All professional coaches and fans are gutless worms...

by Ustation on Dec 4, 2009 10:12 AM EST

Coaching in the big leagues is all about conformity. It's about as conservative a brotherhood as you'll find. You don't get to that point of being a professional coach without having attended thousands of hours of clinics where they all preach from the same bible. Any creativity that you may have is knocked out of you.

The difference in schemes between any two NBA coaches are minimal at best.

I've been a coach of 4 different sports for 15 years, and have managed to take previous year tier 3 teams and have them beating or competing with tier 1 teams the next season. How? A little creativity and breaking the unconventional? One year in little league baseball I noticed how infrequent these 12 year olds were hitting it to the outfield, so I went with a permanent extra infielder and only 2 outfielders. My outfielders were super speedy little kids but couldn't catch fly balls consistently so I only had two of them out there and all they really did was chase balls down whenever someone did hit it to the outfield. But my extra infielder was able to make many more plays and also stop balls from rolling out into the field and extra base hits. It worked out really well, but you can't imagine the heat I got from other coaches, opposing parents, and even parents on my team. It was unconventional and against the spirit of the game (show me in the rules where it says exactly where all your players need to stand).

I'll admit I was young and eventually relented to the pressures and went back to a conventional system and only pulled in the extra infielder on certain situations.

Look at the heat Bill Belichick took for going for it on 4th down vs Indy inside his 30 earlier this season. Even though there's a ton of theory on puntless football being a winning strategy (see: highschool wins state without punting http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=892888 or a bunch of probability debates http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2006/never-punting) Belichick has been lambasted. And that's just on one play! Imagine if Belichick did that on every drive?

Here's another great story of how David beat Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell that I posted a few days ago, about a basketball coach who didn't grow up watching hoops and implemented his own strategy of a true full court press every single play. Eventually he had Roger Craig (former star running back of the 49ers) and his daughter help him coach their team in the state championships. However opposing teams and refs got so furious with his strategy, he returned back to a conventional strategy in the finals and got killed. It's a really great read: http://www.gladwell.com/2009/2009_05_11_a_david.html

So at the end of the day, coaches behaviours are driven by expecations and conformity. If fans had the guts too they'd be cheering Belichick's decision. The difference between any two NBA coaches is like choosing between a Macintosh or a Granny Smith.

Unfortunately it takes guts to go unconventional. It's always better to be the second person to do something than be a pioneer.

Tweet Comment 7 comments | 1 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I actually agreed with Belicheks decison on 4th down but felt he should have at least attempted to run the ball on third down to keep the clock moving. It was his third down decision that hurt them more than going for it on 4th down did.

by McGateway on Dec 7, 2009 9:17 AM EST reply actions

well first of all.. pro ball players hit the ball to the outfield a lot more than little leaguers so you’re point simply doesn’t apply to your argument, parents want their son or daughter to learn to play shortstop without depending on a 5th infielder so when they get older they won’t be handicapped in adapting to a more competitive game which demands the conventional system, i’m sure that is where their anguish came from, not simply your unconventional strategy…

my problem with your argument is your extrapolation of chlidrens results to professional teams… like i said pro ball players hit the ball to the outfield a lot more than little leaguers, the gladwell example falls into the same category as a pro ball team can move the ball on a different level than a 12-year old girls team and thwart a true full court press easily… on the same level – you don’t see disney’s flying v applied by scott neidermeyer and the NHL’s ducks

i liked belichek’s move though, no guts no glory.. but again it doesn’t prove your point as his strategy ISN’T unheard of lots of teams will go for 4th down attempts instead of punting but usually will choose not to risk the field position, and the result of his play choice shows you why that is the case
not trying to pick on you i’m just providing a counter argument to further your ideas

The choo-choo train left right on time. A ticket costs only your mind.
The driver said, "Hey, man, we go all the way. Of course we were willing to pay.

- My name is Jonas (Gustavsson)- - - Weezer are clearly leafs fans.

by AkiSchennberg on Dec 7, 2009 3:45 PM EST reply actions

I love debates, that’s why I’m here. The actual strategy aside was irrelevant, more to the point that pro coaches are confined to a box when coaching.

Even at the 12 y/o girls level , we as coaches relent. Yes I’m as much of a coward. But you can only imagine at the Pro level.

Smitch took a lot of heat for start Jamario, and I don’t think enough gets made of that for his courage. Though I think in hindsight he wouldn’t do it again. Not because Moon didn’t perform, but he got a lot of flak from the Players Union.

by Ustation on Dec 7, 2009 3:52 PM EST reply actions

“Smitch took a lot of heat for start Jamario, and I don’t think enough gets made of that for his courage. Though I think in hindsight he wouldn’t do it again. Not because Moon didn’t perform, but he got a lot of flak from the Players Union.”

Huh? I don’t recall reading that anywhere. Smitch started Jamario because there was no one else on the team who could play that position better consistently. Jamario was a decent player with Toronto even if he did annoy the fans with his tendency to jack up shots and fall for the slightest pump fake.

I can’t see why the Player’s Union would have objected to Jamario.

by siggian on Dec 7, 2009 6:00 PM EST up reply actions

i’m not familiar with any criticism Mitch caught for playing moon but i didn’t follow the situation close enough to know..

i would argue that the approach used by pro coaches is similar by necessity, the alternative stategies you’ve mentioned won’t work at a pro level. Coaches “conform” not because of some fear of criticism but because the approach that has provided the success that carried them to the professional stage is the one they continue to use…

Basketball coaches in particular are limited because players have a lot of influence over the game that your team plays. The best team is going to win regardless of coaching strategy (for the most part) and the best players want to play the game they know. good luck enticing KG, and Ray to sign if the celtics are playing an experimental strategy nobody’s seen before.. you know?

The choo-choo train left right on time. A ticket costs only your mind.
The driver said, "Hey, man, we go all the way. Of course we were willing to pay.

- My name is Jonas (Gustavsson)- - - Weezer are clearly leafs fans.

by AkiSchennberg on Dec 8, 2009 12:03 AM EST up reply actions

I remember reading about about how displeased the union was that he started ahead of vets like Delfino and Joey. I remember being surprised the NBAPA even issued comments on who starts.

Anyways not exactly the article but: When Sam inserted Jamario into the starting lineup, some thought maybe he was sticking his neck out for an unproven 27-year-old rookie. Some media members wondered if Sam hadn’t gone off the deep end in starting him.

(during an interview with BC in 2007) http://www.nba.com/features/moon_071128.html

by Ustation on Dec 7, 2009 11:08 PM EST reply actions

BC: “At the same time, I will say that not a lot of coaches would have the courage to take a flyer like that (Moon) because it was somewhat of a flyer. Again, it speaks to the job that Sam is doing and his growth as a coach and his comfort level knowing his evaluation of talent is going to pay off eventually.”

by Ustation on Dec 7, 2009 11:09 PM EST up reply actions