Monthly Archives: September 2014

5 Questions We Should Ask While Problem Solving

Coaching strategy

Scampersource

Problem: A player isn’t performing at an acceptable level.

What to do?: SCAMPER. Let’s look at how we’d apply SCAMPER to our teams.

First things first, what the heck is SCAMPER? The letters stand for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Magnify/Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Rearrange, though I won’t talk about combine or magnify/modify here.

I’m sure we could use this technique with all sorts of problems, but let’s stick with our problem player.

Can we substitute?: This is the easiest solution to an underperforming player…put someone else in. Though, if the player is a starter and impact player for our team, keeping her off of the court isn’t a smart long term solution.

Can we adapt to her?: I worked with a team at a summer camp with a pretty dynamic hitter, though she struggled with slower tempo sets. The only problem? Her head coach put her in a position to work only in her weakness and hit those slow tempo sets. After watching her crush fast tempo after fast tempo ball, we changed the offensive system to work in her strength and she excelled.

Can we put her to another use?: Our players come to us with a certain amount of training in their particular position, but can they do other things? Would it be better if they played another position? Until we answer, “yeah, I can put her to another use…right here on the bench next to me”, we’ve got to figure out a way for each player to have a legitimate contribution to the team’s effort.

What can we eliminate?: Maybe the coaching staff has come up with a sweet offensive plan for the team…they just can’t execute it! Perhaps it’s time to scrap that plan and simplify. Is there something going on in her personal life that’s keeping her from performing up to snuff? We’ve got to help her eliminate the causes of stress if possible. If nothing works…maybe we’ve got to eliminate more and more of her playing time.

Can our team be rearranged into something else?: Sometimes we’ll play a team that funnels eighty percent of their offense through a couple of players and I always wonder what they do when those players have bad days…besides lose, I mean. For that player who has lost their mojo, the coaching staff can restructure the offensive season so that player doesn’t carry so much of the burden.

I got the idea for this post from a Psychology Today article about creative thinking and I can see how SCAMPER could initiate the creative thinking process. Sometimes the obvious answer isn’t the best option and we’ve got to dig deeper.

How Knowing Your Personality Type Will Help You Manage Your Team

Personality tests

personalitytestcomicsource

As coaches, I think we all know that we’ve got different personality types on our team and I’m sure we’re all pretty conscious about how those personalities will interact. When we bring recruits on to campus and we sit down and chat with them, we wonder about their “fit” with our teams…how their personalities will mesh with the current players. Sometimes we don’t want to rock the boat and try to recruit like-minded players. Other times, we want to shake things up a bit…whether it’s bringing more toughness or more fun…we know that the team needs a different makeup.

But do you think that your team recognizes that some folks are just made differently than them…with a whole different perspective on things? I’ve used personality testing in the past with pretty good results, because the team gets to hear about themselves and also put the people that they know into categories. The testing is pretty informative and can help them with their relationships outside of their team as well.

There are lots of personality tests out there: Myers-Briggs, colors, animals, and DiSC…and that’s the one that I use. DiSC breaks the personalities down into four different categories.

D’s are dominant. They’re what folks would call Type A personalities. They like to get immediate results, make quick decisions and love to manage trouble and solve problems. They’re decisive and competitive…natural born leaders. That’s the good stuff. The down side to D’s are that they are too self-reliant, the one’s who hate group projects in the classroom (can you see how that could negatively impact your team?!), and can be so blunt that they’re hurtful to others.

i’s are your people of influence. They’re the one’s who everyone gravitates toward, the life of the party. They’re your players who will pull the team aside in practice and fire them up if they feel that the effort isn’t where it should be. They’re the folks who will immediately walk up to the newbies on your team and make them feel right at home. i’s just need to remember that life isn’t all play and no work…that they’ve got to get down to business at some point. And they try so hard to be everyone’s friend and not to hurt feelings that their teammates may not feel a true connection with them.

S’s are Steady Eddie’s. They’re quiet, but very loyal and love the teaminess of teams…the one’s who stay on your team even though they know that they’ll never get any playing time. They are skilled at calming an explosive situation and calming the scene down while others are freaking out. S’s need to learn to assert themselves in group situations so that their teammates don’t overlook their contributions. Since they can be overthinkers, S’s should learn the difference between the time for thinking and the time for acting.

C’s are your conscientious workers. They’ll drill all day long and never feel as if they’ve gotten it down…they’re perfectionists. C’s are good in the film room because they’re so analytical. Come game time, they’ll know the opponents tendencies without a doubt. Their downside is that they ask so many questions that they may drive their coach to drink! And they have such high standards for themselves and their teammates that they may be destined to fail.

As you were reading this, I’m sure you were thinking of your team and where they fit. Obviously, having a strong mix of folks is pretty key…but most important is that your team understands to positives and negatives of their personality and how they can be perceived by others. Also, it’s pretty huge for us coaches to know the rough mixes. Your D’s are going to think your i’s are screwing around too much and that your S’s need to toughen up. Your i’s will constantly get their team in trouble for getting practice off-track with their incessant yapping. Your S’s will either toughen up or continually get their feelings hurt by the too-blunt D’s and the hard-to-read C’s. Speaking of C’s, should you deign to change the lineup or change a play without significant notice, get ready for their world to be spun off kilter and they’ll be pretty useless to you for a few plays.

