As an assistant coach you may have aspirations to be a head coach one day— even one day very soon. You’re sure to have a vision of how you would build your team, your style of play and the type of recruits you’d go after. You’ve likely daydreamed for decades about how you will run your team.
Press pause on those thoughts, at least while you’re recruiting as an assistant coach.
When recruiting players in your current position you must identify and pursue prospects who are a good fit for your head coach’s system—not your personal philosophy or style of play. If you have a great relationship with your head coach, they may ask for your input and take your recommendations. But when thinking of the big picture of the type of recruits that you will pursue, always defer to your head coach’s vision.
To succeed, there can only be one vision– the head coach’s vision. You can’t build a successful team if everyone is doing it their way!
Your job as an assistant coach is to help your head coach succeed in their plan and system. You are there to help them look good. As a staff, the head coach needs to dictate position-by-position the skills, physical attributes and intangibles they’re looking for to fit their style of play, and as a staff, you must stick to that script when recruiting players!
Over the years, visualize the team that you would like to build, go ahead and detail your vision. Keep files, write down your plan, allow yourself to dream– but keep your personal vision on the back burner until you’ve been given the keys to your own ride! Focus on the direction your head coach wants and recruit those type of players.
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