How to Become a Great Basketball Coach

Just as players are expected to train and attend clinics to improve their performance, the same goes for coaches to ensure they continue learning and developing their skills and knowledge.

If you want to become a great coach, it’s important to put your knowledge into practice and find your own coaching philosophy. No matter what style of coach you intend to be you must seek to get the best out of your players and maximise their performance.

There are many successful styles of coaching, from coaches who focus on player development through to extremely competitive coaches who focus on the outcome. No mater whether you use a direct or indirect style, all coaches must actively seek feedback and be active in the area of reflection. There’s no right or wrong style, and whatever philosophy you adapt, you should seek to constantly grow and evolve as a coach.

In order to do this, some of the most important things you can be as a coach is to be hungry, and open to continuous learning by seeking feedback, listening and reflecting on your personal performance to ensure ongoing improvement – both as a coach and also for your team’s performance. To do this, a coach should look to read materials from other coaches, attend coaching clinics, visit online coaching clinics (e.g. through FIBA YouTube channel), research online, participate in forums, join basketball websites, study your team’s game footage, look at coaching social media platforms, listen to podcasts, participate in workshops, share ideas with fellow coaches, look at blogs etc. A great coach looks outside the realms of what you’re coaching to gain further inspiration and broaden their coaching support network. It’s also important to have a circle of influence with a group of mentors that can provide you with honest and realistic advice and feedback.