Steve Nash on Being a Leader - A Concept for all Youth Coaches

I've been doing a lot of Youth Coaches clinics over the last few weeks.  I really enjoy doing them because those in attendance are the best kind of Youth Coaches.  They want to get better and really care about the success of their team (the fact that they are volunteers really shows their commitment).  There is a part of me that feels like I've bombarded them with so much information during these 2 hours sessions that there is no way that anyone could get all of it.  A lot of the men and women I've met over the last few weeks don't have a ton of experience as a basketball coach either so I worry that a lot of what I've talked about  will get lost in translation so to speak.

But last night I watched an episode of Iconoclast, the great series on the Sundance Channel where two seemingly unrelated "celebrities" spend time together talking about each other's lives.  The episode I watched featured Ron Howard and one of my favorite basketball players Steve Nash. 

Nash shared his philosophy on being a team leader.  He said, "My style of leading a team and being a point guard is one of inclusion, so I think first you start by having a great attitude.  I think that its really important when you go to work every day that you enter a room and the team dynamics are improved by your presence."

Its such a simple concept and one I will make sure to remember to use on a daily basis, but I think it is exceptionally noteworthy for Youth Coaches.  Our responsibility as Youth Coaches is so much greater than the scoreboard.  That's not to say that winning isn't important nor is not necessary for a Youth Coach to try to learn as much about basketball as possible.  We also have to take into account, however, that 99% of the kids playing basketball are not going to be professional basketball players, so the lessons they learn that go beyond the hardwood will ultimately become more valuable. 

No coach will ever learn everything about the game of basketball and every coach is going to make mistakes.  But any team with a coach who improves the team dynamic simply "by walking into the room" will truly have a successful season.

Best of luck to all of the Youth Coaches out there this season.  Keep coming back to this blog for drills and insights that will hopefully make your season a success.