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.

Vic Shaefer's talk at the Final Four

Below are some notes I took when Texas A&M Assistant Coach Vic Schaefer spoke at the WBCA Convention at the Final Four last year (the day his Aggies won the National Championship!).

-Assistants and Head Coaches can agree to disagree...but, when you disagree, it should be about what we think is best for the program or team.

-The Head Coach should talk to parents about intangibles, but let the Assistants handle the crises that arise.

-Knowledge of the game is so important!! WATCH THE GAME!! (See my post on "deliberate practice" here)

-Professionalism is so important...what you say, how you dress...

-Know you're stuff- we aren't paid to be wrong.

-Be a voice to your Head Coach. Sometimes, bosses need to think it's their idea about a game plan or something that will benefit the team/program.

-Go to work early and stay late.

-Emotionally invest in your team!

-Teach kids to be accountable and to hold each other accountable (it's not personal, only work!). For example, run on the 3rd missed block out.

-It's not WHAT we do...it's HOW we do it

-Trust is the foundation of A&M's defense....tight ball pressure = susceptible to penetration. Need to trust your teammates' rotations, etc.

-Post defense is played 35' from the basket (bump and get position early)

-Make your team uncomfortable in practice so they are better prepared to face adversity in games (and life!)

-Clear minds make plays. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

-A&M has a foundation of the same 3-5 drills everyday

-BE WORTH POINTS EACH GAME (on defense!)

-Defense is a LEARNED response.

3 Ways to Build Team Trust

Another great blog post by Stephanie Zonars (www.LifeBeyondSport.com)!!

As I gathered with a team for a Building Trust workshop last weekend, the assistant coach roamed around the room with a small box collecting cell phones. I’ve heard about coaches doing this, but it hadn’t happened at one of my workshops yet. Got me thinking about the impact of technology on relationships.


We’ve experienced the upside. Facebook has connected us with long lost friends and family. Texting makes it easy to communicate basic information quickly. Twitter even saved some lives in the Haiti earthquake.
 
But for all the benefits, electronic communication alone will not result in strong, healthy, trusting relationships. The youngest of Generation Y (born after 1990 and referred to by Tim Elmore as Generation iY) seem to lack patience as well as listening and conflict resolution skills—all of which are required to build relational trust.

I’ve noticed, however, that when given the opportunity to connect face-to-face, young people do engage. In fact, the high school and college teams I work with share with courage and vulnerability. Seems that it’s less a function of willingness and more a response to environment.

Our world is moving so fast, we must proactively work to slow it down and create an atmosphere for the individuals on our teams to feel comfortable sharing. Three practical ways you can do this on your team:

Model the behavior you want. If you want your team to put their phones away and talk to one another, show them how. Refuse to check your phone when you are in the middle of an in-person conversation. Answer it when your athlete or co-worker is in the midst of a heartfelt disclosure and you can bet they won’t readily open up to you again.

Institute tech-free zones. Make team functions tech-free zones. Meals together, game nights, bus rides—make some of these tech-free times and opportunities to interact face-to-face. Keep it playful and your team may not even notice the absence of their tech toys.

Ask questions. Your team members want to know that you care about more than just their performance. Take time to ask them about their families, dreams and experiences. People like to talk about themselves, and you’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn! Can’t think of what to ask? Check out these great questions.

Building trusting relationships isn’t hard, but it takes time. If you want a trusting team it’s going to take intentional time, effort and creativity.

Coach K's Most Important Ingredient for Success

-Post written by Stephanie Zonars (www.LifeBeyondSport.com)

Coach Mike Krzyzewski won his 903rd game a week ago, surpassing Bobby Knight as the winningest coach in men’s collegiate basketball. (Basketball super-fans know that Pat Summitt holds the overall coaching record with 1,071 and counting).

Amazing accomplishment for Coach K! He’s built the strong, winning tradition of Duke basketball through qualities like dedication, hard work and perseverance. Yet, when asked after the win for the single most important characteristic for a coach to have in order to achieve success, Coach K said “trustworthiness.”

With the myriad of answers he could have given, he says trustworthiness? Yes. And I couldn’t agree more.

Trust to a team is like the foundation of a house. If you build a house on a foundation that’s been poured correctly, when the storms come up against that house it will still stand. But if your foundation has cracks and fissures, the rain and wind will tear your house apart.

Same is true for your team. If you create strong team trust, your team will stand in the face of adversity like injuries, losses or other drama. But if your team trust has cracks and fissures, the tough times will tear it apart.

3 ways to build Team Trust: http://lifebeyondsport.com/2011/02/3-ways-to-build-team-trust/