Strong coaches do this

Look around the sport of basketball, at many different levels, and you will readily notice several commonalities of the quality programs run by strong coaches. Some features include:

• teaching - they believe that players need to be taught, not simply told, not just sport skills but team culture and life
  
• sharing - personal and program growth develops from sharing, encouraging communication
  
• promoting - through networking and community-building, programs realize great gains (get the message out!)
  
• inclusion - being open, bringing people together, adding talented assistants and people-connectors is invaluable
• passion - when others may have run out, leaders still have plenty left and do what others may not
  
• positives - leading by example, maintaining focus, never being satisfied with average, not allowing letdowns
  

Life Lessons at Marquette

Not much explanation needed with this one. If you want an inside look at how Marquette develops its program and its people, watch the following clip - powerful message, passionate teacher, Head Coach Buzz Williams. Thanks to Marquette Basketball and Authentic Films for the access:

http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/083110aaa.html

Program Humility

Coaches should seek to remind their players that they are privileged and should be grateful. Some ways to help players grow and build humility in to programs:

• volunteer at schools, read for kids, teach them games and skills (players will quickly see the positive impact in the lives of youth, teachers will be thankful for the generosity and help, fans will be fostered)
• serve meals for the less fortunate at a soup kitchen (team meals and per diems will no longer be taken for granted or be unappreciated)
• help the elderly in care facilities or assist at a hospital (will remind players that good health is not a given and needs to be maintained)
• travel as a team, whether close or far, to other cities and gyms (it will reinforce the importance of togetherness, the value of the home gym and locker room, plus the ease of the local routine versus the displacement and sometimes inconvenience of travel)
• assist in times of crisis or local emergencies, such as weather-related events like floods or storms (reminds of calm, focus, and dedication to task in the face of adversity)
• overall, an "other" focus will lead to player and team growth