Coach Krzyzewski's Winning Philosophy Essay

Coaching philosophies differ all over the world, from one sport to another. They are the central foundation to any good coach’s success in his/her respected programs. A coach’s philosophy does not only guide and lead the other members of the staff in the right direction, but it also allows each athlete to know what is expected of them, and how they should behave. By being aware of a coach’s philosophy, the athlete is fully responsible for his/her actions both on and off the field of play. In the words of the great Nick Saban, "It 's about what you control, every minute of every day. You always have to have a winning attitude and discipline, in practices, weight training, conditioning, in the classroom, in everything. It 's a process."

Coach Steve Rocker is one of the most successful high school basketball coaches in Kentucky’s history. Coach Rocker was very successful in previous years. Strangely, this year was very different for him. For the first time in his professional life, he is falling short of his expectations, the community expectations, and the team’s expectations. His team lost a lot of games, but most importantly the boys had no motivation or desire to bring the team out of the rut they found themselves. His players have lost their will to win, their love for their teammates, and their passion to play. Coach Rocker’s motivational methods that have always worked before and resulted in success are now failing, and he doesn’t know why. He argues that his players have become selfish and bored with winning because they have been so successful in previous years. “And there’s no question that my guys have lost their drive to win because they’ve won so much in the past. Now all they want is individual ‘wins’…which just doesn’t cut it on a team” (Gongwer, 2010, p. 17).

With the right influence, communication and skill development is the key to a valuable coach. Without my two outstanding high school coaches, I wouldn’t have the love for basketball and track the way I do today. They have taught me everything I needed to know for the present, along with tips for the future. Coach Lewis and Coach Kohler have done more for me than what I’ve ever deserved and I will never be able to pay them back for all their help and encouragement. But I hope they have understanding of how much of a change they can make on someone's life, someone's life like my

I will inspire athletes to demonstrate good character. Sports do not have an influence on one’s character; however, coaches can strongly impact athletes’ character, both negatively and positively. For this reason, I will work to coach in ways that support the growth of athletes’ character and create learning opportunities and situations in which athletes can practice and learn from. As a coach, I will lead by example and demonstrate good character because actions speak louder than words. I will do this by embodying sportsmanship and respecting athletes, opponents, other coaches, and referees. I will also show this to athletes by respecting, caring, and being trustworthy. I will also lead by example by staying

Coach Dix believes that this style of coaching helps him motivate his young team. Being that crazy, funny, heady, and intense coach gets the young teens pumped and ready to run through a wall for him. When we talked about the difficult situations he has had to endure while coaching, Dix described two situations that occurred during his tenure at East Hall; Coach Dix mentioned a time when his star player who happened to win the Georgia Player of the year the previous year, kicked a ball during practice and broke out a window in the gym. He stated this was a difficult and sticky situation because the team played its big rival in two days. He said he did not sleep well the next few nights because of the impact a suspension would have on his squad. Another situation Dix had to deal with was a parent during a game, walked to the bench, grabbed their son and told the player to get dressed, we’re transferring from this school. Dix said that this was new territory for him and at that time he did not know what to do. To conclude the interview, I asked Dix two final questions. I asked him what were his ultimate goals for his team and what advice would he give to a first year coach? “Championships and graduation,” Coach Dix stated. As for advice for a first year coach, Dix said “Preparation was KEY.” “Great coaches are always prepared for anything and everything!”

It all started with an email seeking freshman male in his coaching and administration program. The 2012 graduate of UConn’s Sport Administration and coaching program, William Aloia, says this future success as the Associate Athletic Director for The College of St. Rose started out by almost” falling into his lap”. The New Jersey native began his undergraduate experience with two Division-I parents, and like an abundance of people he knew that working in sport was something he wanted to do. Previously a part of the Kinesiology department under the late Joe Marrone, Will jumped on the opportunity posted through an email and started his freshman year as a basketball manager for the very successful UConn’s basketball program. He explains how this experience “opened his door up”. Will states; “once I started at UConn working with the women’s basketball program and being around collegiate athletics at such a high level it’s really something in itself, and unbelievable experience. I knew it was for me, I didn’t know which part for sure, but I knew this was something I wanted to do.” What Will realized very quickly realized about working in sport is that often times it is a thankless job. However, that did not stop him from finishing his undergraduate career as a four-year manager for the basketball team. The motivation for Will early in his career has been a two-dimensional illustration of success.

879 wins in 36yrs of coaching, 2nd most in men's college Division I basketball history behind Bob Knight.

