Pete Carroll: Coach Your Coaches

The Win Forever philosophy is not just about maximizing the potential of our players.  It is about maximizing the potential of everyone in a program or organization.  All the principles we use with your players apply to our coaches and other staff members as well.  Right down to the core of your being, be believe that our success depends on ensuring that everyone is completely engaged, committed, and in a relentless pursuit of a competitive edge.  A big part of my job is creating an environment where this will happen.

Ultimately, the most critical point in coaching our coaches is to understand that we don’t want every coach to have the same style.  What we need on our staff are unique competitors who can each find a way to deliver the same message with one heartbeat.  The coaches need to internalize the message and then convey it in their own voice.  When each person does that, we get a diversity of styles and approaches that makes the whole team stronger.   

Putting together a staff may be the most important part of any head coach’s job, and I have always enjoyed it.  I am often asked what I look for when hiring coaches.  The first thing I look at is a person’s competitiveness and work ethic.  I also like to hire young and promote from within.  There have been exceptions along the way, of course, but for the most part I would rather get someone who is open-minded and full of competitive fire, even if it comes at the expense of a certain amount of experience.

The other critical factor we look for when hiring new coaches is their willingness and ability to grow.  Leadership development is critical in any organization.

If a leader is clear and consistent about his philosophy’s core values, it frees everyone up to do their best.

Most coaches think that leadership comes from the players, but I don’t see it that way.  The leadership that I count on most comes from our coaches. 

The only leadership that I can really rely on is that which comes from our coaching staff.  The coaches are constantly nurturing our players’ ability to serve as part of the team’s leadership. But it is the coaches that I hold accountable.  You can try to position and promote players in ways that make them leaders, but I don’t want to rely on them when it comes to winning or losing.  I have chosen to rely on our staff first and foremost.

From "Win Forever" by Pete Carroll

  

Post Taken From - hoopthoughts.blogspot.com/


My biggest takeaways:


- You have to know what your vision is and create that environment everyday.  This is necessary for your team, your business, your home, or any other organization or group of people.

-  Everybody is unique and has their own style; use it, nurture it, and maximize what they bring to the team/business/group.

-  Everybody has to internalize the message, but they can communicate it in their own way.

-  Competitiveness and work ethic is key when he looks to make hires.  He will sacrifice experience for competitor and someone with a great work ethic who is willing to learn and grow.

-  Leadership comes from the coaches, and that leadership is the only leadership that can be relied on.  You can promote the athletes to be leaders, but your leadership has to come from the coaches; they are the ones who have to be accountable for the leadership.

-  The leader has to be clear and consistent about their vision and their values.

http://www.amazon.com/Win-Forever-Live-Work-Champion/dp/1591844169

Carroll, Pete.  (2011).  Win Forever.  New York: The Penguin Group.

HoopThoughts.BlogSpot.Com