Tips For Being (Or Managing) a Great Assistant Coach
An assistant coach can be a highly valuable and often underrated resource to a youth basketball team and its head coach. But like any relationship, the head coach / assistant coach dynamic needs to be invested in by both parties to be successful.
In this blog we’ll present strategies to help ensure that the assistant coach feels valued and adds value to the team, and avoid the flipside of this where the assistant becomes either a passenger (simply observing) or a distraction (contributing in a way that makes the head coach’s job tougher, not easier)
Each head coach/assistant coach relationship is different, but there are some guiding principles for the following moments:
Before trainings
During training activities
Instructing the group
In-game roles
Promoting unity when complaints arise
Before Training
Head Coaches
Provide an opportunity for assistants to have input into the training session beforehand. This can be after the game that has just occurred (“What do you think should be the focus of our next training?”), and is ideally done before arriving at the training session when the coach should have the plan finalised.
Before the training session, brief your assistant on the flow of the session and any key roles/expectations you wish for them to focus on. Also advise them if there is a particular activity you would like them to lead, making sure it is one they are familiar with.
Assistant Coaches
Listen carefully for the key points the head coach conveys in the pre-session talk, which you can then echo throughout the session.
DURING TRAINING ACTIVITIES
Head Coaches
Find ways to use your assistant coach to make the training more efficient, and to free yourself up. Some common ways include:
Manage the timing of the activity using the game and/or shot clock
Positioning them where they can give players quick feedback between repetitions
Acting as a passer or dummy defender
When using a full-court, managing one end of the court while you manage the other.
Be accessible to your assistant coach in case they have feedback or ideas to share. You may approach them during the activity and ask “What are you seeing?” - then depending on their answer, have them share their observations with the team at the next whistle.
Assistant Coaches
“Coach on the go” regularly, reinforcing the specific teaching points given by the head coach.
If you’re unsure how the head coach wants a specific skill taught - ask and clarify with them. Never watch a drill unaware of what you can be teaching.
Drive positive training standards by players within the session, promoting high energy and quick transitions between drills.
Do not stop/alter the activity unless agreed with the head coach.
Giving Group Instruction
This is an important section and it relates to the following moments where the coaching staff are instructing their team:
Teaching at trainings
Pre and post-game chats
Time-outs
The key principle is that we aim for one voice delivering a team message, which will be the head coach’s voice unless they delegate. We don’t want to see coaches “Yes, AND”-ing each other, where they add messages on top of each other. Here’s an example that we commonly see in trainings and games:
Head Coach: “Next time on offence we need to focus on getting a great shot”
Assistant Coach: “Yes, AND girls we’re too slow to get back on defence!”
Head Coach: “Yes, we’re not finding our players quickly enough.”
As you can see, the first message – the main message – has been completed diluted by two “Yes, ANDs”. The assistant coach was hanging on the breath of the head coach, waiting to chime in with their point. This should be done sparingly with young athletes who may only remember the last message communicated. The best approach I’ve found as an assistant to is to ask during an activity or before the team talk, “Happy for me to make a point about [X] at the next chance?”
Head Coaches
Use the first 10-15 seconds of the time-out to confer with your assistant coach on what message should be delivered.
If your assistant makes a great observation that you share with the group, remember to credit the idea to them. “Coach Kate makes a great point, we’ve dropped our intensity on the rebounding contests and giving them easy putbacks”
If your assistant makes a suggestion that you decide not to implement, take a moment after the game/training to ‘circle back’ and explain your choice whilst encouraging them to provide ideas in future.
Find appropriate moments to empower your assistant coach to deliver a message, particularly in trainings.
Prime your assistant coach to speak, rather than throwing to them unprompted. Ask them “Do you have anything you'd like to reinforce?” or give them a heads-up with “I’m going to ask you to give them some feedback in a moment”.
A common mistake I see head coaches make is giving a long and thoughtful message to close a session (what I refer to as their “Braveheart speech”), before throwing to their assistant “Anything to add?”. The better approach is for the head coach to engage with assistant coaches before the talk, and give them the first voice.
Assistant Coaches
Feed information into the head coach’s decision-making regularly, but respect that it is ultimately up to the head coach if they implement your suggestions or not. They are the ones that need to juggle the short-term and long-term needs of the team, and be accountable to parents and McKinnon’s Basketball Development staff. Don’t take it personally.
