Unbreakable Bonds

On January 26, 2017, Brian Witt wrote an article "Unbreakable bonds: The player-coach relationship".  The article shows the relationship between player Draymond Green and coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State University. Draymond is a great natural

competitor but he credits his coach for instilling in him the mentality to become a two-time All-Star. Draymond said, "He showed me that if I wanted to be a player, if I wanted to be successful, if I wanted to one day possibly play in the NBA, that I had to always have that energy, and it just started to become who I was, and who I am."  Draymond and coach Izzo developed a lasting bond that continues to stretch far beyond the basketball court. Draymond states that one of the main reasons why he is so close with coach Izzo was that he raised him into a man which was 10 times more important than the type of basketball player he became.

Tom Izzo is a good example of positive coaching. Another great example as the article continues is coach Bob McKillop, coach at Davidson. McKillop's favorite acronym is TCC. Meaning Trust, Commitment, and Care. This acronym relates to the four

appropriate ways to view the coach-athlete relationship:

closeness, commitment, complementarity, and co-orientation. Trust falls under the closeness and co-orientation dimension, where a sense of liking and respect develop, understanding the division between friendships and superior-subordinate relationships. Commitment obviously falls under commitment, where athletes feel a sense of long-term orientation towards their coach. Care falls under the complementarity dimension as the coach and athlete are able to

communicate through a perspective of cooperation and affiliation. Stephen Curry a player for the Golden State Warriors played for McKillop prior to his career with the Warriors at Davidson. He states that McKillop had such an impact on his life and his basketball career, that he instilled confidence in him and gave him the vision of what kind of player he could be. He had a huge impact on his development and how to be a great man.

These coaches are great examples of the influence a coach has on an athlete. What if these two men, meaning Izzo and McKillop, decided to coach in a more negative and autocratic way? Not saying that autocratic coaching styles are always a negative approach but they could be. I believe that if these two coaches did not coach with such positivity and social support that neither of these two athletes would have made it to the NBA. Making it to the highest level of basketball is never done all on the athlete's own. The coach is the person who pushes the players and inspires them. Draymond wouldn't have learned to play

with such energy and Curry who saw himself as such a "scrawny kid" wouldn't have been given the chance in the first place without McKillop. Just like Izzo and McKillop, coaches need to be finding new ways to be demanding and yet find positive ways of communicating their demands. They need to be honest and that means honesty even when they make a mistake. Players will realize coaches are only human if the coach acts human. When they can admit when they were wrong and take responsibility for their actions. When they can have fun and laugh at themselves but at the same time, find ways to be serious and tough. Athletes will find respect for coaches that are able to maintain this strategy and that will build a good player-coach relationship.