Assessment and Evaluation
Improvement is the responsibility of all team members. For students-athletes to feel fulfilled by playing on a basketball team, they must feel a combination of purpose, challenge and progress. They must realize and understand the same points as the coach and their teammates in order to paint an accurate picture of themselves. When they are involved in the process of assessment and evaluation, players will be satisfied with the outcome.
360º Evaluation
Criteria of a successful 360º evaluation include:
- a positive, welcoming and trusting environment
- sharing expectations and standards to all team members
- open and welcoming lines of communication throughout the season
- instructing players on how to provide non-judgmental objective feedback to themselves and teammates
- combining a variety of sources (forms, questionnaires, practice videos, statistics, fitness testing) to create a detailed improvement log
Continuous Improvement
Coaches must model the way and continuously assess themselves. Inspiring players to share a vision of self-actualization has been a strategy employed by great basketball coaches. Reflection, goal setting and learning plans are part of effective coaching practices. If a coach reads a book, attends a clinic or speaks to a mentor and learns something valuable, they should feel free to share it with the team.
At the age of 36, I was a National Coach of the Year. My Kansas State team had won 25 and lost 2, and I thought I was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Today I am twice the coach I was then.Tex Winter