Creative Coaching Jerry Lynch, PhD Human Kinetics Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lynch, Jerry, 1942- Creative coaching / Jerry Lynch. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN: 0-7360-3327-0 1. Coaching (Athletics) I. Title. GV711 .L96 2001 796’.07’7--dc21 CIP 00-053932 ISBN-10: 0-7360-3327-0 ISBN-13: 978-0-7360-3327-5 Copyright © 2001 by Jerry Lynch All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, and in any information storage and retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher. 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Box 5076 57A Price Avenue Champaign, IL 61825-5076 Lower Mitcham, South Australia 5062 800-747-4457 08 8372 0999 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Canada: Human Kinetics New Zealand: Human Kinetics 475 Devonshire Road Unit 100 Division of Sports Distributors NZ Ltd. Windsor, ON N8Y 2L5 P.O. Box 300 226 Albany 800-465-7301 (in Canada only) North Shore City, Auckland e-mail: [email protected] 0064 9 448 1207 e-mail: [email protected] Europe: Human Kinetics 107 Bradford Road, Stanningley Leeds LS28 6AT, United Kingdom +44 (0) 113 255 5665 e-mail: [email protected] To Dean Smith, the quintessential creative coach with a teacher’s heart contents Foreword vii Teaching, Guiding, Motivating, and Winning ix Acknowledgments xiii Photo Credits xiv Developing Qualities for Successful Leadership 1 Cultivating Character 3 2 Communicating Effectively 33 3 Creating an Atmosphere of Service 61 4 Forging Cohesiveness 75 Leading With a Purpose 5 Providing Guidance 93 6 Developing Discipline 115 7 Instilling Inner Strength 137 Unleashing Prepared Athletes 8 Strategizing With Focus 167 9 Succeeding Through Victory and Defeat 187 10 Implementing Mental Tactics 201 References and Resources 209 Index 211 About the Author 217 v foreword Over the years, I have been fortunate to have a number of friends who have supported my development of coaching principles. I count Jerry Lynch as one who has given me encouragement and information to make a difference in helping athletes reach their potential. There have been a number of times that I have used Jerry’s examples to support my journeys into the uncharted waters of coaching. Jerry has worked hands-on with some young college coaches to form a spiritual community. He has written a number of books using Eastern thought—particularly the Tao—to show examples of the mind-spirit integration in athletics and in life in general. Although Creative Coaching doesn’t refer to Oriental thought, Jerry’s followers will certainly see its influence. As coaches, we must use the whole being in creating a coaching atmosphere. In developing a team and supporting our athletes, Jerry Lynch is right there in the midst of the moment, encouraging us to keep reaching toward the light. —Phil Jackson vii Teaching, Guiding, Motivating, and Winning As I sit down to write this book, I can’t help but reflect on how fortunate I am to have a career in athletics. As a sport psycholo- gist and athletic development specialist, I get to work closely with coaches and athletes who strive to be their best in a pas- sionate, competitive, fun environment. For me, it’s a dream job, the continuation of my early years growing up as a gym rat in the heart of New York City. It’s fun, exciting, and challenging. Coaches who present a wide spectrum of coaching styles have taught me how to creatively motivate and inspire athletes and entire programs. I’ve taken all of this wisdom to heart, reflected on it, coupled it with my expertise in athletic devel- opment and sports psychology, and fashioned some exciting, creative ways to cultivate effective, winning leadership strate- gies for sport. After 25 years of working with coaches and programs to motivate athletes, I now believe that consistently successful coaching is usually the by-product of a team’s or athlete’s success in the preparation phase—all those hours of practice and training. An equally important factor is a coach’s ability to instill and inspire, in a nurturing environment, winning traits in athletes: enthusiasm, courage, compassion, tenacity, desire, belief, selflessness, and patience. These qualities ultimately become the glue that binds a team, the spark that ignites the spirit and passion within the athletes, enabling them to sustain high levels of performance during their competitive years and ix x Teaching, Guiding, Motivating, and Winning beyond. Creative coaching is about cultivating these qualities in yourself and finding ways to teach them to those you lead. Times have changed in coaching over the past 25 years. Players seem to be more complex, less pliable, and more apt to fight for what they feel they deserve than they were in the Vince Lombardi or Woody Hayes era. Today, for example, athletes expect to be listened to and to be treated with respect; anything less is not tol- erated by them or by administrators. Players have rights, as they always have, but today they are more inclined to embrace them and get what they deserve. Athletes now are attracted to coaches who can treat them with respect, care, concern, and compassion, as individuals who have worth outside the playing arena. Over the years, I have polled more than two thousand athletes at the professional, Olympic, collegiate, and high school levels asking them why they need a coach. Most of them focused on the need for a coach to inspire, guide, encour- age, and teach, to help athletes to be their very best. When asked how this is effectively accomplished, most agreed (to my surprise) that a coach needs to create an environment in which listening is possible, one that is based on respect and understanding. Such responses led me to conclude that coaches could benefit from some creative new methods of coaching to help fill this role. When coaches look back, the moments that stand out—the times of extraordinary achievement and performance—are moments that occurred in an accepting, respectful environment. Creative coaches find innovative ways to develop positive, productive situ- ations with more open communication with athletes and staff. This improved communication, in turn, enhances athletes’ performance. For example, one Division I basketball coach listens to the same music as his athletes. He insists that doing so helps him to relate to his players on a more meaningful level and to understand each athlete as an individual with unique values and needs. Several coaches I’ve worked with have hired assistants who are closer in age to the athletes, which helps the coaching staff as a whole relate better to the players. You may have noticed that many successful, well-respected coaches emphasize personal improvement, preparation, and the quality of play in addition to favorable outcomes. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden rarely talked to his players about winning or victory. Supposedly, he never referred to “beating” an