The ones that lost this season have said things like, "They sh*t the bed!" "They aren't mentally tough." "They don't know how to win." "They can't stay focused." "They weren't ready to play today." "They just don't care."
The winning coaches sound completely different, of course. But when put into the fabricated dark hole of losing, these comments persist.
This was St. John's head Men's basketball coach Rick Pitino after his team gave up a big lead and lost.
"This has been the most unenjoyable experience I've had since I've been coaching."
LSU Women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey had this to say about her team at halftime against the #1 team in the country.
"We come out, we take the lead and then we have turnovers."
After Kentucky Men's basketball coach John Calipari's team was upset in the first round of this year's NCAA tournament, he gave this interview.
"We had some guys not play to the level they can play."
Not that it matters in these moments, but Pitino has a base salary of $3.3 million a season, Mulkey at $3.26 million and John Calipari at $8.5 million per year.
It would be unfair to judge them as coaches and people based on these snippets at a difficult moment of their seasons.
From the club coaches above to the three mega successful college basketball coaches shown here, there is something missing.
We...
Yes, Mulkey says it but then takes her team to task. Pitino calls out his individual players for their shortcomings and Calipari points out the areas where his team failed.
What you also might notice is in all of these quotes and interviews, there is no accountability placed on one position on the team.
The head coach!
If we coach leading with ego, we are going to get what we deserve. College level athletes may be able to handle coaches like this better, but if you are going to separate yourself from your team, what is the message you are sending out?
Maybe all the coaches in this blog don't understand the randomness of team sports. Maybe they don't know what to do to make their teams better in certain moments, or moving laterally or not giving up turnovers at key times.
You are either a coach or you are not. If you are a coach, then you figure out ways to solve problems, deal with adversity and do what you are capable of to make your team better. If everything is based on the win, loss column, then perhaps you will see Pitino's gripe about this being the worse coaching experience of his career as your situation as well.
Of course the one thing we forget in watching these videos and hearing these coaching comments is the players. How do you think what is being said makes them feel? Maybe that is of no interest to major NCAA basketball programs or maybe even to club volleyball programs, but it should be.
How would you feel if these things were said about you?
― Ryan Holiday, Ego Is the Enemy
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