The Art Of Coaching - Part 3 | Thebigtip

Those of us who are NBA fans, next season (please Note: the following paragraph assumes an NBA season and not a lock out and Doc Rivers coaching the Celtics), next time you are watching a Celtics game, watch the plays drawn up by Doc coming out of a timeout... the Celtics more often than not run a perfect offensive play leading to points, and often a change in momentum (except for game 4 of the series vs Miami where something went hay-wire!).
 
We as supporters have often questioned what the coach is thinking, when a set play does not come off, when a match up isn’t going as planned or when the opposition coach appears to be winning every key head-to-head battle. Often, we as supporters fire a barrage of criticism toward coaching staff, and more specifically the ‘head’ coach, which nowerdays are on a very good wicket in terms of their earning potential. A very good wicket indeed, not unlike an Adelaide Oval fourth day pitch of the late 80s.
 
I recall my disbelief during the NFL American Conference title game early in 2011. The Jets won the coin toss and elected to punt; then didn’t see the rock again for nearly the duration of the first quarter. In the corresponding regular season game, Brad Smith took it to the house on the first play when the Jets received. The second “moment of fan disbelief of a coaching decision in a post-season game or final” is in reference to Brian Schottenheimer (Offensive Coordinator of the New York Jets), 4th and goal vs the Pittsburgh Steelers D, again in the aforementioned American Conference game - a hand off to LT. The Jets running game that day couldn’t buy a yard from a landscaper such was the dominance of the Steelers defensive line, yet on the biggest play of the day, when the run game had been smashed by a 2011 version a of the Steel Curtain (admittedly, not as Steel-Curtained as the 1970’s equivalent; is “Steel-Curtained” even a word?), but Schotty called a run play, a hand off to an ageing future Hall of Famer, Ladaininan Tomlinson. It essentially ended the Jets play off run, and broke the promise larger than life head coach, Rex Ryan, made in the pre-season.
 
The game of NFL is a series of defensive and offensive set plays. NBA, whilst not as obvious, still remains essentially a game where coaches pit their offensive schemes against defensive ones after the scoring of every basket. It’s a game that resets regularly; coaches are able to influence these plays to a far greater degree than an AFL coach can. In the end, it’s the players who need to execute the coach's message and produce a level of skill which matches their sizeable incomes.
 
Long-time footballer supporters and analysts alike often discuss why the coach didn’t make an on-field move before there has been too much damage on the scoreboard, adopting Sun Tzu’s Art of War strategy. When such moves are not made, or made too late, the scoreboard will often be irreparable. In recent times, Adelaide Crows coach Neil Craig has often been criticised for not ‘making a move’ earlier, and has often been described as a “Monday-to-Friday” coach, displaying what appears to be a stubbornness to change a match-up that is not going as planned. It may, in fact, lead to his inevitable demise at the conclusion of the 2011 season.
 
Given the modern way the game of Australian Rules Football is played, coaches need to adapt and adapt quickly for optimum success, much like flying from Adelaide to the north of Norway with a 15-week-old baby, which the coach (my wife) and assistant coach (myself) have recently conquered. We have told the playing group (our daughter) that the job is only half done, and there is still a half to play (the return leg) in 4 weeks.
 
In the AFL, coaching is evolving only a daily basis it would appear. The ‘flood’ a few years back threatened to bring the game into disrepute. Most people hold Terry ‘Plough” Wallace responsible (Plough always appeared very well tanned if I recall correctly, some solarium work probably!). Current Power assistant, Garry Hocking, whilst coaching in Western Australia a few years ago, took the flood to new levels by throwing his 18 players behind the ball. But tactics were developed to counter the ugly form of the game, and in its simplest form, it was fast ball movement and long kicking (the flood buster this kick was phrased, but it was basically a long kick which travelled over the flood) which was largely responsible.
 
Has there been much innovation from the kick out since ‘the huddle’ which is rarely used any more. It is the brain-child of grumpy old Robert Walls. This is an area where strategies will develop. At a stoppage, it appears the third man up has come back into vogue. It will be fascinating to see where coaches take the game. The flavour of the month appears to be ‘the press’, essentially taken from Basketball. A derivative of "the press” essentially won the Hawks the 2008 flag; well that and inept goal kicking by the Cats, as well as a few rushed behinds. Collingwood took it to new levels last year and with it, bought some long-awaited silverware to the Westpac Centre.

The much improved West Coast Eagles have the many football analysts scratching their heads as to where their rapid improvement has come from, many believing their version of the ‘press’ has been responsible for this meteoric rise from wooden spooner to knocking on the door of the top 4 in 2011. The 2011 Eagles may have to settle for a home elimination final in 2011, but Woosha needs consideration for this year's ‘Coach of the Year’ with what he has done with his group of a handful of ageing stars and a ‘work-man-like’ list.
 
The influence that Sir James Hird (yes, I know he hasn’t been officially knighted; the irony of that sentence has just dawned upon me) has at Windy Hill has been more than just wins and losses. He has brought with him over 50,000 members, surrounded himself with a knowledgeable coaching staff and has the unwavering support of his playing group, something his predecessor did not have. What Sir James said at half time of last Friday’s match vs the Crows certainly worked, especially with the Bombers' best player this year, at least given the skipper's run with injury, David Zaharakis whose second half performance was sublime. Hird’s post-match comments were of particular interest when he suggested Angus Monfries played like a man, indicating he has played either like a woman or an animal previously. Most Bombers supporters would agree Jimmy Hird may have been referring to the former.
 
Coaching in all sports evolves and will continue to do so. It is influenced by the latest in sports science, tactics, rule changes and Mr Squiggle (the AFL Rules Committee).
 
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” - Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
 
Below, is the Top 5 ‘moves’ made my coaches in the AFL; first introduced to see how the opposition would react, when a coach reaches into his bag of tricks and continually pulls out the same rabbit, it no longer becomes a surprise tactic. But here we go:


Top 5: Predictable Unpredictable Coaching Moves by AFL Coaches

5. Playing one loose across half back (the first cousin of playing the team’s best kick across half back. Note - this is no longer a tactic, though it was in the mid 90s) as every team now has the ‘designated kicker/s’.
4. Starting the ‘star’ midfielder on the bench to break a tag (this move is the little brother of starting the star midfielder on the opposition’s star midfielder in an effort to create a two on one situation).
3. Clearing out the Forward 50 to create a one on one contest for the mid-size player who is very strong over-head or crafty in front of goal (Gary Ablett Jnr early in career Mark Le Cras, Adrian McAdam, yes, I went there Adrian McAdam, whose first 8 to 10 games of AFL breathtaking!).
2. Moving the mobile centre half forward for a run on the ball (Wayne Carey, Jonathon Brown, Matthew Pavlich).
1. Moving the fullback to full forward (examples - Steven Silvagni and Brian Lake, and most recently Michael Voss with Sauce Merrett, for a quarter and a half when his defence was under the pump and Sauce wasn’t getting near the pill).