March Madness: A Team-Coached Team and Leaders Who Follow

Dan,

I am directing a community theatre production. This is not my first time directing. The cast and crew in our production are all veteran actors including directors of productions in which I was cast. Directing people who have vastly more knowledge than I has taught me that a leader’s first duty is to listen and learn. My job is to weave together their knowledge with my own, and (with the playwright’s framework and building materials) to create a tapestry of sight, sound, and emotion which connects actors and audience for a shared experience that soars beyond the words and the image on the stage.

I am grateful to the unknown person who said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” It is simple common sense — if I am full of myself, there is no room for learning — or for anyone or anything else. So, Dan, I agree with you that a leader must begin with an attitude of humility. How can I lead (or direct), if I continually get in my own way? When the actors are in sync and listening to each other, and when I am along for the ride, pointing the way — encouraging and guiding the performance, it is like steering a raft down a rapids — exhilarating beyond belief. I cannot stand taller by making them smaller, but if they allow me to stand on their shoulders, I can point the way.

When I was coaching in the school system (middle school;formative years), I approached the daily practice regimen on the court with a variety of endeavors. First, i selected different players to lead the stretch and calisthenics portion, just to see how well the led, and exhibited self discipline. Sometimes,I placed the players in a position of pressure, having someone shoot a foul shot near the end of practice….miss, the team ran, make, they hit the locker room! I didn’t single anyone in particular out, rather, I wanted them to bond, regardles of the outcome.
Several naysayers of my methods voiced their displeasure in m one particular teaching technique…..these kids didn’t havea clear understanding of how to play the game, in the context that I call “instinct” basketball. So after going through some individual skills and conditioning progras, I’d divvy them up into teams and let them play full court ‘pick-up’ ball. Al the while, it was understood, that when I blew the whistle,the game stopped IMMEDIATELY, and everyone stayed where they were. I would then critique the X’s and O’s of the scenario playing out. The incntive was for them to communicate verbally amongst each other, make adjustments,sometimes as per my sideline requests, oft times on their own.
In high school, two of my young men took their team to the first ever for the entire county state championship title! Playing on instinct is much better than with coach led fears and intrepidation.
I once went down to Duke to watch my friend’s wife, who played Div. 1 ball, go against the Blue Devils. The young ladies were so afraid to do anything, take any opportunity, that deviated from set plays, that, the outcome was a 50+ point blowout. It didn’t sit well with me, and I explained my reasoning on coaching and reliance on each player to be ‘instinctual’……that team went on to the Sweet Sixteen after the coach adopted a more uniform understanding and expression to each player….”I trust your abilities, improvise and take advantage of your court ‘vision’ and deviate from a set play when the opportunity to score is NOW!”
I hope the Spartans meet up with UNC and beat them!!