Back to: Private: Coaching Philosophy
Do You Own It All The Time?
Now comes the hardest part. We have a philosophy that we believe in. We know what we need to do. Now we have to actually do it.
First We have to communicate it with everyone: players, parents, AD, principal, boosters, cheerleaders, band, and whoever else. The more people that know your philosophy, the more momentum you will have behind it.
You have to sell your vision to more than just your locker room. It doesn’t mean everyone will buy it. There will be questions, your philosophy will be challenged. However, the more you communicate your vision, the easier it will be to handle those situations.
Then in practice and in games, you really have to own it, because the people who really matter have to know that you’re all in. If you’re not all in with your own philosophy, why should they be? But you have to be able to teach it too. If you don’t know something, it will be evident. You can’t just believe in it, you have to know it inside and out.
You control what happens in your practices. You control who plays in games. If your philosophy is play together and a player is playing selfishly, you have to hold them accountable no matter who it is. If your philosophy is to play hard all the time and your team is playing hard and losing, then you have to praise them for playing hard, even though the result isn’t what you would like.
It doesn’t mean you don’t coach and teach the whole game, but your philosophy has to be your compass. It is your direction and more importantly it’s your team’s direction. If your team doesn’t know where you want to go then they are going to try to figure it out themselves. Just because you set a direction, doesn’t mean everyone is going to get on board. But you have to give them something to get on board with. Then it’s up to you how long you give them to get on board.