If you have something to offer in a team talk (like a time-out or post-game talk), share it with the head coach before the talk. No matter how important you think your instruction is - don’t take the last word in a team talk unless asked to by the head coach.
GAME DAY ROLES
Head Coaches
Give your assistant coach responsibilities prior to the game, which could be things like:
Tactical focuses linked with your ‘blindspots’ “Could you please watch the opposition for the first five minutes and see who their primary scorers are?”
Tracking key statistics linked with the pre-game goals
Support with substitutions and bench management
If you assign statistic tracking to them, make sure the stat-taking is used meaningfully and not pointless busy-work. Nothing worse than an assistant asked to take stats that are never asked for or discussed during the game.
Maintain positive body language and emotional balance during the game - your assistant coach shouldn’t fear approaching you or constantly try to re-focus you.
Confer with your assistant before each time-out and post-game talk:
“What are you seeing?”
“What do you think they need in this moment?”
Assistant Coaches
Cover a head coach’s ‘blindspots’: Try to be across things that the head coach may have missed. If your head coach’s strength is around team offence, watch for things occurring on defence and feed that info to the coach.
Game management: Notify the coach about key events such as:
When a player has more fouls than the quarter being played (e.g. 2 fouls in 1st quarter, 3 fouls in 2nd quarter etc.)
When you feel a player is tired and needs a rest
When you feel a player should be subbed into the game (“Laura hasn’t been on this quarter, I think we should sub her in for Jessica”)
Advanced game management: Closely watching things like:
Is the shot clock correct?
Is the possession arrow correct?
How many timeouts each coach has used (e.g. “That was their last time out, Coach”)
Who has the next possession arrow as a quarter finishes? (“It’ll be our ball to start the next quarter”)
Play “Good Cop, Bad Cop”. If you observe that a player’s confidence has been affected after the coach has spoken to them or subbed them off, give the player some space and then go and ‘fill up their cup’ with some positivity and belief.
Focus on the bench (80/20 rule). 80% of the assistant’s communication should be to the bench (players and head coach), leaving 20% to instructing players on-court. The key things an assistant coach can drive are:
Positive body language and encouragement from the bench
Counting down the last 8 seconds of the shot clock/game clock.
Making sure players have clarity on team tactics and expectations.
PRESENTING A UNITED FRONT
Head Coaches
Remember you are ultimately accountable for the team, no matter what you delegate to your assistant. Example: You’ve delegated substitutions to your assistant, and a parent complains that their child only received 5 minutes of court time. It’s not appropriate to say “Sorry, I was focusing on the game and that was my assistant’s job - I’ll speak to them”. Own the mistake on behalf of your coaching staff, and then educate your assistant on what you need moving forward.
Assistant Coaches
Even in the best head-assistant coach relationships, the assistant coach will observe moments they feel the head coach should have managed differently. In these moments the assistant must project respect and level-headedness, and not undermine the head coach in front of players or parents with their comments or body language.
As an assistant coach and always the “good cop” it’s inevitable that you will approached with a complaint about the head coach – it’s the unfortunate reality of Rep basketball. You must deflect and support the coaching team. Part of assuming a coaching role at McKinnon is you relinquish the right to speak ill of other coaches, or fan those flames.
If a parent approaches you about the head coach’s behaviour, you can show empathy without taking the parent’s side (Example: “I can see how Jake would have been disappointed by that.”) Avoid statements like “Yeah… it’s certainly not how I would’ve done it”. You can also refer the parent to the McKinnon office, or offer to raise the concern with the head coach on the parent’s behalf at an appropriate time.
SUMMING UP
Head Coaches…
Create an environment where assistant coaches feel heard and that they are bringing value to the team.
Find moments to appropriately mentor and elevate the assistant coach, building their capabilities as a future head coach.
Teach them what responsibilities and roles you want from them.
Assistant Coaches…
Remember that it is ultimately not your team to manage, which makes it the best job to have. You get all the ‘warm and fuzzies’ of coaching without the tough decisions and responsibility.
Don’t talk over the head coach in team talks - wait until prompted or feed your observations to the head coach before the talk.
Be the ‘good cop’ to players and give them lots of individualised, encouraging feedback.
EXTRA RESOURCES
We recommend listening to Basketball Victoria’s Talking Split podcast episode around assistant coaches (link below).