Supervisor: I try to attend as many games as possible from the 5th grade level on up. Since I have children of my own the total amount of games has dwindled, but I still attend some. While there I try to help whoever is in charge with supervision, but you also deal with parents who may want to vent some of their frustrations about the current situation about their's son's team. This sometimes carries over to phone calls at home about these teams.
Director of Basketball Operations: from scheduling and officiating elementary games, but more importantly scheduling the summer games we play in June to finding hotel rooms and transportation during that time, we become mini Athletic Directors. Hopefully, we are giving these guys an experience at different colleges and Indiana basketball history that they will remember the rest of their lives.
Fundraiser: I have written about this before, but fundraising is a necessary evil. We cannot do or afford some of the stuff we get without it. This past summer, the only thing our players paid for with 4 trips was food they wanted to eat while away from home. The tournaments and hotel rooms were taken care of for them and that is something that doesn't happen everywhere.
Custodian: Sometimes before and after the season, but during the season I am constantly cleaning our floor. I want the facility to be as nice as possible to practice and play on for our guys. We ask so much from them during the season the least I can do is to make sure the floor is clean, free of coke spills, and non slippery.
Counselor: Very often I find myself making sure our players are staying on top of their grades, but I am also talking to them about family issues and, unfortunately, girl issues. These are all situations I have found myself in while coaching and though I don't like it, we find ourselves dealing with them. I can either look the other way or help, I choose to help.
Mentor: For former players and current players, I am trying to teach, but also set a good example of how to be a good person. They don't have to be me, I don't want them to be me, but I want them to feel comfortable to come back and talk any time. I want them to have something that they can draw upon from their past that will help, maybe, in their current lives.
Public Relations: It is one thing that I didn't like as much when I was a young coach and trying to be someone other than who I was, but it is something that I have embraced as I have gotten older, more experienced and being who I am. I enjoy developing relationships with the elementary camp players, but also their parents. I want them to know that I care about their son not just as a basketball player, but as a person. When it comes to my own team, I have become more open about discussing what I do even if they don't agree with it. Being a leader is making decisions and when you make decisions you are not going to make everyone happy. But being a parent now, I appreciate feedback from my child's coaches and I can understand that though some parents may not like what I say, they will appreciate that I say it....but I could be wrong.
These are a few of the things that I can sit down and think of right off the top of my head. I can write on a resume my job experiences and I can write about the clinics or camps I have attended or worked, but I don't think they do justice to what high school coaches do on a daily basis. Luckily, I have great administrative support and help so what I have to do is minimal compared to other coaches. But the job is not just about coaching basketball, it coaching life and trying to do things the right way.