In conclusion, Although Coach K was originally mentored by Coach Knight as both a player and as an assistant coach; they both have adopted different styles of leadership. They appear to be almost polar opposites, yet have both managed to have done well in their respective field. As the late Emanuel Rohn once said, “The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly”. If only Coach Knight had followed this simple statement, how much further would he have gone?

So many Coaches have talent and dedication for what they do. I 'm proud to play for one that has a spectacular history of coaching. That coach is Dennis Lorio, who Graduated from LSU (Louisiana State University) with an economic degree and played baseball. “I love the intensity and the relationship in football” Coach Lorio explaining with a passionate expression. I can see it in his eyes that he is very dedicated and hardworking coach. As of now he is 62 years old and still willing to coach. “It’s not the same without coaching. The joy and the sorrow I feel during the season has been addicted to me. I’ve been in this game almost all my life and that is a very long time.”

“At practice, Coach was always shouting the word Dig!” (Ehrmann 2011, pg. 53)What coach doesn’t ask for their players to work harder, dig deeper, or strive? We all do. “But to Coach it always meant: Dignity, Integrity, and Grace.” (Ehrmann 2011, pg. 53). Joe Ehrmann’s book InSideOut Coaching is an amazing look into why coaches coach. My mind was blown. My book looks like a firework display of highlights, underlines, and notes. There are so many ideas in this short book my head swam. The book really made me question the what, why, and how I am coaching. His ideas and opinions are a game changer for me. I can relate to Parade Magazine’s assessment; Joe Ehrmann is “The most important coach in America.” upon completing the book. For me the D.I.G.

The “Sooners” was a name given to the first settlers of the unassigned lands of southern US, specifically what is now the state of Oklahoma (OU Athletics). Today the nickname sooner has become synonymous with competitiveness, go-getter personality, and success (OU Athletics). The OU men’s basketball team strives to embody their nickname and bring home success as fans and fellow classmates chant “Boomer! Sooner!” across stadiums . Although OU has been primarily a football school, current men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger was able to bring back the winning attitude to the program, and increase the players’ confidence and commitment to do better everyday. This spirit of unity and commitment to success goes beyond the stadium and basketball players; it also affects the whole student body, raises school spirit, and builds a sense of camaraderie between

I have recently been provided with the opportunity to become the head basketball coach of Winner University. Winner University is an institution that competes at the division one level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The program is known for making it to the Final Four and winning the national championship for college basketball, this particular program is also known for producing NBA standouts. Winner University is a dynasty and is known for nothing but greatness in the basketball world. The particular problem that I am facing is that I am knew to this program and I want to incorporate my own coaching style and beliefs into the program, while continuing to upheld the tradition of winning here at Winner University. My goals

Coach Carter also displays transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is the ability of a leader to get people to do more than they originally expected to do in support of large scale innovation and change; the leader inspire and excite followers to high level of performance (Nelson & Quick, 2013). According to Marquis & Huston (1992), there are five key qualities of a transformational leader. One of the qualities is having the passion and ability to inspire. Transformational leaders show passion in their work and have the capacity to pass this passion on to others. Coach Carter is successful in achieving this through setting clear expectations and demonstrates passion when doing this. At their first team meeting, Carter hands each student a contract, setting out his expectations of the contracts. If they do not sign and follow it, they do not play. Coach Carter aims to pass on his passion to the players enabling them to succeed in playing sports and succeed in their education. Another quality transformational leaders possess is the ability to pass their values on to others. According to Marquis & Huston (1992), people admire leaders that support their own values and beliefs by enabling others to understand how their own values make them who they are. Coach Carter encourages a team ethic throughout. Carter ensures his team takes this on board by stopping everyone from playing – academic achiever or not. He’s teaching that successful teams succeed because of

Coach Mike Krzyzewski was a phenomenal coach and leader. He had the most career wins in NCAA Division I history. His is a prime example of exceptional leadership. Throughout the book Leading with the Heart I have seen prime examples of the following leadership theories: transformational leadership, trait theory, behavioral theory, and power and influence theory.

Basketball teams need a coach that believes in them. The team needs a coach that will work hard to help them achieve the goal of winning. They need a coach that communicates and shows interest in each of the players. On the other hand, they need a coach that can be directive, but also supportive. In the case study this week, Shirley was quite the opposite. Conflicting enough, by all appearances she did not have a total grasp of the concept of leadership in coaching basketball. Factors that could cause the lack of leadership could be confidence or even lack of knowledge (Cohen, 2000). In this paper, Shirley’s leadership style and behavior will be discussed, along with looking at situational factors and other leadership styles that