Coaching Philosophy
When it comes to winning games, I must emphasize that even though our goal is to win games--and we will practice hard to accomplish that goal--winning is not everything. In fact, as a coach it is my responsibility to instill in my team that the “winning at all costs” attitude destroys the beauty and fun of playing. Fact is, everyone can have varying opinions on what is important and what is not; however, when Vince Lombardi said “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing,” I don’t think he had young, developing players in mind. For professionals, whose livelihood depends on winning, that statement might be true; but, for children, what they learn now about competition will be the cornerstone they build their own philosophies from. Therefore, at the teenage years, stress must not be placed on winning, but on playing to the best of their abilities. As Coach John Wooden said, “Success in not something that others can give you…Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” My goal is to help players understand this approach and ensure they not only know it, but believe it. The only way this can happen is to live the philosophy. That is, I cannot coach a game while yelling and screaming at my team if they are not winning. Granted, I may get worked-up if they are not paying attention, not giving their full effort or simply not trying. But, if my team loses a game, yet they honestly gave their very best effort, that is all I can ask.
Alasdair Macintyre said in After Virtue (1981) that through competition we can receive external goods (such as the win), but it is secondary to the internal goods we can get that come from virtuous practice. Therefore, practicing and playing because you love the game is most important. If you do not love to play and if you cannot have a good attitude, then don’t play. Playing is about having fun. Playing is about growing and making mistakes. It’s OK to mess-up, it’s human, it’s natural. Heck, I do it all the time! You MUST know and understand that regardless of your mistakes or your teammates mistakes, having the right attitude, trying your hardest all the time, leaving it all on the court… that is far more important than winning.
The true competitor is the one who can keep fighting despite mistakes, the one who can rise to inspire her teammates even if the going is rough. This is the player I want on my team. I'll take the players that love a fight, that want a challenge and that most of all, believe TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!