| Inside Coaching - Assistant Coaches |
Assistant coaches play an important role in a successful program
The author, a former basketball assistant coach, offers advice that assistant coaches in all sports can use.
By Mike Zinn
An understanding of the duties of an assistant coach at both the high school and college level is important for the successful assistant coach. This information is valuable not only to someone who currently is an assistant coach, but also to the head coach so he or she can better utilize available staff.
Note: The different categories will be designed as to which level they apply to, such as high school, college or both.
Develop a Feeder System (High School)
To successfully develop a feeder system for high school, the following guidelines may be useful:
• Develop a relationship with “feeder” junior high schools
• Send junior high school players and coaches free passes to your home games
• Stage clinics at the junior high schools, utilizing your high school players as demonstrators
• Set up pre-season intra-squad games at the junior high school
• Invite junior high schools to play preliminary games before high school games
• Have a special day in late spring for all prospective players from the junior high schools. Give a campus tour, lunch and show a season’s highlights film. At this time, begin to involve the players in your summer program.
Contacting Recruits (College)
• Contact coaches at high schools and junior colleges using a player information card.
• Call the recruit(s) at home.
• Send a letter to the recruit(s) (Good luck during the season, Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday, etc.)
Recruiting on Campus (College)
• Arrange a meeting for the recruit with an academic counselor.
• Arrange a meeting for the recruit with an advisor in his/her field of interest.
• Have the recruit stay on campus with other players. Get the players’ reactions to prospective recruits.
Recruiting Salesmanship (College)
• Learn as much about your school as possible. Your school is your product. Talk to a professor of marketing or a fund-raiser at your school to learn more about selling your product.
• Point out the strengths that will make your school outstanding to prospective recruits.
• Have seminars for your staff with people from different areas of your school to introduce the strong points of the school
• Develop good relations with the faculty.
Scouting Opponents’ Games (College and High School)
• Set up the scouting calendar and assignments for the entire year. This should be done at least three weeks prior to the first game.
• Have a scouting notebook on each opponent. Subscribe to or secure newspapers from areas where opponents play their games. Cut out articles on the team and include them in the scouting report to show progress of the opponent.
• Game films of opponents whose games you cannot see should be reserved from other coaches well in advance. This must be done to avoid conflict in getting the film you want.
Campus Involvement (College and High School)
• Develop a rapport with the faculty. Have coffee and lunch with other faculty members. Visit different departments once a week to build a bond with these areas. Give faculty members free passes to home games and have them sit in a specially marked section. Make this section (in addition to the booster club section) the best in the gym.
• Speak at dorms and fraternities about your program; urge students to support the team (college).
• Utilize different departments in the school to help with different aspects of your program (i.e., the art department to make posters). Have a contest for the best poster of the week depicting the upcoming game. Utilize the business department to supply volunteer typists to help with paperwork. Work with the journalism department to find a student interested in sports journalism to act as a sports information director (high school)
• Work with campus service groups to help as ushers, ticket takers, security, etc. Assign these groups to act as hosts to the visiting team, greeting the teams upon arrival.
Community Involvement (College and High School)
• Set up a weekly “brown bag” luncheon during the season. Invite area high school, junior high school, college and junior college coaches to attend. They bring their lunch and your program provides soft drinks or coffee. Have the media attend and invite guest speakers.
• Speak at local civic group meetings (i.e., Elks, Kiwanis, Women’s Club, etc.).
• Set up free clinics with the local YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs or grade schools.
Booster Club (College and High School)
• Help set up a club if one is not already in existence. Give the club a catchy name such as the “Center Circle Club” or the “Kick-Off Club”
• Help identify members for the boosters. Sources for membership could be parents, family of present players, influential members of the community and former players. Set up different classifications and titles for members. A donation of $50 or more could be called the “Good Division.” This classification might include two season tickets, a Booster Club jacket and two free tickets to the end-of-the-year awards banquet. Other divisions could be stepped up or scaled down accordingly.
Program Promotions (College and High School)
• Improve existing facilities. Fix up team locker room. Apply fresh paint, hang pictures, etc. Dress up the foyer of the gym. Put up life-size cutout pictures of players mounted on corkboard.
• Work with sports information director on a media book.
• Work on annual “Dad’s Night” game and soccer homecoming game.
Pre-Practice (College and High School)
• This is your chance to really “coach.” Help develop a pre-practice program that helps the development of the players. In the program, incorporate strength, agility, and fundamentals.
Pre-Game Duties (College and High School)
• Arrive at the gym early to take care of any last minute details
• Check the scorebook to make sure entire team is listed and captains are reported.
• Organize managers and stat crew for their specific jobs during the game.
Game Duties (College and High School)
• Handle a game chart
• Make all comments to the head coach before the half and let the head coach talk to the team in the locker room. The fewer people the players have to listen to, the more they will absorb.
• If an emotional outburst is necessary, let the head coach do it. The assistant coach’s job is to analyze. The assistant will be able to analyze best when he is devoid of emotion.
Editor’s note: Mike Zinn is a sports equipment representative and a former assistant basketball coach at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
|
|
| The Technical Area, NSCAA eNewsletter |
 |
|
|
 |
| Soccer Journal - Published seven times a year in print and once annually online, Soccer Journal is the Official Publication of NSCAA and is one of the few publications in the world produced exclusively for soccer coaches. learn more |
| Insurance - Members in the United States automatically receive $1 million in professional liability insurance, providing coverage for most soccer-related activities. learn more |
| Academy Programs - The benchmark of soccer coaching education is the NSCAA Coaching Academy program. learn more |
| Convention - The NSCAA Convention is "The World's Largest Annual Gathering of Soccer Coaches." Held each January learn more |
| Awards and Recognition - The NSCAA administers an outstanding awards and recognition program which includes Coach of the Year, All-America, long-term service and special recognition awards, designed to recognize excellence in soccer, academics and service to the game. learn more |
| Licensed Apparel - A full line of distinctive coaching gear sets you apart as a member of the NSCAA through our licensed apparel program with adidas. learn more |
| For more details, please proceed to the Benefits of NSCAA Membership Page |
|
|