Do you use personality tests with your team? How do they respond? At what point in the season do you administer your test?

Click here to learn how knowing your personality type will help you manage your team.

Using Personality Tests To Increase Your Team Chemistry

Personality tests

disc-testsource

As coaches, I think we all know that we’ve got different personality types on our team and I’m sure we’re all pretty conscious about how those personalities will interact. When we bring recruits on to campus and we sit down and chat with them, we wonder about their “fit” with our teams…how their personalities will mesh with the current players. Sometimes we don’t want to rock the boat and try to recruit like-minded players. Other times, we want to shake things up a bit…whether it’s bringing more toughness or more fun…we know that the team needs a different makeup.

But do you think that your team recognizes that some folks are just made differently than them…with a whole different perspective on things? I’ve used personality testing in the past with pretty good results, because the team gets to hear about themselves and also put the people that they know into categories. The testing is pretty informative and can help them with their relationships outside of their team as well.

There are lots of personality tests out there: Myers-Briggs, colors, animals, and DiSC…and that’s the one that I use. DiSC breaks the personalities down into four different categories.

D’s are dominant. They’re what folks would call Type A personalities. They like to get immediate results, make quick decisions and love to manage trouble and solve problems. They’re decisive and competitive…natural born leaders. That’s the good stuff. The down side to D’s are that they are too self-reliant, the one’s who hate group projects in the classroom (can you see how that could negatively impact your team?!), and can be so blunt that they’re hurtful to others.

i’s are your people of influence. They’re the one’s who everyone gravitates toward, the life of the party. They’re your players who will pull the team aside in practice and fire them up if they feel that the effort isn’t where it should be. They’re the folks who will immediately walk up to the newbies on your team and make them feel right at home. i’s just need to remember that life isn’t all play and no work…that they’ve got to get down to business at some point. And they try so hard to be everyone’s friend and not to hurt feelings that their teammates may not feel a true connection with them.

S’s are Steady Eddie’s. They’re quiet, but very loyal and love the teaminess of teams…the one’s who stay on your team even though they know that they’ll never get any playing time. They are skilled at calming an explosive situation and calming the scene down while others are freaking out. S’s need to learn to assert themselves in group situations so that their teammates don’t overlook their contributions. Since they can be overthinkers, S’s should learn the difference between the time for thinking and the time for acting.

C’s are your conscientious workers. They’ll drill all day long and never feel as if they’ve gotten it down…they’re perfectionists. C’s are good in the film room because they’re so analytical. Come game time, they’ll know the opponents tendencies without a doubt. Their downside is that they ask so many questions that they may drive their coach to drink! And they have such high standards for themselves and their teammates that they may be destined to fail.

As you were reading this, I’m sure you were thinking of your team and where they fit. Obviously, having a strong mix of folks is pretty key…but most important is that your team understands to positives and negatives of their personality and how they can be perceived by others. Also, it’s pretty huge for us coaches to know the rough mixes. Your D’s are going to think your i’s are screwing around too much and that your S’s need to toughen up. Your i’s will constantly get their team in trouble for getting practice off-track with their incessant yapping. Your S’s will either toughen up or continually get their feelings hurt by the too-blunt D’s and the hard-to-read C’s. Speaking of C’s, should you deign to change the lineup or change a play without significant notice, get ready for their world to be spun off kilter and they’ll be pretty useless to you for a few plays.

Do you use personality tests with your team? How do they respond? At what point in the season do you administer your test?

Click here to learn how knowing your personality type will help you manage your team.

As coaches, I think we all know that we’ve got different personality types on our team and I’m sure we’re all pretty conscious about how those personalities will interact. When we bring recruits on to campus and we sit down and chat with them, we wonder about their “fit” with our teams…how their personalities will mesh with the current players. Sometimes we don’t want to rock the boat and try to recruit like-minded players. Other times, we want to shake things up a bit…whether it’s bringing more toughness or more fun…we know that the team needs a different makeup.

But do you think that your team recognizes that some folks are just made differently than them…with a whole different perspective on things? I’ve used personality testing in the past with pretty good results, because the team gets to hear about themselves and also put the people that they know into categories. The testing is pretty informative and can help them with their relationships outside of their team as well.

There are lots of personality tests out there: Myers-Briggs, colors, animals, and DiSC…and that’s the one that I use. DiSC breaks the personalities down into four different categories.

