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Job Preservation - How to Keep the Coaching Job You Have
By Coach Randy Brown

With the increase in coaches salaries, the shelf life of their existence has shrunk. The demand for any head or assistant coaching job is high. Getting one of these jobs takes experience, timing, and a well-placed network of helpers. Once the job is secured though, the real work begins; keeping it! Learn from experienced college coaches what it takes to enhance and keep the job you have.

When Tubby Smith recently left Kentucky for Minnesota it opened the eyes of many, especially coaches. These days no coach is safe and secure in college and in many high school situations.

What can you do as a coach to strengthen your position and security as a coach? The following suggests a few ideas for you to use and incorporate into your coaching career.

1. Coaches must understand the ground rules of the job that they hold.

Too many times a coach and parents or the administration have different ideas about expectations. A coaches first task is to develop a philosophy and share it with his superiors to put both parties on the same page. A coach who is not in line with his administration is treading in deep water.

2. Define the terms success, progress, and direction of the program.

The next time a coach is fired, look for these words as they almost always are thrown out. It is imperative that these words are defined and agreed upon by all parties before moving ahead.

3. Develop a long range and short term plan for your program.

Why? People want to win and win now! Fans, alumni, and administrators are very impatient when it comes to winning. Many of them do not understand the difference between present progress and long term vision for the program. Everyone wants to win in today's sports arena and this has made a coach's job much more difficult.

4. Self-Improvement Program for coaches.

As a coach, you must be on a consistent self-improvement track. You cannot afford to stand still in terms of new trends in the game and changing player personalities. This cannot be done by just going to clinics. This is where coaches miss the boat. I recommend that you take courses in communication and player-coach relational skills. Coaching is teaching, and teaching is about relating to players in terms of what you want them to execute on the floor.

5. Develop excitement in your program so players buy in.

I believe that another mistake by coaches is assuming that everyone will fall in line with the program without effort. This is short sighted thinking. You coach a dozen different people and personalities. The art of coaching and teaching is to reach all of your players as you build a team concept. Look at your program and philosophy from the outside/in and you may discover some interesting things. Be flexible, willing to change, listen to players, and help them get excited about playing basketball.

6. Coaches need a "Plan B".

Forever I have been amazed at how coaches think they can coach forever. This firm belief is to the point where they have no idea what other kind of job they would do. This is a scary thought! Do you think this way too? You must prepare for the future to protect you and your family. In today's climate, a person will have eight different jobs in a lifetime. Based on a changing world, you will not coach "forever" as coaches once thought. You must develop a Plan B and a tool for an additional income stream.