From a Coach’s Persp ective

By: Joaquin Cruz

oaching. Coaching is the foundation of any sport’s team at any level of profession, and without the coach, the head of the operation, and the individual that influences all the players to push themselves, it wouldn’t be a team; it would be just a bunch of players lost with no guidance.

The greatest basketball coaches, such as Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson, and Michael Krzyzewski,

“Coach K,” all brought out the best in their players and had the chance to coach some of the best, but what makes them great? They all had mass success because of their accomplishments with their team and players. Coach K coached the USA basketball team and coached 68 players who were drafted into the NBA. Then there is Gregg Popovich, who has coached the Spurs since the late 1990s and has won five NBA championship titles. Phil Jackson helped the Lakers go backto-back in championships and won two 3-peat championships with the Bulls coaching Kobe and Jordan. Do you think these players could’ve done it without their coach? No, the coach is the most vital part of a winning team, and without a coach, the players would just be five players with a ball in their hands.

Michael Jordan, one of the greatest to pick up that basketball, held massive respect for Phil Jackson after winning six championships with him and naming him one of the greatest coaches, but in the beginning, Jordan didn’t have any respect for him and despised him. “I wasn’t a Phil Jackson fan at first. He wanted to take the ball out of my hands,”, he said. Now, enough talking about coaches nationwide; let’s talk about our local high school coaches in Texas, who rightfully coach like Texans. High school coaching is a profession that many people take for granted and assume is a job fit for anyone, a job found only in schools and for the enjoyment of parents, but this is often untrue. Just as at the higher level, coaching takes skill, interactions with the players, authority, and a sense of respect, and you have to enjoy it or you won’t be good at it. This goes for anything, as to be good at something, you must enjoy it first. Joseph Pendall, Head Coach for Lasa High School Varsity Basketball, gives us his thoughts on basketball coaching. going to do it. We aren’t compensated in a fashion where you could struggle through it and just keep on doing that work. So you gotta love it, you’ve got to.”

“The first thing is you got to love basketball. Because if you don’t love what you’re doing, then you’re not going to do it.

Quoted from Coach Pendell

“The first thing is you got to love basketball. Because if you don’t love what you’re doing, then you’re not

An important factor in determining a great coach is their goals as a coach. The goals of a coach may be seen in others eyes as being to win, to get paid, and to essentially coach. Although some are true, it’s just a part of what a coach wants. To distinguish an amazing coach, you are going to want to look at their interactions with their players and the goals they have for them because something people miss is that a great coach’s goal is to care for the players, set expectations for them, discipline them, and help them improve on their game. These are key components that a coach must reach to have a great team and, finally, to achieve one of the goals, to win. “I try really hard to focus just on what the team needs to do to grow. At the end of the season, you know, hopefully we’ll have a playoff game tomorrow, hopefully we can win and win and continue to win in the playoffs. Then we can talk a little bit more about the achievements of the team. So right now, at this moment, we just try to stay locked in.”

Robert Lucero, the varsity basketball coach of Westlake High School in Austin, shares with us what to focus on as a coach for a top team in Texas. Coach Lucero implies that he wants to “lock in” and wants to improve as a group to help them win games, especially in the playoffs, where the most chemistry with players is needed.

Team Chemistry is the chemistry that is developed within a team where the players and coach are able to have a well-built connection to help them play better in the game. Most of the time in basketball games, especially the ones that matter the most and with overwhelming pressure from the other teams. Chemistry with the coach and between players is a benefactor to the problem because the players are out there with a play that the coach drew up, and it’s up to the coach to trust the players to run the play and execute it accordingly. Trust and connection are what draw the team together, and it’s all up to the coach to keep them together. That is the chemistry of the game. On the other hand, the players can create chemistry within themselves, but for groups that are unable to do that, it’s time for the coach to step up. That’s one of the main jobs and requirements for a qualifying coach.

