Now that we are in early September, this is the time that my internal alarm clock goes off and I start making calls. One of the true benefits of coaching is sharing with other coaches.
There are a couple of local coaches’ clinics that I try to attend each season. The first is the clinic held at the Athletes in Action facility. The second is held at the University of Dayton. However, no matter what part of the country I have traveled to, I have found a coaches clinic to attend. Or…
If you are associated with a program, you could host your own clinic. I have done this several times and found that the toughest one was the first one.
The main reasons for the difficulty were all in my head. I assumed that I did not have anything that anyone else wanted to hear. I assumed that I would not present it clearly and in an interesting way. I even assumed that I might be wrong, depending on the level of the coaches present. I also assumed that no other coaches would be interested in presenting.
However, I took the plunge keeping two things in mind:
- If the audience knew what was being presented, and still decided to come, YOU must be of interest.
- If you stay a “slide” ahead of the audience, then you are the expert!
With that in mind, take the plunge. I am a coach in an organization with 20 coaches. These coaches are of different levels and experience. For several years, I hosted a coaches’ clinic for these coaches and, by word of mouth, we averaged 45 attendees!
Here are the steps that we take to pull this together:
• Set the date/reserve the gym and publish it
• Determine if you have any special needs or a special theme. Defense or fundamentals are themes that always draw a crowd.
• Identify four speakers. You also should be a speaker. Commit to it and learn from it. I identify speakers from the programs in the area. We are blessed with some excellent high school coaches who are more than willing to come and speak for 15 to 20 minutes on a topic.
• Don’t be afraid to invite a “headliner.” In the past, I have had the first assistant from the University of Dayton women’s program and the new head coach at Xavier when he was an assistant to Sean Miller. I have also had Coach Dillon from Sinclair Community College. They were all eager to share and the coaches loved them.
• I always invite a referee to attend and cover three types of issues.
1. This season’s Points of Emphasis.
2. Cover those calls that are more often than not misunderstood. (charge/block, over and back, etc.)
3. Ask the referee to take a few minutes to discuss coach’s behavior. How a coach should and should NOT conduct themselves during the game, how to approach a ref for clarification, etc.
Another popular speaker has been an expert from the local sports medicine facility. He discussed various ways players should stretch, warm up and cool down.
At the end, gather feedback and plan for next year. You won’t believe what you will learn and you will be surprised to know what you have learned.
