Losing And Getting Better
September 2, 2020 at 1:19 a.m.
Losing And Getting Better
By Roger Grossman-
For the most part, I think that’s true.
The point is that when you lose, you are more likely to be motivated to figure out what you are doing wrong and correct those mistakes. Conversely, when you win, the winning can override the mistakes you made that you still need to correct to be the best team you could possibly be.
When the coach says “we need to work on these things we didn’t do so well in our last game”, the players might respond with “yah, but we won that game, so how bad could those things be?”
I have said for a while now that coaching these days has become 60-percent about scheme and technique and 40-percent about psychology and players being engaged in what the coach is trying to get them to do. I believe that’s as accurate as ever.
I would take it so far as to say that a coach could have a flawed game plan, or even be a moderately flawed coach in general, but still have great success in the results if their players believe in them.
I have never coached anything more than a men’s slow-pitch softball league team, so I am not a coaching guru by any means. But I know what works and what doesn’t, and I know today’s athlete. And coaching now is harder than ever.
When a team loses a game, or goes through a losing streak, the coach’s ability to keep his team together and keep them focused on their big-picture objectives will determine the course of where that team ultimately ends up.
Which is not to say it should fall completely on the coach.
When a team runs into adversity, the players on the team need to be accountable to each other. That starts at the top with the leaders and funnels down into the rank and file.
On smaller teams like basketball and baseball/softball teams, that can be a lot easier than on a football team solely because of the number of human beings involved.
The more people and personalities there are, the harder it becomes to keep everyone on the same page.
Like any sort of sickness, the first step to fixing what is ailing you is to diagnostically find the root of the problem. Once you have figured that out, you can assess the best treatment option.
But that gets tricky, too.
Maybe a change in the lineup is needed. Maybe a player who has always played in a certain position will need to change positions for the good of the team. Maybe the change or changes are ones the coach had considered before the season started, or maybe it came during a brainstorming session in the coaches’ office two nights before.
But not matter how it came about, how the coaching staff informs the players of the change can make or break whether the change will work or not.
Sometimes, whether they would admit it or not, a coach will choose who to start and who not to start based on whose personality is most likely to accept not starting. Let’s be honest—there are some people who are convinced they should be starting and they won’t function well if they aren’t.
And players like that can turn a good team to average, and an average team to below average. They can suck the life out of a squad with no hope of resuscitation.
When that happens, the losing sets in like a red stain on a white shirt. No matter what you put on it, no matter how hard you scrub—nothing will take that stain out.
Players then begin to expect the worst. Those who aren’t playing start to wonder why they aren’t, and they become less likely to hide their feelings.
The air in the locker room becomes thick with tension.
The results in their contests are predictable.
“So”, you ask, “how do you stop it from happening?”
It starts way back at the beginning. It’s about the maturity level of your people. It’s about the moment when leaders lead by example. Their actions set the tone for the rest of the team.
And when you have that as the foundation of your team, a loss can be a learning experience—a positive that will make a team better in the long run.
It’s the mark of winners.
Can you
For the most part, I think that’s true.
The point is that when you lose, you are more likely to be motivated to figure out what you are doing wrong and correct those mistakes. Conversely, when you win, the winning can override the mistakes you made that you still need to correct to be the best team you could possibly be.
When the coach says “we need to work on these things we didn’t do so well in our last game”, the players might respond with “yah, but we won that game, so how bad could those things be?”
I have said for a while now that coaching these days has become 60-percent about scheme and technique and 40-percent about psychology and players being engaged in what the coach is trying to get them to do. I believe that’s as accurate as ever.
I would take it so far as to say that a coach could have a flawed game plan, or even be a moderately flawed coach in general, but still have great success in the results if their players believe in them.
I have never coached anything more than a men’s slow-pitch softball league team, so I am not a coaching guru by any means. But I know what works and what doesn’t, and I know today’s athlete. And coaching now is harder than ever.
When a team loses a game, or goes through a losing streak, the coach’s ability to keep his team together and keep them focused on their big-picture objectives will determine the course of where that team ultimately ends up.
Which is not to say it should fall completely on the coach.
When a team runs into adversity, the players on the team need to be accountable to each other. That starts at the top with the leaders and funnels down into the rank and file.
On smaller teams like basketball and baseball/softball teams, that can be a lot easier than on a football team solely because of the number of human beings involved.
The more people and personalities there are, the harder it becomes to keep everyone on the same page.
Like any sort of sickness, the first step to fixing what is ailing you is to diagnostically find the root of the problem. Once you have figured that out, you can assess the best treatment option.
But that gets tricky, too.
Maybe a change in the lineup is needed. Maybe a player who has always played in a certain position will need to change positions for the good of the team. Maybe the change or changes are ones the coach had considered before the season started, or maybe it came during a brainstorming session in the coaches’ office two nights before.
But not matter how it came about, how the coaching staff informs the players of the change can make or break whether the change will work or not.
Sometimes, whether they would admit it or not, a coach will choose who to start and who not to start based on whose personality is most likely to accept not starting. Let’s be honest—there are some people who are convinced they should be starting and they won’t function well if they aren’t.
And players like that can turn a good team to average, and an average team to below average. They can suck the life out of a squad with no hope of resuscitation.
When that happens, the losing sets in like a red stain on a white shirt. No matter what you put on it, no matter how hard you scrub—nothing will take that stain out.
Players then begin to expect the worst. Those who aren’t playing start to wonder why they aren’t, and they become less likely to hide their feelings.
The air in the locker room becomes thick with tension.
The results in their contests are predictable.
“So”, you ask, “how do you stop it from happening?”
It starts way back at the beginning. It’s about the maturity level of your people. It’s about the moment when leaders lead by example. Their actions set the tone for the rest of the team.
And when you have that as the foundation of your team, a loss can be a learning experience—a positive that will make a team better in the long run.
It’s the mark of winners.
Can you
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