Although chemistry is a very powerful thing, it can always break, as one mistake can cause the team to fall apart. Like a house, you can build it up slowly, but if one misplaced brick or piece of the house is present, the whole house can collapse. With that in a team, a player might step out of place and go past these rules that a team might have that would’ve been set by a coach, as any great coach sets expectations for the players and themselves to continue building that chemistry and keeping the players in check. Most of these rules consist of commitment, respect, and accountability, and for the coach, he always has to follow the same rules as the players.

“We put in standards, like you’re going to be on time, you’re going to be your best, and you’re going to be accountable. So everyone’s held to those standards, right? But within that, what we’re trying to do is get the best out of everybody, whatever that may be, or whatever that may look like.” Joseph Pendell sets expectations for his players that help shape them to be ready to play with the team.

Again, with a team, it can break easily. This can happen by players stepping out of line and not owning up to mistakes made in the game or at practice. For a coach, it is up to them to take care of these players who step out of line, and it’s their responsibility to keep themselves accountable too. As for the players, a coach might talk to them, as a player’s situation can vary based on the context of the day. Maybe one player failed a test or just had a bad day. Then there are players who blatantly miss practice, but it’s always up to the coach to figure that out and deal with it accordingly. Such as giving less playing time, extra work during practice, or just a talk to consult with the player. These rules and expectations are key to a strong relationship with the player and coach. If the connection is strong enough, like I said, it can last a lifetime.

“They’re fun to coach, and they’re very coachable, and I enjoy coaching them. So, I would like coaching my group of kids even if they didn’t win games. So It’s really just a pleasure and an honor to coach such kids.”

“The kids that will be my seniors next year—I have pictures with five or six of them as kindergarteners at our basketball camp when I was an assistant.”

Matt Wester, head varsity basketball coach at Plano East Senior High School, tells us about the type of chemistry and connection that he has with his players and the enjoyment he gets out of it.

What Goes On Inside a Coach’s Head?

When interviewing the three coaches, I also got an inside look at what they thought about certain topics or how they responded to certain situations.

Coach Pendall, being a coach for 20 years, learned a lot of things. He was able to work his way through the ranks from a middle school coach to a high school varsity head coach. Prior to this, he had college and high school basketball knowledge and many accolades. Such as being a men’s league basketball champion, a playoff runner with two teams as head coaches, and playing college basketball. As he played college and high school basketball, he said this about the level of play in college and how it differs from high school play. As I asked him, “There’s a huge difference; there’s a difference in higher and the stakes are higher. Leading off that question with something more basketball related as that’s what they know best, I asked if, in their opinion, basketball is an easier sport to pick up than it being harder to master or perfect. Coach Pendall shares his thoughts: “I don’t think perfection exists. If you want it bad enough, you’re going to put in the hours and try to just get better and better.” This is perfect, as that is what people need to do, what players need to do, and coaches help them see that perfectly through practice and time put in. Picking up a basketball, it’s easy. However, for new players who want to put in the work, they’ve got to do it right. This is well said by Coach Lucero: “ You got to put time in on your skill. Every day, find a workout that incorporates ball handling, shooting, and finishing, and then you have to play a lot.”

Matt Wester also had some thoughts on this question: “I would just play as much basketball as you can in a pickup game situation, and where you play competitively with pickup, I would watch the guys that do not have the ball, so off the ball, defense and offense.” strength, speed, and skill every time you go up a level, be it from freshman to JV to varsity, whatever of the game changes, and you have to adjust and figure out if you can make that adjustment.” Similar things were said by the other coaches, as they had similar experiences of playing in the game and knowledge of coaching.

Coach Lucero said, “When you start getting to the elite of the league, everything is heightened.” Again, the player has to take another step in their game as the play is

Throughout this journey of researching and getting a closer look at what a coach does and how he does it, I was able to learn what it takes to be a great coach—that it takes commitment, the love of coaching, and creating a connection with the players that could last a lifetime. Even how to coach the players the right way and how much deeper the game of basketball is People all around the world now know that a coaching job is not just another job that you find on a flier lying on the sidewalk next to an elementary school; it’s way more than that; it’s a lifestyle.