Harwood on the Hardwood

High School basketball coaches having long careers at one school seems to be becoming rarer and rarer these days. It seems like coaches are also getting removed from their job more frequently these days. Sometimes it is lack of wins or direction of program or family commitments but more and more it seems to be parents who aren’t happy with the coach for whatever reason and are putting pressure on AD’s and principals to remove the coach. I am saddened by this, but I do think coaches and administrators can take certain steps to make this happen a little less frequently.

I remember like it was yesterday when I got I my first varsity coaching job 25 years ago at the young age of 28. I remember asking a lot of experienced coaches for advice and one thing most of them touched on and most in a negative way was dealing with parents and how every parent thought their child was the next Michael Jordan. Three months earlier my first son was born (the next Michael Jordan) and my life changed and my coaching life changed. There is no greater love than a parent to a child. Coaches sometimes forget this when they are coaching. Morgan Wootten would always say coach the team like your son is on the team and my college coach Rick Pitino told me to coach the team like I wanted to be coached, I had a passion for the game so this became the beginning of forming a coaching philosophy.

The most important difference I see from the days when I was a player is that when I played we did what the coach said and parents always supported the coach, with very little conversation. Biggest difference for players is now I believe, you must tell the kids WHY you do something. (but that is another topic) Having a successful preseason player/parent for high school and just parent meeting for youth teams is the most important day a coach can have. So many of your potential problems can be prevented at this meeting. I ask the parents at the meeting if there is anyone here who’s son should be limited in number of minutes played, shots taken or doesn’t like to start the game. No hands go up, I tell them they just complained and they can’t call me on any of those issues. Now I also tell them that, if you and your wife are losing sleep and your son’s lack of playing time is also causing problems at work and so on, then I tell them they can have a parent of another player call me and tell me maybe their son’s minutes or shots should be limited and give them to MR. Smith’s kid. ? Not going to happen but ,if it does, I will listen.

You must show the parents not only all the basics of your program and rules and philosophies and other things but they must get to know you a little bit and see some of your personality and let them know you are a person first not just a coach. Your ability to communicate is so essential to being a successful coach and having some humility goes a long way. I tell the parents I have never coached the perfect game and I will make mistakes every game, always have and always will. Also coaching most sports in high school these days is almost year round. Organizing and coaching workouts and summer leagues, team camps, exposure camps, helping them with colleges. There is a lot to do in the off season, you cannot just coach during the season anymore, parents and players expect it and demand it!!!

I get asked a lot,  mostly from parents, about AAU basketball and my thoughts and the benefits of playing AAU ball. Well, like a lot of things, it certainly depends on the organization and more importantly the coach and his/her philosophy. I do find it funny when young players or their parents tell me ”Coach, I play AAU” (I am always thinking, well then, you must be a PLAYA”) and his parents say “he plays year round basketball” Well that is all in all good, but that doesn’t mean much as far as your development as a player goes. I love it when someone says, Coach, my son  plays for THE ELITE SELECT PLAYERZZ with MAD SKILLZZ TEAM and they played 75 games this Spring and Summer, which can be very beneficial but, not  always. Well I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s with a love of basketball and AAU wasn’t very big back then, but you know what, I played 25-75 games every week, granted they weren’t organized (no refs, or shooting shirts/with our names on our 10 year old backs or snacks)(yes I am Old School!!!) but we played all the time, anywhere from one on one to five on five. Could be at the school yards, playgrounds, rec centers or driveways, but we were always playing. Then, maybe most important, as I hit the teenage years was the most wonderful concept that shaped my coaching career and many things in my life was WINNER STAY ON. This is where there was a 3-4 game wait to play if you lost. The greatest loss for a player is not to play, I know I learned to compete from countless hours of playing WINNER STAY ON!!!! Now players might travel hundreds of miles to play 3-6 games and they are guaranteed most of them. I think this contributes to what a lot coaches that I talk to complain about, the lack of true competitors. All players aren’t truly competitive but, the ones that are, well they are coach’s favorites and usually find time on the court no matter what their skill level is. ( again, I am in the Old School Washed up Players from a Long Time Ago Who Think it Might Have Been Better Back Then Club).

Alright, enough already, what about some AAU advice for players and parents out there. Number one for me is size of team, I coached all of my four children (2 boys 2 girls) for anywhere from 1 to 3 years and we always had 9 players on the team and we hoped one was sick on game day so we would only have 8!!! I don’t like seeing travel teams with more than 10 players, but I see some with 12-15. I can’t imagine traveling for games and only playing a few minutes, especially if you have to pay, OUCH!!! Players want to play, and parents want their kids to play, over 90% of problems in youth basketball is about playing time. I would want to know ahead of time about how much playing time does the coach envision my child playing. This can only change, I would think, if it was a qualifying tournament for the States or Nationals or something like that. Hopefully, in the AAU practice, you do spend some time working on fundamentals and reinforcing positive habits. I do think it is beneficial to play in a good number of games because in most areas pickup games are not as prevalent as they used to be. No doubt kids need game experience, but more importantly they must put the work in on their shooting and ball handling and as they get older, conditioning. Most kids playing careers come to an end because they do not have the skills to get to the next level, so you must not neglect the fundamentals when playing on an AAU team. A good coach who cares about kids and knows basketball is invaluable in the development of young players. Ask around, find out has much as you can about the coach. One of the many great things about basketball is you can continue to develop throughout your career and sometimes at a rapid rate.

As a high school coach, most of my players do play AAU ball in the Spring and Summer and we sandwich in some summer league and maybe a team camp or two as a high school team, but I think it is good for the players to hear from coaches, besides me all the time, and also play with different guys. I have been involved in basketball most of my life and by far the greatest thing about it is all the relationships I have developed over the years. AAU can be really beneficial especially for rising juniors and seniors who have ambitions to play in college as many college coaches will come and watch the better tournaments.

Also if your child can’t get on a team, don’t panic, if they have developed a love of the game and are willing to put the time in, they will be asked to be on a team at some point, AAU coaches are like every other one, they want the best players.

Remember the right AAU team can help your basketball career but it won’t make your career, you and you alone must put the TIME in to master the skills required to become a good player!!!

Coach Harwood