I am assisting the Head Coach of our Division 1, 6th Grade travel team. Very competitive, high level of basketball for this age, all teams well coached. I was hoping to be the HC, as historically, the league had rotated HCs and ACs (I was HC for 4th grade, he was HC last year), but because the HC is very tight with the League Coordinator, he was named the HC. No biggie, he's knowledgeable and a good guy.
Half way through the season, it's clear that we have different coaching philosophies. In a nutshell, I like to give the kids a lot of structure in practice. Time devoted to individual skills (ballhandling, rebounding, shooting, defense technique, etc.); and the rest of the time devoted to plays and schemes necessary to play at this level. That includes plays against man to man, zone, inbound plays, press breaks, zone defenses, man defenses, presses, trapping zones, etc. In contrast, the HC believes in what I would call a "free lance" concept. We drill most of the things I've noted at practice, but rarely does he choose to drill them repeatedly. The result of this approach has been that our guys are not quite as prepared as they need to be for game situations.
My dilemna: We're doing well (5-2), but we're about to hit the iron of the league. There are a couple of teams that are likely to smoke us, not because we can't play with them, but because I don't think we are going to be prepared. This sounds a little silly, but I don't care to own the coming slaughter and anticipated chaos when we are not ready. I'm typically quite vocal and almost a quasi HC during games. What I'm thinking is that I step completely back, be a cheerleader of sorts, and support the HC exclusively, but not chime in during timeouts, halftime, etc, unless requested by the HC. My submission and even temperment will likely be notable, but perhaps welcome by the HC.
Thoughts?
P.S. I'm not interested in who is right in their approaches (I happen to think his approach works better with older kids who know the game well, not younger kids, but I could be wrong).
Half way through the season, it's clear that we have different coaching philosophies. In a nutshell, I like to give the kids a lot of structure in practice. Time devoted to individual skills (ballhandling, rebounding, shooting, defense technique, etc.); and the rest of the time devoted to plays and schemes necessary to play at this level. That includes plays against man to man, zone, inbound plays, press breaks, zone defenses, man defenses, presses, trapping zones, etc. In contrast, the HC believes in what I would call a "free lance" concept. We drill most of the things I've noted at practice, but rarely does he choose to drill them repeatedly. The result of this approach has been that our guys are not quite as prepared as they need to be for game situations.
My dilemna: We're doing well (5-2), but we're about to hit the iron of the league. There are a couple of teams that are likely to smoke us, not because we can't play with them, but because I don't think we are going to be prepared. This sounds a little silly, but I don't care to own the coming slaughter and anticipated chaos when we are not ready. I'm typically quite vocal and almost a quasi HC during games. What I'm thinking is that I step completely back, be a cheerleader of sorts, and support the HC exclusively, but not chime in during timeouts, halftime, etc, unless requested by the HC. My submission and even temperment will likely be notable, but perhaps welcome by the HC.
Thoughts?
P.S. I'm not interested in who is right in their approaches (I happen to think his approach works better with older kids who know the game well, not younger kids, but I could be wrong).