Jody Conradt Keynote Address

4/27/2012

Below are some notes I took from Coach Conradt's keynote address at A Step Up coaching symposium in Dallas this weekend. Watch for much more A Step Up information over the next few weeks!


This is a PROFESSION; teach one, reach one- each one.

Coaching is not just recruiting; what's most important is being a student of the game; setting your self apart and rising above. Coaching is teaching- be a lifetime coach.

Be a giver.

"Opportunities don't go to the best kept secret"

Make no mistake...coaching is a winning business. Accept the challenge. (Win every day, all day, in everything you do).

An important element of leadership is helping others love our passion for women's basketball.

Recruiting
-Culture is defined as the core values on which something is built. This is the hard part...trying to get your student-athletes to use their talents to be part of the team.
-Team is defined as a group of people brought together with common purpose.
-Need to lead SA's to "doing the right thing" by promoting and upholding standards of the team.
-Consider the PSA's culture when recruiting them to your team. Evaluate their home life and high school experience (AAU is temporary; mostly in the summer, limited practices, etc)

Important Player Qualities:
1. Focus/Intensity/Passion/Willingness to commit to goals and achieve them/Natural enthusiasm
-need athletes who believe its fun to compete in practice!
-todays athletes don't want to compete and make each other better....they're afraid of making each other "look bad" (it's almost like you need alter egos in practice so kids can leave emotions at home).
-It's up to us to create an environment where competition is fun and healthy
Remember....life's not fair; accept responsibility (the ABILITY to RESPOND! Event + Reaction = Outcome).
 
2. Willing to accept their role
-What happens when you wine and dine a player, then they sit on the bench their freshman year?
-Who on your team OWNS rebounding? Steals? This must be developed by coaching staff through repeated emphasis.
-The best compliment a player can get... "When you are on the floor, everyone plays better"
-As a coach, avoid saying "my" team. It's the players team! Help make them feel that way- allow them to create team rules. This creates a sense of ownership and shared responsibility. Avoid calling them "kids"- this is a built in out for immature behavior and other ills! Think of the qualities we hate to see in kids....do we ever display those? Lead by example!
-Selfishness and ego will kill teamwork more than anything.
 
3. Communication- listen, sense, feel.
Women are more preoccupied with relationships than achievement; they want to please their peers more than adults.
Often, a roommate or teammate will be the peril of one's academic/basketball woes. Ask the player- have you talked to this person about the issue you are having? Odds are there is a lack of communication.
-Create an environment of communicative efforts!
-Give examples of situations and ask the team to answer. For example: Your teammate is in the parking lot/cafeteria/room with their boyfriend or girlfriend. They show up to workouts late and tell the coach that they were finishing a test and talking to a professor. The entire team knows where that athlete was but the coach accepts the tardy excuse and moves on. What do you do? Answer: the team should police, protect the team and uphold its standards. Teammates should let that player know that is unacceptable behavior and if it happens again then there will be more serious consequences.
In life there are consequences just like in basketball- when you foul 5 times, you're out!

-Leadership is an art, not a science. Need to learn when to nudge and when to show...when to hide and when to be visible...when to use the stick or the carrot...when to shout or whisper.

Chemistry fits in with confidence. You have to like the sense of team and environment. Understand your team members! Encourage confidence in each other- it will only help you! Respect- don't have to like everyone.

Important qualities in assistants:
1. Teacher- on Coach Conradt's staff, no one ever missed more than 5 practices per year. Why would you punish an assistant with that?

2.  Mirror the HC's values

3. Competent piece for the program. What is their expertise and does it fit in/balance out staff?

4. Complete the HC's weaknesses and fill other assistant's voids

 
 Q&A

How do you delegate leadership? 
"If you're a senior, you're a captain"



What is coach's role in promoting the program and growing the game??
Regarding marketing: it IS your job to get people in the seats and newspapers to cover you!
MBB are like bankers...people with lines out the doors, plenty of business.
WBB are like insurance salesmen...must go door to door!

WBB sells on personality and story of players.

Think we do need players names on their jerseys for public recognition.

Quote of the Day:

"It doesn't matter how many resources you have. 

If you don't know how to use them, they will never be enough"

"Winning on the Road" -by Bob Walsh

Bob is a great guy and current head coach at Rhode Island College. I got to know him a little bit when we were both at Providence and have the utmost respect for him. Please subscribe to his blog at http://blog.coachbobwalsh.com

WINNING ON THE ROAD

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS A MENTALITY.  IT IS KNOWING THAT WE HAVE PREPARED OURSELVES FOR EVERY CHALLENGE – THE EMOTION OF OUR OPPONENT, THE ELECTRICITY OF THE CROWD, THE DIFFERENT GYM, THE TOUGH CALLS.  IT IS THE KNOWLEDGE THAT NOTHING CAN HAPPEN THAT WE ARE NOT READY FOR – WE ARE PREPARED TO WIN. 

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS TOUGHNESS.  IT IS AN ATTITUDE THAT NO MATTER WHICH WAY THE BALL BOUNCES, WE ARE GOING TO FIND A WAY. 

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS INTENSTIY.   IT IS DICTATING THE TEMPO OF THE GAME WITH HOW HARD WE COMPETE, FROM TAP TO BUZZER.  IT IS LETTING THEM KNOW WHO THE BETTER TEAM IS AS SOON AS THE BALL GOES UP.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS BELIEF.  IT IS 100% TRUST IN EVERYONE IN OUR LOCKER ROOM AND EVERYTHING WE DO.  IT IS KNOWING THAT YOU NEED TO BE THERE FOR YOUR TEAMMATES, AND KNOWING THAT THEY WILL BE THERE FOR YOU.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS ENERGY.  IT IS AN ENTHUSIASM AND PASSION TO GO INTO SOMEONE ELSE’S BUILDING AND MAKE THEM PLAY OUR GAME.  IT IS EVERYONE ON THAT BUS BEING ENGAGED AND EXCITED.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS SACRIFICE.  IT IS PUTTING ASIDE PERSONAL ISSUES FOR THE GOOD OF THE TEAM.  IT IS A TEAM EGO.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS COMPOSURE.  IT IS THE POISE TO STAY LEVEL AND KEEP OUR TRUST WHEN OUR OPPONENT MAKES A RUN. 

WINNING ON THE ROAD STARTS IN OUR OWN GYM.  IT STARTS IN PRACTICE, WITH AN INTENSE PREPARATION AND A COMMITMENT TO EVERY POSSESSION.  IT IS ABOUT NEVER SETTLING, NEVER TAKING THE EASY WAY OUT, AND BEING MENTALLY PREPARED FOR PRACTICE.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS A SWAGGER.  IT IS A COMBINATION OF EVERYTHING ABOVE ROLLED INTO A CONFIDENCE THAT PEOPLE NOTICE AS SOON AS WE WALK IN THE GYM.  WE EXPECT TO WIN, AND THEY KNOW IT.

WINNING ON THE ROAD IS FUN.  THERE IS NOTHING LIKE GOING INTO THEIR HOUSE AND PROVING WE ARE THE BETTER TEAM FOR 40 MINUTES.

WHEN YOU PUT ON A RIC BASKETBALL UNIFORM, WINNING ON THE ROAD IS EXPECTED.