Coaches Resources
"Winning versus Teaching "
Coaches often mistake winning a game for their team playing well. Just because you won a game does not mean that you are playing good basketball. I recently read a great article written by Sidney Goldstein called "How Winning Can Make You A Big Loser". The following are some interesting and relevant points from the article which shed some light on the issue:
"Winning is the only thing" is a widely-quoted sports proverb. This hardly novel idea takes more away from the game than it gives to it. We coaches routinely use winning as a rationale for many types of improper behaviour. Here are some detrimental consequences associated with a focus on winning:
Coaches judge both their team's and their own success on winning and losing. They say, "We won, so we must have played well. I also did a great job coaching," or, "We lost. We need more practice. I must work harder." None of this is necessarily correct. Coaches need a more concrete basis for evaluation, so that we can effectively coach players. Thinking in terms of winning and losing, there is none. Winning says, "work with the all-stars, forget the others." Teaching allows coaches to work with all players regardless of ability. The philosophy is, "teach the minimum needed to win. Teach short players dribbling and tall players rebounding. Maybe we can skip dribbling all together if we have one good dribbler, because that's all a team needs to bring the ball up court." Teaching says that all 12 players on a team need to learn all skills and as a coach you are responsible for teaching them. How often do coaches get angry at players for making a mistake? Winning demands players do things right whether or not they know how. Teaching on the other hand, says that the only limit to a player's ability to learn is the teacher's ability to teach. Face it, players' mistakes often stem from coaches' inabilities. Teaching encourages coaches to study basketball and to examine themselves; it is giving of one's self, whereas winning only manipulates, demands, takes, and uses… Belonging to the fallible human race, we can say without reservation that, of course, everyone wants to win. Do you think that kids need a rallying cry from coaches, sports legends, sportscasters, and other adults in responsible positions to do so?! Or should the emphasis be shifted to the teaching and learning aspects of basketball: that basketball is a subject just like any other one; that the court is a classroom, not a place to let egos and kids run wild.
For many coaches this article hits very close to home. I believe it is a matter of looking at how you are preparing for games. If any specific game becomes more important then practice there is something wrong. This is not to say that come championship game time coaches and players alike should not be nervous; rather there should be some excitement to perform at you best when it matters. Hard work during training should help alleviate placing an increased level of importance on any specific game.
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