Ten Things You Don't Learn in Coaching School.

I KNOW, I KNOW, YOU THINK Ol' Coach Smith, your high school or college coach, taught you everything there was to know about coaching.

You played the sport in college, took the CPR course, attended a three-hour clinic, and you are now ready to launch your career as a coach.

Well, after 30 years of coaching, I have discovered that there are always a few things that no one ever taught you and that are vital to your coaching success.

Here are the 10 things that somebody should have taught you:

1. Not everyone will like you.

No matter how many games you win, not everyone is going to consider you the greatest coach who ever lived! Particularly the athletes you never play, the parents of an athlete you had to discipline, or the opposing coach. All may have different opinions of you.

When such criticism is voiced, ignore it. Do what you think is right for your team and your school, and the chances are that it will be.

If you intend to stay in the profession, you will have to learn to live with criticism. And as you achieve more and more success, you can expect to receive more and more criticism. The whole world doesn't love a winner.

2. Try to play everyone.

It is very difficult to play every athlete in every game, but you have to make a sincere effort to do so.

Put yourself in the position of the one player who didn't get into the game. (Do you remember when you were that age? Isn't he going to think that since you picked him for the team, you surely must have seen something in him that led you to believe he was a player?

Sit down with him before the next game and let him know that you are going to give him playing time. Have an assistant remind you of it at the appropriate time.

3. Never run up the score.

I have been on both sides of the fence, and this is not what sports are about. Do not use the excuse that "there was nothing I could do." Wrong! There are many things that you could have done. Find a way to keep the score respectable.

4. Be on time... everywhere.

That goes for practices, games, meetings, and conferences. It will set the tone for your entire program. Always be the first one to show up and your team will pick up on it. It will be difficult to criticize a player for being late when you yourself are paying no attention to the rule. That kind of thing will detract from your professionalism.

When playing away games, always arrive early enough to ensure a good warm up.

5. Make sure you and your team look good.

Before each game, make sure your team is dressed appropriately and that they are wearing uniforms as they were designed to be worn. And make sure that you are dressed to coach. Wear a shirt with your team/school logo. Be proud of your program and school.

An old coach I admired used to call it "dressing Out" for practice and games. Check the opposing team and coach. Do you look as good as they do? Believe me, people notice how you and your tea look. Even old uniforms can look classy when worn correctly.

6. Improve yourself.

Make a sincere effort to read books about your sport, attend a clinic, write an article, speak to a youth group, hold a clinic, talk with another coach about your sport, watch a college practice, coach a youth team, etc. Give something back to the sport. You and your program will benefit greatly.

7. When bad things happen, go back to fundamentals.

When you hit a losing streak - and you will - put the trick plays back in the playbook and get back to fundamentals.

Softball, for example, is a very simple game; it involves catching throwing, and hitting. These are the things that caused you to lose the game. In basketball, if your foul shooting lost the game for you, work on it!

Spend time watching the superior teams in any sport, and you will notice that they all have one thing in common: They are fundamentally sound. Go back and do the most basic drills, and good things will start happening.

8. Minimize your pep talks.

The longer you coach, the firmer this rule should become. When you have to talk to your team, do so. But after 20 "when I was your age ..." talks, kids will stop listening.

Spend more time talking to individual athletes. One of the best things you can do is set five minutes aside each day to talk with one of your athletes about his/her value to the team. This practice will work wonders.

Better yet, send a short note to his parents about his value to the team. Imagine how that substitute and his parents will feel after you tell them that yesterday's win was partially due to the boy's hard work at practice.

9. Never criticize the officials in public.

In 30 years of coaching, I have encountered incompetent and downright bad officials, but never a biased one. Do not criticize them in the newspapers or in front of your team. It will merely give your team an excuse for losing.

If you have a problem, take it to the supervisor of the officials and you will accomplish a lot more. Do it privately and with respect, and you will get the issue addressed.

10. Spend time with the average players.

Let your assistants work with the superstars. You work with the athletes who will be batting 7-8-9 or the ones who have a 40% foul-shooting average. Make them feel important and they will improve by leaps and bounds. Your assistants will enjoy this practice, and your average players will appreciate the attention.

I hope these 10 rules will help your program. The X's and O's are certainly important, but paying attention to even one of the "Top 10" might help you win a game or get your program rolling again.

Did I leave anything out? Well, another bit of wisdom given to me by an old coach might serve as #11: Always sit at the back of the bus when traveling. It will enable you to see and hear everything.