How Well Balanced Are You?
- coachingbb4life.com
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 16
I may have mentioned this before but one of the hi-lites of my coaching experiences was being fortunate enough to have heard John Wooden speak at a clinic.
Coach Wooden sat on a chair that was positioned on a slightled raised platform. He spoke in a normal tone. He told no jokes. He never raised his voice. The first words out of his mouth were ... "You know we should not be here now." It was Sunday morning.
I attended many coaching clinics while I was actively coaching. I once drove to attend a Bob Knight clinic in Bloomington, Indiana. I also went one summer to Nashville, Tennessee to hear Don Meyer and Rick Majerus speak. It was a much shorter drive to hear Coach Wooden speak.
My experience with attending coaching clinics over the years was high school coaches were not always attentive during some of the clinic presentations. One of my remembrances of Coach Wooden's presentations was the attentiveness of the audience. The silence was amazing. Coach Wooden spoke to us in attendance as if we at a small town corner cafe. The respect of the audience was impressive.
There was no need for your clipboard. There were no handouts. No overhead project and no videos. Just a rather small gray haired man, who I am sure reminded many of those in the audience of their grandpa. We had all come to learn from a legend.
Most of the coaches knew about the overwhelming coaching success Coach Wooden had achieved. My guess is many found his presentation somewhat underwhelming. He had no secret offensive or defensive strategies to share that would cause you to frantically reach for your notebook.
If you have read anything about Coach Wooden, you know one of his constants in coaching was the belief in balance. Never allow yourself or your team to get to high or to low. Defensively, if you get off balance you will probably get beat by your opponent. Lack of balance on offense usually resulted in a turnover or poor shot selection.
The concept of balance can encompass many areas of your life. I remember when we were first allowed to coach our own players during much of the summer. My AD asked me what I thought of the idea of extending player contact into the summer. He (our AD) was concerned. He believed it would lead to coaching burnout.
In the area I coached I found three types of coaches. There were coaches that did nothing in the so called off season with their players. A second group of coaches opened the gym, may have practiced once or twice a week during the summer and played a few games. The third group of coaches practiced five times a week
and either played in a summer league or in tournaments every weekend. I tried to find a balance. Obviously, I believe doing nothing is a mistake and practice or playing games 4 or 5 times a week is creating an unbalanced situation for your players and for you.
If you have a spouse or a close coaching associate, ask them about their balanced life, and if you are really courageous, ask your players about how well balance their experience is.
Some random thoughts concerning your coaching life and balance:
How many during the season do you not practice?
Do you practice the same length of time in November as you do in February?
If you have a family, how often during the season do you spend quality time with them?
Are you more emotionally involved with your players at the end of the season than at the begining of the season?
Do you emotionally shut out friends or family during the season?
Do you carry your work home?
How long does it take for you to recover from a previous game?
Does the coaching season negatively impact your classroom preparation/teaching?
Do you have someone in your life who you can trust to help keep your life in balance?
Coach Wooden's definition of success was:
"Success is the direct result of self satisfaction in knowing that you have done your best to become the best you are capable of being." Notice Coach Wooden's definition of success does not include your won lost record!
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