D’s are dominant. They’re what folks would call Type A personalities. They like to get immediate results, make quick decisions and love to manage trouble and solve problems. They’re decisive and competitive…natural born leaders. That’s the good stuff. The down side to D’s are that they are too self-reliant, the one’s who hate group projects in the classroom (can you see how that could negatively impact your team?!), and can be so blunt that they’re hurtful to others.

i’s are your people of influence. They’re the one’s who everyone gravitates toward, the life of the party. They’re your players who will pull the team aside in practice and fire them up if they feel that the effort isn’t where it should be. They’re the folks who will immediately walk up to the newbies on your team and make them feel right at home. i’s just need to remember that life isn’t all play and no work…that they’ve got to get down to business at some point. And they try so hard to be everyone’s friend and not to hurt feelings that their teammates may not feel a true connection with them.

S’s are Steady Eddie’s. They’re quiet, but very loyal and love the teaminess of teams…the one’s who stay on your team even though they know that they’ll never get any playing time. They are skilled at calming an explosive situation and calming the scene down while others are freaking out. S’s need to learn to assert themselves in group situations so that their teammates don’t overlook their contributions. Since they can be overthinkers, S’s should learn the difference between the time for thinking and the time for acting.

C’s are your conscientious workers. They’ll drill all day long and never feel as if they’ve gotten it down…they’re perfectionists. C’s are good in the film room because they’re so analytical. Come game time, they’ll know the opponents tendencies without a doubt. Their downside is that they ask so many questions that they may drive their coach to drink! And they have such high standards for themselves and their teammates that they may be destined to fail.

As you were reading this, I’m sure you were thinking of your team and where they fit. Obviously, having a strong mix of folks is pretty key…but most important is that your team understands to positives and negatives of their personality and how they can be perceived by others. Also, it’s pretty huge for us coaches to know the rough mixes. Your D’s are going to think your i’s are screwing around too much and that your S’s need to toughen up. Your i’s will constantly get their team in trouble for getting practice off-track with their incessant yapping. Your S’s will either toughen up or continually get their feelings hurt by the too-blunt D’s and the hard-to-read C’s. Speaking of C’s, should you deign to change the lineup or change a play without significant notice, get ready for their world to be spun off kilter and they’ll be pretty useless to you for a few plays.

Do you use personality tests with your team? How do they respond? At what point in the season do you administer your test?

Click here to learn how knowing your personality type will help you manage your team.

- See more at: http://coachdawnwrites.com/category/personality-tests/#sthash.9A1Rv97O.dpuf

Coaches Corner: Managing Assistant Coaches

Coaches Corner

coaching staffsource

Sam Shweisky, the head men’s volleyball coach at Princeton University, is in a unique position. He’s the head coach for the men and the assistant coach for the women’s program. I wondered if that gave him a more in-depth outlook on the role of assistant coaches.

So what makes a good assistant coach? Of course we want someone with knowledge of our sport and, logistically, we want someone who we can rely on to attend practices and competitions when they’ve said they could. Those are just the basics, is there more.

3 qualities of a great assistant coach

  1. Loyalty. We’re all looking for that assistant coach who is proud to wear our school’s name on their shirt. The person who understands the traits we look for in representatives of our institution and is willing to fall in line with those expectations. Someone who’ll stay around for a reasonable amount of time and who will support us behind the scenes.
  2. Common voice. Speaking of supporting us, a great assistant supports their head coach with the athletes…no matter what. I’m not saying you can’t have heated debates as a coaching staff behind closed doors. Hopefully your assistant coaches feel comfortable voicing their opinion and you, as head coach, have created an atmosphere where divergent opinions are welcome. But once your players are around, we’re all singing from the same hymnal.
  3. Nurturing. The head coach doesn’t always get to be the nice guy. Sometimes we have to point out the inconsistencies between team goals and effort level in practice, sometimes we have to bench a player, sometimes we have to have hard conversations. That’s when the great assistant coach steps in to make sure the athlete can see their way to success, because sometimes, those tough conversations can cloud their vision.



4 ways to manage assistant coaches

  1. Give them a role. Whether you’re lucky enough to have full-time assistants or you’re making it work with part-timers, they should know their value to the team. It’s good for them and the team will respect them more if they have a designated role.
  2. Coaches meetings. Have regular meetings or check-ins with your assistants to make sure you are all on the same page. It could be that you’ve decided that, as a staff, you’re going to be tough on your team, or that you’re going to focus on only one correction for a particular time period. Whatever it is, everyone’s got to know what’s going on.
  3. In game responsibilities. The beauty of assistant coaches is they are a set of willing extra hands. Depending on the level of support at your institution, your game day responsibilities could be great. Maybe your assistant has to help set up your game space, or set up the camera so that the game can be filmed, or do stats. During the game, give them at least one thing to do during warmup and in game…those responsibilities will make them feel useful and needed.
  4. Ask for feedback. My assistant and I speak after each practice, even if it’s just for a few moments. We talk about what went well and what didn’t, what we need to keep working on, and personnel issues. We’ve both been known to say, “feel free to say this is crazy, but…”. Having a great assistant coach as a sounding board is priceless.




Join me in a series of interviews with successful coaches. I believe what we learn from our coaching peers can be applied to our teams, our recruiting efforts, and how we behave as professionals. These interviews will be less Q & A and much more philosophical in nature, keep coming back to see who I’m talking to and what they’ve got to say!