Pillar 3: Evaluation

 The 3rd Pillar of Process is evaluation.  Evaluation is a very important pillar because as a coach you need to be evaluating your team, it's individual players, and yourself objectively very often during the year.  The evaluation needs to be brutally honest but delivered in a way where it does not disturb the energy of the team.  In short, execution + evaluation = progress and that is what we strive for.

There are 3 areas of evaluation involved when talking about the pillars.  The 3 areas of evaluation are the team, the individuals, and the coaching staff.  

When dealing with the team, the coach needs to evaluate 2 areas.  The first is if the identity of the team has been properly identified and that the team style of play we are implementing properly highlights the teams strengths while concealing it's weaknesses.  When evaluating this part of the of the team before the season starts you have to look at scrimmages carefully.  Put the kids in situations where you can have questions you may have answered.  Ideally it's best to have a couple of scrimmages just to see how the questions you may have are being answered.  If you see that a certain defense you had in mind doesn't work then scrap it of modify it.  If it's offense that you worry about then scrap it or adjust and the same can be said for any situation.

During the season, evaluation will be easier as the games played will be a great method of evaluation.  Do not be afraid to scrap or adjust anything that you see is not being run correctly.  If you want the kids to play fast on the floor you need to make things easy for them.  Part of the equation for making things easy is playing a style that the kids feel comfortable with and enjoy.

The next area of evaluation involves the individual players on the team.  As you begin to get a better feel for the team and the players that make up the team, it is important that you start expressing your concerns to your players   The one thing to keep in mind is that you don't want to have negative energy take over the team, so how you communicate bad news to your players is very important.  I like to keep things positive and tell them something good before I talk to them about the critique.  I usually like to close the conversation by reminding the player "practice is a safe zone and this is where we get better.   Nobody on the team is good enough to be laughing,  One more thing to mention is that the best way to evaluate someone is to do it in a semi-private fashion.  Call them to the side.

The final area of evaluation involves the evaluation of the coaching staff and yourself.  This type of self-evaluation is done often and the best know how to respond and make the team much better.  As a coach you have to be brutally honest with yourself when asking questions about the team and what you could/should be doing to make it better.  Sometimes that means scrapping a drill or a play.  You should always be evaluating your rotations and if they can be improved.  You should also make sure that all of the pillars are being followed consistently and ask yourself why if they are not.  A good honest look in the mirror can help solve many problems but many times coaches are too afraid to admit they are wrong.

In conclusion the pillar of evaluation is very important.  Remember that execution + evaluation =  progress/improvement which is what you want.  As a coach you want your team to get better as the year goes on and to do that following the pillars is a great start.