Earlier this week I posted a hurricane of Tweets of what great assistants do. Here is the entire list:
1. Great Assistants… are loyal to their head coach, to their program and to their school.
2. Great Assistants… do everything to support the head coach and uphold the philosophy of the program.
3. Great Assistants… are open-minded and are always willing to learn… true ‘students of the game.’
4. Great Assistants… aspire to become a head coach at some point. They view being an assistant as an apprenticeship.
5. Great Assistants… are willing to listen more than they talk. They ask questions. They keep notes.
6. Great Assistants… understand and accept their role but they work hard to expand and grow their role.
7. Great Assistants… constantly interact with and have a genuine interest in fellow coaches, players and parents.
8. Great Assistants… balance out the head coach’s demeanor and personality (‘good cop, bad cop’).
9. Great Assistants… set an example for the players to follow, both on and off the court.
10. Great Assistants… are consummate professionals at all times – in how they dress and how they act.
11. Great Assistants… take pride in doing the ‘dirty’ work for the head coach. They do WHATEVER needs to be done.
12. Great Assistants… love to coach and love to help young people. They don’t do it for the paycheck!
13. Great Assistants… help ‘sell’ the program to the players, parents, and fans. They take great pride in their program.
14. Great Assistants… are open and honest with the head coach. They are not a ‘yes man’ (or ‘yes woman’).
15. Great Assistants… never, ever undermine the head coach in front of the team. If they disagree, they address it privately.
16. Great Assistants… are always looking for ways to help improve the team and program. They view it as their team!
17. Great Assistants… are humble. They check their ego at the door and are 100% about the team.
18. Great Assistants… are focused on their current job and team. They don’t have one eye on a future job possibility.
19. Great Assistants… know they have more to learn. They don’t think they ‘know it all.’
20. Great Assistants… learn every aspect of being a coach… from mopping the floors to running practice.
21. Great Assistants… know their role during practice as well as their role during games (which may differ).
22. Great Assistants… give daily attention to the players at the ‘end of the bench.’
23. Great Assistants… are ‘Glue Guys’ (‘Glue Gals’). They hold EVERYTHING in the program together!
24. Great Assistants… are the first ones to practice and the last ones to leave. They set the tone.
25. Great Assistants… accept a specific duty during games… keep track of time-outs, fouls, shot attempts, etc.
26. Great Assistants… appreciate the opportunity and privilege of being an assistant coach.
27. Great Assistants… are great communicators. They are often a liaison between the players and the head coach.
28. Great Assistants… are always enthusiastic, up-beat, and positive. They create energy for the team!
29. Great Assistants… are servant leaders. They serve the head coach. They serve the team.
30. Great Assistants… are prepared to assume the head coach position in a moment’s notice (practice or game).
31. Great Assistants… help their fellow assistants; they don’t compete against them.
32. Great Assistants… meet with their head coach regularly with constant updates on players.
33. Great Assistants… use all of the same terminology as the head coach (even if it is different than their own).
34. Great Assistants… take care of all minor ‘issues’ with players on their own. Only inform the head coach when necessary.
35. Great Assistants… care about their players and respect their players, but aren’t ‘friends’ with their players.
36. Great Assistants… develop a keen interest in players’ lives off the court (family, school work, etc.).
37. Great Assistants… pay close attention to detail. They sweat the small stuff.
38. Great Assistants… are innovative and creative – they think ‘outside the box.’
39. Great Assistants… are the ‘eyes and ears’ for the head coach at all times.
40. Great Assistants… offer to relieve the head coach of appropriate duties so they can focus on running/coaching the team.
I am so thankful to work with truly GREAT assistants at DeMatha… guys who epitomize this list to the fullest.
In case you missed them, here are similar lists:
What Great Coaches Do: http://blog.strongerteam.com/post/2011/09/07/What-Great-Coaches-Do.aspx
What Great Players Do: http://blog.strongerteam.com/post/2011/09/07/What-Great-Players-Do.aspx
Stronger Team’s Blair O’Donovan is in his 6th year as the strength & conditioning coach for the nationally renowned Gonzaga High School basketball program. Check out this video of one of his intense, innovative pre-season strength workouts:
http://youtu.be/nBuLkZMgsKk
Please let me know if I can ever be of service. Just email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com
Alan Stein
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