I do not think it advisable for a head coach to do group work with one of his assistants. If an assistant is directing a group and the head man comes over to help out, he takes the lead away from the assistant. As a result the assistant coach is likely to lose his initiative—the very trait you want him to develop. Secondly, the players are likely to give the head coach all of their attention, and this isn’t fair to the assistant working with the same group of boys. Thirdly, I do not think it is desirable to suggest changes, make corrections or reprimand an assistant on the field. I feel the proper time to get the matter straightened out is after practice, and not while the players are around. I always try to avoid situations which are not conducive to good team and staff morale because you’ve got to have good morale in order to build a winner.
The Coaching Specialist
I think it is important for my assistants to specialize in either offensive or defensive football. I feel they can do a better job of coaching if they devote most of their time and effort toward one aspect or the other. We still want them to be cognizant of the opposite phase, however, as the defensive coaches must understand offensive football, and vice versa for the offensive coaches. In fact, from time to time I will put an offensive coach with the defense so he can learn more about this particular phase of the game. I believe it would be advisable for a high school coach, with possibly only a staff of two, to follow the same plan—one offensive coach and the other on defense.
Immediately after practice every day during the season I meet with my staff. I have little patience with the assistant who wants to hurry away from practice immediately. I want my staff members to meet in the staff room so we can discuss all phases of the day’s practice schedule while it is still fresh in our minds. Evaluation of personnel goes on all the time. Therefore, I want my assistants to list on the blackboard the work schedule for the next day for their particular group of boys. In addition I want their suggestions and comments as to the type of teamwork needed. Now I am in a better position to do a more intelligent job of setting up the practice schedule for the next day since I have been made aware of our individual and team needs, strengths and weaknesses. We have found this procedure very helpful, and I encourage my assistants to express themselves. I shall explain our procedures more fully in [Chapter 10].
Delegating Responsibility
The head coach must delegate responsibility to his assistants in order to have a more effective plan of operation. The head coach must let each assistant know what he expects from him. An explanation of duties and responsibilities in the beginning is likely to eliminate misunderstanding later on. Secondly, a person with some responsibility is likely to do a better job than the individual who doesn’t have any. I have found it gives the assistant more confidence in himself and more pride in his work if he has been given a certain amount of responsibility.
As I mentioned previously in [Chapter 2], in order to get the most from your staff, they must be completely sold on your plan for building a winner. Of course, the head coach must believe in his own plan 100%, along with the assistants, and he cannot make any compromises if he expects to be successful.
A Good Coach Is a Good Teacher
We stress the point frequently that coaching is teaching of the highest degree, and a good coach is a good teacher. It is not what you and your assistants know about football that is going to win the games, but rather what you are able to teach your players. In order to give our coaches an opportunity to improve their coaching techniques, we have them get up at staff meetings and explain and demonstrate various points. The other coaches will pretend they do not understand the coach who has the floor, and he must explain and answer the questions to our satisfaction. We have found this method gives the coaches a lot of confidence and they do a better job of coaching on the field.