My primary goal in writing my blog and posting on social media is to be authentic. What I share is exactly what I think, what I believe, what I use, and what I do with the players and coaches I work with. With that comes my personal obligation to remain honest and transparent.
Why am I bringing this up? I would be remiss if I didn’t share that we have had a handful of ankle injuries with our players at DeMatha over the past two weeks. Given how strongly I feel about proper ankle and foot training… I want to make sure that you know that injuries still happen to the best of us. This is just a reminder that there is no such thing as injury prevention – at best we are aiming for injury reduction. I am confident that these recent injuries have been much less severe than they would have been without our consistent training.
I have emphasized a comprehensive foot & ankle training protocol since I arrived at DeMatha two years ago… and will continue to do so. My convictions haven’t waivered for second.
Fortunately, the injuries we have incurred have been minor (knock on wood) and our guys have missed minimal practice and game time. But I still view any injury as a cause for concern. I will continue to work diligently in my crusade to keep our feet and ankles as strong and as mobile as possible.
Here are some of the things we do to keep our feet & ankles healthy: http://youtu.be/p8g7UeSw95A
OK, sermon over.
A few weeks ago I posted this video, ‘My Son Should Play More’: http://youtu.be/Ky-5doFLL2I
It sparked a wave of discussion on the topic of playing time. More specifically, on whether coaches should discuss playing time with parents.
It is my firm belief, that at the high school level, coaches are under no obligation to discuss playing time with parents.
That is purely a discussion that needs to take place between coach and player.
Now, I am all for exercising excellent communication.
I do believe coaches should welcome inquires, involvement and feedback from parents regarding:
· How their child is being treated.
· Their child’s academic progress.
· Practice, game, and team schedules.
· Their child’s overall effort and attitude (on and off the court).
· Their child’s potential to play in college.
I also think the coach should formally communicate to the parents about:
· Their expectations for the player’s role on the team.
· Their evaluation of the player’s strengths and weaknesses.
But coaches do not have to discuss, justify, or defend playing time. Coaches are 100% in charge, for right or wrong, with who plays and how much they play. It is their program and playing time is their decision.
Every coach plays who they think will give them the best chance to win. The theory that ‘the coach doesn’t like my child’ is the reason for lack of playing time is absolute BS.
A majority of parents are not able to view the big picture objectively. They are understandably biased towards their own child’s happiness and success. Plus, parents are not privy to the whole picture – they aren’t at practices, team meetings, etc. The player and the coach are the only two people with all of the info, thus they are the only two who should have the discussion.
Plus let’s be honest, 99% of the time, parents do not know the game near as well as the coach does. Watching basketball as a casual fan does not make one an expert!
Playing time is purely opinion and judgment. What many parents fail to understand is that playing time is not just about playing the best players; it’s about playing the players that play the best together. That is a powerful distinction. Chemistry is vital! A team needs to fit together like a jigsaw puzzle… several pieces combined to make a beautiful picture.
Players have every right to discuss playing time with their coach. But they need to approach the coach with the attitude of ‘what do I need to do to earn more playing time?’ I have never met a coach who wouldn’t welcome that approach.
By the time my 21 month old twin sons, Luke & Jack (who came out of the womb with the nickname ‘The Born Backcourt’) are in high school, I will have been working in elite level basketball for 25 years. On some level, that would make me an expert, right?
Even so, as a parent, I would never consider discussing playing time with their coach! I will have great communication with the coach, I will support him in any way I can… but if Luke or Jack has an issue or is unhappy… I will encourage them to take the accountability to meet with the coach to discuss. I will teach them how to be accountable. As a parent, I believe that is one of the best lessons I can teach my children.
(NOTE: I have already spoken with Coach Jones and he fully intends to still be coaching at DeMatha in 2024 when my boys enroll as freshmen. He has made it crystal clear that even they will have to earn their time like everyone else!)
I would love your thoughts on my playing time stance. Feel free to email me at Alan@StrongerTeam.com or send me a Tweet @AlanStein (#PlayingTime).
Train hard. Train smart. Enjoy the journey.
Alan Stein
www.StrongerTeam.com
PS: Just a heads up, I will be offering a HUGE birthday promotion the weekend of January 20th (when I turn 36) for my online shop.
You can save 36% on all of my downloadable PDFs and you can buy every DVD* for $36 plus FREE shipping!
Take a look at the downloads and DVDS I have available at http://Shop.StrongerTeam.com
Simply register your email here to take advantage of this great offer: http://www.strongerteam.com/Register.aspx
This sale will be a great time to stock up for the off-season!
NOTE: Sale does NOT include the DeMatha All-Access 3-disc set