I recently had a chance to discuss coaching philosophy with Mr Scott Jacobs. Scott currently not in coaching, but has had some great experience with coaching youth athletes. Here are his thoughts on the profession.

1)  How did you get started in coaching?

  Throughout my entire childhood, basketball was a huge part of, had a major impact on, my life. From grade school to junior high to high school; then through year round AAU events, my dad was a central piece in the basketball arena in Northwest Indiana. The generational roots date back to my grandfather who played collegiate basketball at Michigan State University, and eventually wound up playing semi-pro ball in Gary, Indiana, which happened to have a team in the early 50‘s. These early lifetime experiences allowed myself to see this great game through the eyes of my dad. After seeing how he really and truly enjoyed his coaching days, is when I realized that this is something I had an immediate attraction to. As a result of all this, my father eventually was my assistant coach for 3 years in the late 90’s on the local and national AAU levels. 

2) Did you coach one sport or several?

The only sport that I ever got involved with in respect to coaching was the game of basketball.  Even though I played baseball and football at the high school level, I never gained that attraction to coaching these respective sports like I did for the game of basketball.

3) What level (high-school, youth etc) did you coach?

I was a head coach for 8 years at the local and National AAU levels in Northwest Indiana.  I started out coaching the 10 and under league and eventually worked up to the 17 and under team, which is your varsity high school players.  I worked one year as a student assistant for Lafayette Jefferson High school when I was completing my student teaching.  My final stop was an assistant coach at Merrillville high school in Northwest Indiana.  I was there for 3 years. My accomplishments include working 4 years of summer league camps for the potential high school players, which was run by Dan Dakich, who was a former assistant with Bobby Knight at Indiana Unversity. I won 2 Indiana state titles with the 15 and 17 under AAU teams.  I also won 2 regional titles as a varsity assistant at Merrillville High school.

4) What did you enjoy the most about being a coach?

Coaching just like teaching can be a very rewarding experience.  The every day competition that you must face can really get the “juices” flowing.  I am a big “passion” type guy, and striving to be #1 at any given level really kept me fresh and allowed myself to enjoy each and every challenge that was thrown my way. To go along with this was the enjoyment in seeing your students or players grow each and every day and each and every practice.  If there were just one thing that one kid learned throughout the day and could retain that one thing, then it felt like your job as a coach was fulfilled.  With 12 different personalities and 12 different personas, your job was to mesh these 10 separate components into one solid group.  The coach that was most successful in doing this, usually came out on top.  I always hated to see that final buzzer of that final game, because you knew that you weren’t going to see these kids continue to grow until next year.  And believe me, there were some years that felt like the offseason would never end.

5) How would you describe your coaching style?

I am a very “hands” on type of coach.  Similar to a “players” coach that is defined in many sports today.  I feel is vital as a coach to relate to each person and each situation differently and to take in no biases.  If something is not working, we need to look to implement a solution to fix.  Even if this input is from your bench players.  If it is relevant to the success of the team, then it should be used to try and better the ballclub. Through my travels and experiences, I have come to be a no-nonsense type of coach.  Whether it’s related to injuries, scheduling, final exams, too much youth; these variables should never be used as an excuse when it comes to winning or losing.  As a coach, you make the best of what you have as a group and you try and move forward.  This is inevitably how I have come to handle my daily coaching but also my life experiences.

6) Did you ever write a “formal” coaching philosophy? Did you regularly share it with your athletes and/or with their parents?

I have not written or authored a formal coaching philosophy, but what is intriguing is that I did pattern my coaching style after one of the highest scoring teams from 1990 that was ever displayed in Collegiate basketball.  This is a team and style that probably will never be replicated.  I am referring the the Loyola Marymount Lions.  In 1990 this team averaged an unprecedented 125 points per game, the highest output in any single regular season in NCAA history.  There style in the papers and media was referred to as the “40 minutes of hell”.  This style was basically formatted to wear teams down by the second half.  This style had several different components on both offense and defense. On the offensive side of the ball, they used a fast break system that would allow you to run after made baskets.  No other team in NCAA history to now has used this style.  Basically, it was a set fast break that would allow you to shoot the ball within 3.5 seconds.  The idea was that the more shots taken during a game, the more baskets it would equate to.  If you had the right athletes and the type of athlete that was willing to literally run for 40 minutes, you would be very difficult to game plan for. On defense they used a variety of presses either after made or missed buckets. Why did I like this style? I believed in putting constant pressure on the offense and defense.  The idea was to try and make them react to every situation quicker than normal. This would allow for chaos and a frenetic pace which most teams were not prepared to handle.  The reason this type of style is not utilized more often is because when you get to your post season tournaments at the end of the season, the play usually slows down.  So, in affect, you have to be strong in the half court and strong in your half court defensive principles.  For the most part, defense usually wins championships.  The style I believe can be mimicked, but highly unlikely ever replicated like the 1990 Loyola Marymount Lions.  I used this style for a number of seasons and had success, but you have to have the right athletes for each position that are dedicated to running for 40 minutes, which is what this style of play is all about.

7) In what order would you rank the following outcomes of athletic participation? (presented here in Mr Jacobs listed order) 

 1)     Promotion of Learning

2)      Learn to Compete

3)      Improve student athletic ability

4)      Initiate self-esteem

5)      Enhance school community pride

8) On a 1-10 scale, how important is winning to you as a coach?

From my roots as a child, athletics, competition, and the focus to be the best has created that passion to “win”.  Is winning the only thing in life?  That answer is no.  Is winning everything,? It could be to a certain extent depending on someone’s framework.  Is winning important for the overall success of an organization?  Unfortunately in this time and era, if you read the media, winning is the only way you keep your job.  It basically is a what have you done for me today type of society.  I do know that money, business logistics, and marketing play a huge role in defining “winning” and how vital it is in our daily lives.  There are many lessons to be learned not only from winning but also losing.  I have always lived by the motto that “success breeds success and that you become much happier by winning rather than losing.  If you really dissect it, winning is what you make of the situation. Yes the scoreboard may have said that you lost the game, but deep down in side if you felt that you time did “win”, due to the fact that your team did show marked improvement and did give that effort. If I had to put a number on winning, I would use a 9. 

9) Would you ever stretch to rules regarding player eligibility to ensure victory? Why or why not?

No,  I don’t believe in stretching any rule to gain a victory.  Rules are not meant to be broken.  You win and lose with what you have as a team.  As I stated before, things like player eligibility, injuries should not be an excuse to break any rules.  Integrity, I believe, is one of the most important building blocks you can have not only as a person, but as a coach.  Once you lose your integrity, then you have nothing to stand on as a foundation.  Respect yourself and respect the game at all times.  This is a motto every player and coach should live by.

10) If you could tell a new coach one thing, something that could make or break his career, what would that advice be?

I think my biggest advice would be don’t be afraid of change.  Obviously coaches develop habits and philosophy’s that dictate who they are.  Sometimes we reach a point to where we start second guessing ourselves especially when we are faced with tough decisions that may allow us to do something differently.  Change is a tough thing, especially in coaching.  But to be as successful as you can be, I believe you must adapt and change your style, personality, and game preparation, to what type of players and what type of players and what type of team you have.  Your job is to get the most out of each player and to put them into the best position to succeed.  If change is something that must happen to allow you to see these successes then change must occur.  Always be flexible, and don’t be afraid to make that “change”.