The process is so important in the development of our players and our team. We talk about the process with our players. We want them to practice hard. We want them to get better with every repetition. We want them to focus on the task at hand no matter what it is.
Do we live that? Are we concerned about our process? Are we growing and developing? Do we get better every day? Are we identifying our strengths and weaknesses and finding ways to enhance our strengths and overcome our weaknesses?
Or are we sitting in our ivory tower and barking orders to our minions?
I believe that even if the players don’t recognize it consciously, they follow our lead. If we aren’t focused on the process, then they won’t be focused on it either. In fact, when we send our players mixed signals, it can make things even worse. If we’re saying one thing and doing something else, that can be a really dangerous situation and one that is difficult to manage.
The saying goes “practice what you preach.” Well, it might be better to “preach what we practice” so that everyone is on the same page. I believe it’s better to have our team focus on results if that’s what we’re focused on ourselves. I don’t think that is a recipe for long-term success, but it’s better than always talking about the process and then focusing on the result.
We won’t ever be perfect coaches, but we should always strive to do the right things and coach the right way. We must be very cognoscente of our actions. We set the standard for our players whether we mean to or not. We might as well be intentional about what we do and the messages we send.
There are so many things that coaches have to be worried about. Our players’ well-being, performance in the classroom, personal growth, athletic growth, offense, defense, skills, practices, games, injuries, workouts, leadership, parents, film, scheduling, recruiting, travel, fundraising, community relations, and equipment are some of the items that cross our desks.
What is our process for these things? How do we handle them? There is more than one right answer. Every situation is different. It is imperative that we are focused on our process of doing our jobs so our players and teams can be focused on the process of doing theirs.
Do you have a process for handling your processes? Let us know how we can help you be your best.