Is Coaching Changing?

I grew up as a CK. If you were a CK, you know what that stands for. For those of you who did not grow up in a family with a father and/or mother who was or is a coach, CK is a Coach's Kid.

I loved it! It afforded me many opportunities none of the other students had. It started before I was even old enough to go to school. My dad played for a living and I got to go along for the ride. I talk about it quite bit in my ebook I Still Believe in Tomorrow.

I grew up with a ball in my hands. Literally, My first basketball came along before I did! Here is a shot of my dad and me at six months old:

I love the wallpaper and my bib overalls!

It was not long after I started walking before I was learning how to dribble!

I want to share one more picture of my first coach and mentor before I get to the point of this post. My dad started coaching me in organized sports in summer league baseball when we lived in Edgerton, Minnesota and I was eight or nine years old. This shot was taken in our backyard in Sibley, Iowa the summer of 1968 and I was thirteen:




In Iowa, they played their school baseball in the summer because there were always rain outs and cold weather in the spring, so they could rarely get a full schedule of games played. The benefit for us athletes was, we could participate in four sports. It was GREAT!



Now, the Minneapolis StarTribune claims: Coaches no longer make decisions in a vacuum. Some parents second-guess every move, and some coaches resent it. ... You can read the Updated: May 24, 2012 online article by clicking here.

I can relate to this story because my dad's contract was not renewed twice because he did not do a few of the points on the following list. So, the movers came, hooked up to the trailer and it was off to the next town. One of them was his home town in 1960! With all due respect to the author of the referenced article in the StarTribune, Jason Gonzalez, this phenomena is not new.

It is my experience parents have always had a problem with coaches for a number of reasons like:

1. Their son or daughter's team did not win enough
2. Their son or daughter did not get to play enough
3. Their son or daughter got cut from the team
4. The coach was too disciplined
5. The coach was not disciplined enough
6. The coach was too loud
7. The coach was not loud enough
8. The coach picked on their son or daughter
9. The coach had favorite players and treated them differently
10. The coach did not win the big game.

The article refers mostly to high school coaches, and a recent rash of resignations and firings because coaches have had it with their decisions both on and off the field. There are a number of reasons given in the article, but their main reason was the coaches were bullies.


Many of us have heard of the recent rash of scandals in the college coaching ranks. I find them disgusting! We have heard the old adage There is a bad apple in every barrel. It happens in every profession, and coaching is no different. However, there are the vast majority of both men and women coaches out there, at all levels of competition, who are good, honest, decent people who are doing a great job coaching! There are also good men and women who spent their entire careers teaching young men and women to be good people, not just good athletes! I like reading about people like John Wooden, and recently retired, Pat Summit.

Those are just two examples of great coaches. I had several I could list as well. Do you have any good coaching stories you would like to share?

I look forward to hearing about them.

Later,

Mike

Life Lessons

The Difference NETWORK is an ongoing program offered through Marquette University and regularly posts speeches on a variety of subjects. This one is given by their basketball coach, Buzz Williams. You can listen to other speeches by clicking here.

The Universe gives us inspiration when we need it, and often does so in ways we never expect. I started out today doing research on a completely different subject and through a series of links, ended up here.

I find it a bit ironic I find a story about a college basketball coach who is running his program his way, the right way, just a week after my post on the most celebrated college basketball coach of all time. Coach Wooden probably knew of Coach Williams and his philosophy, but if he did not, I am sure he would have been happy to see how he is running his program and developing his young student/athletes into fine young men. I think it would be great if more coaches on all levels thought like Coach Buzz Williams.

Check out this video and see if you agree with me:



If the video does not open, click here.

I welcome your comments.

Later,

Mike

John Wooden 1910-2010

It seems I have started a trend lately writing obituaries with my posts on Darcy Pohland and Gary Coleman. I do not want to write any more after this one, but I feel compelled to share a couple videos, articles and my thoughts on the passing of the greatest coach of all time in any sport. At least that was the conclusion of a poll in the July 29, 2009 edition of Sporting News. You can read the article of the list of sports' 50 greatest coaches of all time, as selected by a panel of 118 Hall of Famers, championship coaches and other experts by clicking here.

John Wooden truly was a legend. He was the standard by which ALL other coaches are measured. And he remained humble and modest until the day he died. Here is a portion of a wonderful interview he did at age 98 just last year the day after the poll came out:



If the video does not open, click here.

One of my favorite comments he made was when he called Kareem Abdul-Jabbar "Lewis." If you are not a college basketball fan like I am, you may not know before he converted to Islam, Abdul-Jabbar was Lew Alcindor. At least that is what everyone else called him; Coach Wooden still called him "Lewis."

Here is the video obituary ESPN ran after Coach Wooden passed away yesterday:



If the video does not open, click here.

The reason both he and Alcindor were three-time All Americans was back then freshmen were not eligible to play on a NCAA team. It was not until 1972 freshmen were allowed to compete. There is also a good article by the Associated Press that should appear right after the video.

An interesting note for all of us Minnesota Gopher fans is in 1948 when Coach Wooden went to UCLA, he was set to take the job at the University of Minnesota, but because a snowstorm knocked out telephone communication, he went to UCLA. You can read about it in David Nielsen's informative article from Scripps News Service by clicking here. It has a great list of all of the accomplishments of the Wizard of Westwood, as he was affectionately known.

He not only coached ten National Championships, he also played on one and even played on an Indiana High School State Championship. He won at every level he ever competed.

I was fortunate to see him coach two games when I was in Berkeley in the 1974 and 1975 games against UCLA as UCLA beat up on Cal in what was then the Pac-8 Conference. 1975 was his last year and when he was introduced before the game, everyone that could, gave him a standing ovation. Everyone respected Coach Wooden.

He will be remembered not only as a great coach, but also for his philosophy on life. He is often quoted about his thoughts on sports and life. Click here to see a partial list of his quotes.

I wish I could have played for him. From everything I have heard and read about him, every life he touched became better because of him. He remained sharp as a tack mentally and mentored coaches and his former players until the day he died.

RIP Coach.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike