For those of you who have coached...

[Paesano]

Given your experiences plus watching Geno being the genius he is, have you ever watched a high school or college team and just been horrified at what you see? In addition to reading and watching every Geno tidbit I can, I have also attended some great coaching and player clinics that have emphasized the same stuff Geno does.

Now I feel ruined. It is incredibly frustrating watching mediocre teams "coached" by mediocre coaches. I know Geno is an unfair standard but I can't help saying OMG...WTF...OMG...WTF...over and over in my head when I see what passes for coaching in our area.

And, even worse, what do you do when your kid is on one of these teams? I know the golden rule for parents of athletes but, damn, it is tough.

 

[Monte]

Given your experiences plus watching Geno being the genius he is, have you ever watched a high school or college team and just been horrified at what you see? In addition to reading and watching every Geno tidbit I can, I have also attended some great coaching and player clinics that have emphasized the same stuff Geno does.

Now I feel ruined. It is incredibly frustrating watching mediocre teams "coached" by mediocre coaches. I know Geno is an unfair standard but I can't help saying OMG...WTF...OMG...WTF...over and over in my head when I see what passes for coaching in our area.

And, even worse, what do you do when your kid is on one of these teams? I know the golden rule for parents of athletes but, damn, it is tough.

I see your point. What bothers me is the coaches who never sit down, and yell out to the players what to do on EVERY defensive + offensive play. Much of this should be ingrained into the players at practices, and they should instinctively know what to do in most situations.

 

[BigBird]

In Illinois, it was once a requirement that coaches also be faculty members - legitimate teachers, meaning degreed and teacher certified. Now, the requirement is that candidates be breathing, available and not have a criminal record. It doesn't amaze me that the quality of coaching has declined. What surprises me is that anyone in these parts would wonder why.

The previous requirements were flawed. The current system is a trainwreck. But it's cheap, and that is what drives the bus today in this bankrupt state.

 

[Paesano]

I see your point. What bothers me is the coaches who never sit down, and yell out to the players what to do on EVERY defensive + offensive play. Much of this should be ingrained into the players at practices, and they should instinctively know what to do in most situations.

Yeah, that is pretty common. Little reminders on transition are ok like, "get in a stance", but trying to direct players mid-play just screws them up. The kids that just ignore the coach and do what they want aren't affected as much but, then again, those kids also keep making the same mistakes over and over again.

 

[Paesano]

In Illinois, it was once a requirement that coaches also be faculty members - legitimate teachers, meaning degreed and teacher certified. Now, the requirement is that candidates be breathing, available and not have a criminal record. It doesn't amaze me that the quality of coaching has declined. What surprises me is that anyone in these parts would wonder why.

The previous requirements were flawed. The current system is a trainwreck. But it's cheap, and that is what drives the bus today in this bankrupt state.

Has it declined? I figured high school coaches were always this bad or they would have been coaching in college. I guess every now and then you get a good coach or assistant coach that has a nice job outside of coaching that they don't want to leave so they just stay at the high school level. Ansonia football comes to mind.

 

[victor64]

Weirdly, I get that feeling when I watch OSU women play. So much talent, so much selfish play. If Geno coached those kids, they would be unbeaten.

 

[Checkmate]

In Illinois, it was once a requirement that coaches also be faculty members - legitimate teachers, meaning degreed and teacher certified. Now, the requirement is that candidates be breathing, available and not have a criminal record. It doesn't amaze me that the quality of coaching has declined. What surprises me is that anyone in these parts would wonder why.

The previous requirements were flawed. The current system is a trainwreck. But it's cheap, and that is what drives the bus today in this bankrupt state.

There is a lot of politics in the hiring of coaches. In many public schools teachers automatically get the job over more qualified outside coaches. I know of a public school that fired their teacher/coach and another school quickly hired him. Then at the new school after a few games 4 players quit the team.They now have a 1-6 record.

If you look at most private schools they have good coaches. However, there are a few former AAU hustlers who are just recruiters.

 

[Patty Bailey]

UGH, I went to a couple of local high school games. One coach NEVER SHUT UP THE ENTIRE GAME! His team would inbound the ball, cross the center line and he'd yell "Throw it to Mary" By 3 minutes into the game (if they didn't already know the players from playing together in AAU) every member of the opposite team knew exactly where the ball was going on every play and would collapse on that player. They also couldn't play without looking at the sidelines every couple of seconds....even on defense. How are you supposed to pay attention to playing the game when you had to pay so much attention to the coach. It was so frustrating to watch.

 

[Patty Bailey]

PS - and the one thing he should have been yelling but wasn't? HANDS UP. I've never seen a team play defense with their hands at their sides so much in my life.

 

[HopJim]

In Illinois, it was once a requirement that coaches also be faculty members - legitimate teachers, meaning degreed and teacher certified. Now, the requirement is that candidates be breathing, available and not have a criminal record. It doesn't amaze me that the quality of coaching has declined. What surprises me is that anyone in these parts would wonder why.

The previous requirements were flawed. The current system is a trainwreck. But it's cheap, and that is what drives the bus today in this bankrupt state.

Given your experiences plus watching Geno being the genius he is, have you ever watched a high school or college team and just been horrified at what you see? In addition to reading and watching every Geno tidbit I can, I have also attended some great coaching and player clinics that have emphasized the same stuff Geno does.

Now I feel ruined. It is incredibly frustrating watching mediocre teams "coached" by mediocre coaches. I know Geno is an unfair standard but I can't help saying OMG...WTF...OMG...WTF...over and over in my head when I see what passes for coaching in our area.

And, even worse, what do you do when your kid is on one of these teams? I know the golden rule for parents of athletes but, damn, it is tough.

To expand on these thoughts-sometimes that mediocre coach gains some initial success and its impossible to have them grow and get better in the job. My high school had a women's basketball coach who won state championship based on the play of a future Huskie. She coached every future game using the same system she implemented when the team was lead by an All American. Lost as many games as she won but always went back to that championship to justify why she didn't need to evolve as a coach.

 

[Jeff H]

I coach soccer. My AD and principal put the emphasis on being a good role model and "life lessons" person over being a good coach of your sport, the importance of which shouldn't be lost in this discussion of "bad coaches". That being said I wouldn't respect myself if I didn't try to get better every year. What really gets me is trying to keep the score down against an opponent who could be so much better if their coach just taught them the fundamentals. There are really some who seem to know almost nothing about the sport

 

[BigBird]

Has it declined? I figured high school coaches were always this bad or they would have been coaching in college.

My point of reference was/is Illinois. I can't speak with any validity about other states. For that matter, since Mrs. BigBird (a former HS teacher) retired, I don't see as much high school basketball as I used to. But coach conduct seems to be an ongoing story around here.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Given your experiences plus watching Geno being the genius he is, have you ever watched a high school or college team and just been horrified at what you see? In addition to reading and watching every Geno tidbit I can, I have also attended some great coaching and player clinics that have emphasized the same stuff Geno does.

Now I feel ruined. It is incredibly frustrating watching mediocre teams "coached" by mediocre coaches. I know Geno is an unfair standard but I can't help saying OMG...WTF...OMG...WTF...over and over in my head when I see what passes for coaching in our area.

And, even worse, what do you do when your kid is on one of these teams? I know the golden rule for parents of athletes but, damn, it is tough.

Good to better Coaching is a rarity---some coaches in HS do a fair to mid-land job--you are just starting to see how Geno is ruining Girl/Women's basketball---expecting them to perform as Uconn does--ruins the viewing..

 

[BroadwayVa]

UGH, I went to a couple of local high school games. One coach NEVER SHUT UP THE ENTIRE GAME! His team would inbound the ball, cross the center line and he'd yell "Throw it to Mary" By 3 minutes into the game (if they didn't already know the players from playing together in AAU) every member of the opposite team knew exactly where the ball was going on every play and would collapse on that player. They also couldn't play without looking at the sidelines every couple of seconds....even on defense. How are you supposed to pay attention to playing the game when you had to pay so much attention to the coach. It was so frustrating to watch.

A few years ago I followed Towson , who played JMU regularly, their coach was frustrating to watch. He never sat down--and directed every play and every action. I mentioned this to his assistant--she shrugged her shoulders --saying-what can I do. I must add --his team won some tough games.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Weirdly, I get that feeling when I watch OSU women play. So much talent, so much selfish play. If Geno coached those kids, they would be unbeaten.

Or they would transfer!!

 

[tomcat]

Weirdly, I get that feeling when I watch OSU women play. So much talent, so much selfish play. If Geno coached those kids, they would be unbeaten.

Actually, if Geno coached those kids., one of two things would happen. One, they would be unbeaten or two, they would drive him crazy because they wouldn't or couldn't do what he wanted them to do. There's a reason Geno only recruits certain young women to the program, and in all the years, he's only misfired and gotten someone who wouldn't buy into things, a few times. Not sure he would have wanted many of the OSU players.

 

[Paesano]

I coach soccer. My AD and principal put the emphasis on being a good role model and "life lessons" person over being a good coach of your sport, the importance of which shouldn't be lost in this discussion of "bad coaches". That being said I wouldn't respect myself if I didn't try to get better every year. What really gets me is trying to keep the score down against an opponent who could be so much better if their coach just taught them the fundamentals. There are really some who seem to know almost nothing about the sport

I couldn't agree more. The interesting thing is that those lessons can make them better people as well as better players. They aren't exclusive. I always go back to Aristotle's quote about excellence being a habit. On the court that looks like every cut being a hard cut and players practicing like they are playing in a championship game...things like that. One clip of a recent UConn practice showed Geno telling the players that, if they jog during practice, they will become the best jogging team in the country. In the Point Guard College clinics they teach something called precision which they define as doing things the right way, every time, even when it is uncomfortable or inconvenient. And then you have the concepts of holding yourself accountable and holding your teammates accountable and so on. It is about leadership, self-discipline and striving for excellence every moment of every day. I watch my son's varsity basketball team play and I think, WTF? And then I caught a few glimpses of their practices and I was horrified. I ran my CYO practices with more intensity and held my middle school aged kids to a higher standard regarding attitude and habits. The coach has been coaching for over 30 years and has had limited success. He does some things very well. He understands Xs and Os as well as some details on how to execute on both ends of the floor. But he is also obsessive in some areas and has gaping holes in other areas. He refuses to change what he does or how he does it and even jokes in the pre-season parent meeting about being a stubborn old man. That is the opposite of wisdom. I wonder how good he could have been had he been more open minded instead of being so arrogant. It is sad because it limits what the kids get out of it as well. There was a player on the team a few years ago that probably had D1 talent. He had great athleticism and solid basketball skills. But his attitude was horrific and his effort level varied based on the situation and task. The kid ended up at some mediocre D2 school instead of where I think he should have been which was at a lower level D1 program. I am certain his attitude and effort turned off D1 coaches. His high school coach never held him accountable. He never taught him self-discipline and leadership skills. In fact, he coddled him. Why? Because he was the best player on the team and, by far, the best scorer. But he could have been even better.

After three years of this, I have actually started boycotting the games. I was keeping the book for the first few games and I told him that I couldn't do it any more because I won't be at any more games. I knew I had reached a point where I was going to say something I would regret so now I don't even go to my own kid's games. If he were actually enjoying them I would feel bad, but he isn't. I secretly hope he quits the team and spends his winter working on his running but I don't let on as this is his decision and he needs to do what he wants to do. He is becoming an adult and needs to find his own path. I love his running coach. He is a rare bird around these parts. Most of the coaches in most of the sports are medicore and have one major issue or another. My son's basketball coach may actually be the best one in our area. Sad. It is a private catholic school and I sent him there instead of the public school, which his older brother attended, specifically so he could play for this guy. As fate would have it, while this did not work out how I envisioned it, the experience with the running coach and the friends he has made on that team have made it all worthwhile. And the basketball thing could still get better but it is up to my son. He knows what he should do instead of lowering his standards to what surrounds him. He has been to PGC and has seen enough of Geno and Calhoun to know how things should be. He needs to let go and become the leader that the team desperately needs. I just don't know if he will be ready to do that by the end of next year. If not, that's OK. He is doing stupid well academically and the leadership thing will come when it comes.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Actually, if Geno coached those kids., one of two things would happen. One, they would be unbeaten or two, they would drive him crazy because they wouldn't or couldn't do what he wanted them to do. There's a reason Geno only recruits certain young women to the program, and in all the years, he's only misfired and gotten someone who wouldn't buy into things, a few times. Not sure he would have wanted many of the OSU players.

I agree with all you say---however in his Olympic pursuits he has women whom he didn't recruit or recruited and was turned down--and from all published media--he got them to buy into his (essentially) Uconn system. Was this because they matured from HS or they now see the wisdom or they wanted to play for the USA???