Book Reports

Most coaches get their ideas from listening to other coaches, attending clinics and watching videotapes. I am not the exception to this rule. A couple of years ago when I was attending a coaching clinic, I had the opportunity to listen to Gail Goestenkors, the head coach at the University of Texas, speak. One of the things she said which caught my attention was that she required her players to read books and to then report back to their teammates. I thought this was a great idea.

Since I love to read, it was easy to find books out of my library to assign to the players. I tried to match the book with the player. I didn't want to randomly assign a book which would have no meaning. I wanted them to gain knowledge which they could then transpose to the court. While some of the books were about basketball players or teams, most of them had more to do with personal improvement in some area. Some books were about increasing self esteem. Others were about leadership and a couple were a little more complicated involving quantum physics.

Unfortunately, the books I assigned had no cliff notes available so the players actually have to read the book. Once they have completed the reading, they are responsible for getting in front of the team and giving a short book report on what they have learned.

Some of you might ask what this has to do with playing the sport of basketball. If you have that question in mind, my first response is that athletics is a part of the educational process. As a coach, it is our job to assist our players in learning life skills. While winning is important (okay, very important to me), it is not the true reason athletics is included in the school systems. The real reason has more to do with what the students learn by being part of a team. Our student-athletes should be learning about setting goals, leadership, discipline, increasing self-esteem, working with others, taking care of their health, overcoming adversity, winning with humility, losing with dignity, and how to persevere through tough times.

Having our student-athletes read and engage with their teammates on what they have learned is a step in the educational process. They are learning how to share what is important to them and how to stand up in front of their peers. They are learning to become better people and therefore to become better players.