Assistant coaches are vital to any sporting organization. Head coaches tend to choose their assistant coaches wisely. The importance of assistant coaches varies by individual teams however; there are some must-have traits which assistant coaches must contain.

Loyalty
Loyalty must be displayed not only to the head coach of the team but to the players and educational institution. The head coach and assistant coach do not have to be “buddies” however; they must reflect one another in making their team a winning team.

Motivation
Motivation is something all assistant coaches must contain. The importance of assistant coaches and motivation go hand-in-hand. If the players view their assistant coach sitting around with a drab look on their face while yawning, they will view the game or practice as something they should not be excited about as well. Motivation is not only important during a game but in practice. An assistant coach drives home what the head coach wants instilled into strategies and performance. A motivated assistant coach is great for the morale of any team.

Goal setters
Assistant coaches aid in setting goals for the team and work with the head coach as well as the team in ensuring those goals are met. Most assistant coaches have their own agendas with sitting their own goals in becoming a head coach of their own team someday.

Contain good character
The importance of assistant coaches is demonstrating good character skills. Assistant coaches are just as scrutinized as head coaches therefore, they are often times shining examples for their players in showing them what good characters are which they should contain.

Good assistant coaches work just as hard as the head coach for their teams. No sports program is complete without a great assistant coach. Assistant coaches are expected to act professionally, the same as head coaches. Assistant coaches have to inform the head coach of any possible violation of team rules on the court as well as the classroom as it pertains to their players.

The importance of assistant coaches far bypasses the court. They must contain the willingness to care about their players. More times to none, players of any sport will automatically go to the assistant coach with their issues and problems before speaking with the head coach. Assistant coaches listen to the problems and issues and later relay this to the head coach.

Assistant coaches work just as long and hard as head coaches and with less recognition. Some assistant coaches do not receive the recognition they deserve but they remain because of not only their love for the “game” but their players. Sometimes the assistant coach will be delegated to coach a game in the event the head coach cannot make it. This is when assistant coaches step up to the plate while instilling the same values and traditions in their coaching styles as the head coach.

Here are some other tasks which prove the importance of assistant coaches

  1. Assistant coaches aid greatly with game strategies while aiding the head coach in teaching these strategies to their players
  2. Evaluations of games
  3. Takes notes for half-time review
  4. Aids in keeping track of fouls, time outs and other information
  5. Aids in planning and running practices
  6. Works individually with players
  7. Is the middle person between the head coach and the players
  8. Helps with organizing scrimmages and overseeing them.
  9. Monitors the player’s academics.
  10. Possibly calling in the game scores to the media

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Title: pat summit • Created by: aaronisnotcool via Flickr • Licence: Creative Commons Attribution