DON MEYER: "It all starts at the top. If starts with me. If my kids are soft, then I must be soft."This lesson from Coach can be summed up as saying that we as coaches are responsible for the make up of our team. Some coaches are quick to point out that their team is soft, not mentally tough, not fundamentally sound, not intelligent -- a whole liteany of reasons that their team is struggling. But the bottom line is that they must first look in the mirror.
It's about accountability.
On the collegiate level, I always feel that our coaching staff is responsible for any short coming on the court.
Did we TEACH them well in practice? Was our practice structure conducive to their improvement? Did we give the proper thought to practice in terms of preparing them? Was there the necessary combination of conditioning and rest?
Did we PREPARE them well throughout the process? Did we give them the information they needed to understand their goals, roles and objectives? Did we insure means of motivation to gain maximum effort?
Did we COACH them well in the game? Was our game plan correct and if not, did we have a solid back up plan? Were the adjustments and substitutions made in such a way to assure success? In late game situations, we were properly prepared -- did we put players in position to do what they can and to avoid that which they cannot?
In some cases a staff can say yes. We did teach...we did prepare...we did coach but we still failed. If this is true, then it comes back to RECRUITING -- and once again we as coaches are responsible.
