1. Muhammad Ali Center Athletes & Social Change Forum
March 21-22, 2014
Louisville, Kentucky
Chris Croft, Ed.D –University of
Southern Indiana
Role of College Basketball
Coaches as Educational Leaders

2.  College basketball head coaches
have a role and responsibility to be
educational leaders
 Represent the university, athletic
department, and their basketball
program
 Leader and mentor to student-
athletes
Responsibility of Head Coaches

3. “I don’t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look
at myself as a leader who happens to coach college
basketball, (Janssen,2006).”
-Duke Head Basketball Coach, Mike Krzyzewski

4.  Character
 Commitment
 Caring
 Confidence-building
 Communication
5 “C”s: Components of Coaching
Leadership

5.  Shows who you really are and how you
react to things
 Players must respect the head coach
and feel he or she is trustworthy and
honest
 Will make the best decisions possible
for the success of the team and
individuals
Character

6. “I like to think the players I coached, however they
came to UCLA, left as men of character, (Wooden,
1997).”
-Former UCLA Head Basketball Coach, John Wooden

7.  To lead by example so that players
can see their active participation
 To “preach what you teach”
 To develop expectations that are
passed from head coach to players
Commitment

8. “He’s trying to get the best out of you, and he’s trying to
make you figure out how to bring that out of yourself, (The
secrets of Geno’s success, 2014).”
-Freshman Connecticut women’s basketball player Breanna
Stewart about Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Geno
Auriemma

9.  Coaches must show players that he
or she cares about them first as
people, and second as basketball
players
 To being concerned with their
academics and their personal lives
Caring

10. "I really think first and foremost you have to care about your athletes. I
don't think you can fake that. I think that's got to be real and the reason
I love so much what I do is that I get to work with people, (Janssen, J. &
Dale, G, 2002)“
-Former Tennessee Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Pat Summitt

11.  To develop confidence in players by
believing in them
 Occurs because of close personal
relationships
 Starts during the recruiting
process, develops during playing
days, and continues throughout life
Confidence-Building

12. “I’ve learned so much about basketball, life, and myself in
one year being in this program. I was meant to be here, this
is my stop. This was life-changing for me, (Kansas
Basketball, 2014).”
-Current Kansas senior Tarik Black (referring to Kansas
Head Basketball Coach, Bill Self)

13.  To deliver messages yourself
 One of the best ways to
communicate is to listen
 To give players the opportunity to
express themselves, and therefore
the head coach will more
effectively be able to communicate
with player
Communication

14. “People cannot be blamed for what they don’t know.
It’s your job to make sure that the people you are
leading understand your message, (Reynolds,
2000).”
-Louisville Head Basketball Coach, Rick Pitino

15. “To this day, I see much of my success as a coach linked to my ability and skill
as a teacher...In fact, coaching is teaching and all of the skills that teaching
requires; knowing the sport or activity; planning; developing people skills,
communication, motivation, mentoring, and being a role model; understanding
your players or students; and, of course, knowing how to teach, (Schempp,
2003, p. ix).”
-Gonzaga Head Basketball Coach, Mark Few

16.  Janssen, J. (2006). Discovering the seven secrets of successful
coaches. Retrieved from
http://www.janssensportsleadership.com/
 Janssen, J. & Dale, G. (2002).The Seven Secrets of Successful
Coaches. Janssen Peak Performance Inc.
 Kansas Basketball (kuhoops). "“I’ve learned so much about
basketball, life, and myself in one year being in this program. I
was meant to be here… This is my stop. This was life-changing
for me.” 14 March 2014, 2:06PM. Tweet.
 Reynolds, B. (2000).Lead to Succeed: 10 Traits of Great
Leadership in Business and Life. New York: Broadway.
References

17.  Schempp, P. G. (2003). Teaching sport and physical activity:
Insights on the road to excellence. Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics.
 The secrets of Geno's success(2014, March). Retrieved from
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-
basketball/tournament/2013/story/_/id/9070531/women-ncaa-
tournament-2013-connecticut-huskies-coach-geno-auriemma-
pursues-perfection
 Wooden, J. & Jamison, S. (1997). Wooden: A lifetime of
observations and reflections on and off the court. Lincolnwood,
IL: Contemporary Books.
References Cont.

18. Questions & Answers &
Discussion