My Top 3 Coaches

Coaching to me is more of a passion then a job. There are a countless number of experienced coaches in the world that I look up to and model my coaching methods after. Some of these coaches are Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, and John Calipari. As I said there are a number of coaches in the game of basketball that I admire, but these three coaches methods and styles stand out to me the most. These coaches, as well as me, treat coaching basketball as a passion rather than a job.

Gregg Popovich, the current head coach for the San Antonio Spurs, has been coaching for over 20 years and is one of the most experienced coaches in the NBA to this day. Popovich is known for recruiting young players to his team in hopes of making his players play with poise and precision on the court. Popovich, now 68, has always been a basketball junkie since his days of childhood. Popovich’s 5 distinct pillars of coaching are something that I model my coaching strategies on. Those five pillars are belief in his team, conflict management, involvement, focus and team building.

Steve Kerr, current head coach of the Golden State Warriors, knows a thing or two about winning and leadership. Kerr won a total of 5 championship rings including three with the Chicago Bulls (1996, 97, 98) and two with the San Antonio Spurs (1999 and 2003). Kerr has also led the Golden State Warriors to 2 championships in the 2014-15 season and the 2016-17 season. Kerr’s style of coaching is based on letting his player take control of leading the team. He believes that his duty as coach is to prepare and guide them in practice and when it comes game time, they should be prepared and ready and be able to help one another as team get through conflicts they may face, with as little help as possible from Kerr himself.

John Calipari, current head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats college basketball team, has been coaching from 1988 and currently coaches till this day. Calipari is most famous for his years at Kentucky, leading the Wildcats to multiple championship titles and NCAA tournament appearances. There are many factors that lead to Calipari’s success as a coach but the one factor that stands out the most would be his team building philosophy. This philosophy consists of recruiting most of the top prospects in the country to come to Kentucky to play. Also, his ability to place trust in his freshman players by giving them leadership roles on the team allows them to be better leaders on and off the court. Calipari lets his players natural talent decide the role they will have on the team.