PETE NEWELL: THE LEADERSHIP EXAMPLE

An important factor in the philosophy of a coach is his attitude toward winning and losing.  A coach assumes responsibilities beyond fielding a winning team.  He is charged with guiding and developing youth in its most critical years of spiritual, mental and physical development.  He must realize that this attitude and philosophy are reflected in his team members.  His perspective and his objectives must be balanced and defined to himself.  If a coach allows himself emotional outbursts toward officials, his team will react in a similar manner; if a coach loudly berates an official during the course of a game, his players will question each call an official makes; if a coach blames defeat on anything and everything but himself, his players will be inclined to excuse their bad individual performances by pointing the finger of defeat to someone or something else.  No one particularly likes to lose, but people don't like a loser to keep excusing his defeat or blaming it on something besides himself.  A coach leads by example; he should be sure his leadership sets a good example.

From "Basketball Methods" by Pete Newell