What team am I going to Coach?
This is a key question that every coach should ask themselves before starting, using the following questions as a guideline:
- Is it a 6th grade and under team? Is it a team made up of promising young players? Is it a first-class elite team?
- What sort of organization does the team belong to? Is it a school team? A club team? What sort of school or club?
- How good are the players? How long have they been playing? What is their potential?
The answer to these kinds of questions will help the coach to situate themselves. Helping avoid errors that arise from not having a clear idea of the type of team he/she is coaching.
WHAT ARE MY RESPONSIBILITIES?
Once the coach understands the type of team they will be coaching, they should as themselves, "What are my responsibilities? Should I be contributing to the players overall development? Should I focus on helping them improve as a player and as a person? Should I be aiming to help them do their best in the short run? Which of these aspects are most important?"
Obviously, a coach who is training young player should assume the responsibility of contributing to their players overall development both in sports and human terms. Coach should never play at being an elite coach, interested only in short-term achievements.
WHAT SHOULD THE GENERAL AIMS OF THIS TEAM BE?
Taking into account all of the above, coach should decide on their team's general objectives.
EXAMPLE: Let's look at a coach training a 4th grade basketball school team. Some of the players will never have played before; some will have been playing for a year; in general, their level will be low. Such a coach's main priority will be to contribute to the development of these children as people. Coaches general aims could be that the children enjoy themselves, that they improve their physical development, teaching them certain values (such as team work, respect for others, etc.), while at the same time working on overall improvement of basketball fundamentals (dribbling, passing, etc.).