Rising Coaches Report: Dayton's Eric Farrell
Eric Farrell, Asst. Director of Basketball Operations - Dayton
We can all think back to times in our personal and professional
lives where we have needed someone to talk to, someone who would
listen without passing judgment, and offer words of
encouragement. These are the individuals we seek out because
of their wisdom and counsel. These individuals become our
mentors. In this profession, our closest mentors are those
people with whom we work with day in and day out: the coaching
staffs, the director of basketball operations, etc. These
individuals are the ones who teach us the respective philosophies
of the programs we are affiliated with and they lead by
example: – how they interact with recruits, players, player
families and administration. Our greatest learning comes
from observing the daily interactions and dynamics of those we work
for. These people provide us the foundations of who we become
as young, aspiring coaches.
But, as this profession teaches, the times are constantly changing and opportunities will arise that lead us to different paths: opportunities with a different coach and his philosophy, a different perspective and a new lesson. The new experience with various staffs in turn shapes who we are as aspiring coaches. We are able to discern differences among the staffs and respectfully take aspects of each experience and develop our own philosophy. It is not our responsibility to decide what is right or wrong, or to even question how things are done, but rather decide for ourselves and file in a memory bank which aspects of the philosophies best coincide with our personal values.
In a recent article, it was argued that, “[coaches] shouldn’t be categorized as beacons of morality and ethics. They aren’t better people than anyone else. They shouldn’t be expected to show players not simply how to run the spread offense, but how to live their lives as perfect beings.” Although this article may seek to shed light on where the media has placed the prominent coaches in America today, the role of a “coach”continues to be mutli-faceted and complex. Coaches are entrusted to help mold and shape the lives of the young men and women who they are given governance over. How does one differentiate between a coach who is on ESPN every night as compared to a high school coach who has produced a Rhodes Scholar and has never once been interviewed for his/her accomplishments? Is one more prominent or have a higher moral compass than the other... or did they just go about the same profession in a different way?
In college, the coaching staff goes into a home and talks with a prospective student-athlete and his parents and they look them all in the eye and talk about the quality of care they will provide their son on campus. Those recruiting pitches are filled with new floor layouts of new dorms, videos of style of play, videos of the atmosphere they will play in, etc., but what are they really selling? They are selling the fact that all parties involved can be trusted with the care, well-being and development of a child. At the heart of the profession is that parents and prospective student-athletes have the trust that they are going to be cared for in a way that will shape them in their most formidable years.
So where does that leave the future coaches? For starters, we need to be sponges who have the ability to soak in the information from all the staff members we have at our disposal, for they provide our best source of information and lead us by their example. Another thing is we should soak in information from outside resources, such as books. Too often we can get in the rut of just reading books about our profession. There is a world of information contained within the pages of leadership books that can help mold and shape who we are. Finally, I would encourage that we take mentors of our own. I have been blessed and fortunate enough to be a member of two dynamic basketball staffs. One thing I admire about both is their respective relationships with people outside the locker room whom they trust. They can be former high school coaches who you develop a relationship with, or it could be one’s own father. Regardless of who that person is in our lives, they become one of our best resources who remain constant throughout the changes in this profession.
I have been blessed to find that mentor in one of our radio-broadcasters, Bucky Bockhorn. He has been with me every step of the way, and has been a sounding board when I need it, but more importantly a friend. He has been someone who has seen thousands of basketball games, played in hundreds, and been around coaches as a player and as a broadcaster from the sideline and understands the dynamics of the profession with a refreshing perspective. The mentors we take and the staff we work for will help shape not only our futures, but the future of the coaching profession as we each take up a torch for a next generation of coaches.
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