the seven secrets of successful coaches. Retrieved from http://www.janssensportsleadership.com/

Janssen, J. & Dale, G. (2002).The Seven Secrets of Successful Coaches. Janssen Peak Performance Inc.

Kansas Basketball (kuhoops). "“I’ve learned so much about basketball, life, and myself in one year being in this program. I was meant to be here… This is my stop. This was life-changing for me.” 14 March 2014, 2:06PM. Tweet.

Reynolds, B. (2000).Lead to Succeed: 10 Traits of Great Leadership in Business and Life. New York: Broadway.

References

Schempp, P. G. (2003). Teaching sport and physical activity: Insights on the road to excellence. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

The secrets of Geno's success(2014, March). Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basketball/tournament/2013/story/_/id/9070531/women-ncaa-tournament-2013-connecticut-huskies-coach-geno-auriemma-pursues-perfection

Wooden, J. & Jamison, S. (1997). Wooden: A lifetime of observations and reflections on and off the court. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books.

References Cont.

Questions & Answers & Discussion