A Game Plan to Secure the Job You Want

IBCA All State Teams

IBCA Courtside
Bracket Challenge

Website Update

Upcoming Events

IBCA Hall of Fame Induction Dinner
(36th Anniversary)

When
Saturday,
April 26th, 2008

Details
Doors open at 5:15pm Dinner is served at 6:00pm. Held at Illinois State University - Normal, Illinois at the Student Union Ballroom and Circus Room. Cost is $30.00 per ticket. To purchase tickets, purchase Chuck Rolinski in the IBCA Office at
815-452-2903

A Game Plan To Secure
The Job You Want
by Paul Pryma, Associate Principal
Glenbrook North High School

Courtside has asked me to provide suggestions for coaches as they approach the hiring process. I’ve enjoyed many roles in education: teacher, coach, assistant coach, athletic director, building administrator, and most important, student. The following helpful strategies are a compilation of what I’ve learned from sitting on both sides of the interview table. I’ve invited Transcendentalist, Ralph Waldo Emerson, to assist as we provide a game plan for coaches seeking career advancement.

Dr. Emerson would have been one hell of a basketball coach. His emphatic voice commanding all of us to trust ourselves and harmonize with the universe inspires confidence, creativity, and commitment. Peruse his essay, Self Reliance, as you prepare your campaign toward career growth and Emerson’s words will bolster esteem and allay anxiety.

Top Ten Tips to Transcendence

1. Be hopeful! Schools hire problem solvers, motivators, program builders, and independent thinkers. Your presentation must exude these qualities. “Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm.” Emerson
   


2. LISTEN! Carefully listen to the interviewers, learn names, affirm ideas, and stir conversation. Build relationships through listening and learn about your future challenges. Careful listening will help secure the position and more importantly win the confidence of your future colleagues, which will translate into support for your program. Great leaders listen.
   


3. Smile! Don’t underestimate the power of smiling. People choose to surround themselves with colleagues who brighten the workday.
   


4. Do your homework! With Website access, a candidate has no excuse for not knowing at least the minimal information shared on a school’s home page. Formulate questions germane to the mission of your prospective school. Invariably, the interviewer will invite you to query. Write questions in your portfolio to jog your memory and also to project your investment in the process.
   
   A man asks a street cop in New York City, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The cop responds, “Practice, Practice, Practice.” As obvious as this tired joke may be, there is no substitute for game experience, or in this case “hot seat” experience. “Navigating through the interview process is a skill that requires practice, repetition, reflection, and refinement.” John Catalano, AD at GBN
   


5. Prepare….but not too much. When presenting to an audience (interview committee) speak from your heart. If you genuinely want this position, you will be nervous. Nerves trigger energy. Speaking what you believe empowers nerves and reveals authenticity. Many candidates implode when their rehearsed answers either fall short of the mark or fail to adequately respond to the nuance of a complex question. “Trust thyself!” Emerson
   


6. Be careful when dropping names. Friends that you hold in high regard may not inspire a positive vibe within the interview team. However – getting back to Emerson, “Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.” If the decision makers of an institution don’t respect people that you do, they probably won’t respect you either.
   


7. Build your career. Read Coach Frosty Westering’s Make The Big Time Where You Are. His premise; the time is now to create excellence and build powerful men and women through sport. Extraordinary teachers and coaches are rare. Once you establish yourself as a coach who changes lives, people will seek you out. With each action, you become wiser, stronger, and more valuable. “Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself.” Emerson
   


8. This is not the time to be shy. Most leaders are uncomfortable boasting about their own achievements. Strike the balance between arrogance and modesty, and that balance will ignite confidence. Schools value confident program builders. Administrators are typically unwilling to gamble on an understated candidate – especially a basketball coach whose primary responsibility is to infuse his program with swagger. As you would prepare for a championship season, carefully organize your materials (philosophy of education, system of play, etc.) as well as your presentation (appearance, choice of words, and gestures). Your role in this process is to educate the interviewers about you. “The power which resides in you is new in nature…none but you know what that is which you can do.” Emerson
   


9. Learn. Absorb all you can from mentors, peers, and practitioners. Hundreds of exceptional books about basketball are available to the ambitious coach. Search the Internet for ideas. Visit practices conducted by veteran coaches you respect. Attend the scores of quality clinics hosted in and near Illinois. Work summer camps for coaches who can provide you access to fresh ideas. Valuable residual -These experiences will naturally expand your network of people who will learn about your abilities. You are the architect of your fate.
   


10. Final tip – Be honest! Be yourself. I’ve witnessed too many candidates that wowed committees by purporting to be people other than themselves. Days after earning a position, your focus should be on building your program, not living up to disingenuous promises that influenced your hiring. “Envy is ignorance. Imitation is suicide.” Emerson

If you’ve waded through this dense list of ideas, you’ve probably sensed that I miss coaching the great game of basketball and yearn to lead class discussions that wrestle with great thought. I have profound admiration for what coaches do each day. Please recognize how important you are to all who count on you. I miss you guys. Good luck.

IBCA All State Teams

The IBCA has announced their 2008 Boys and Girls All State Teams.

You can view all of the teams (1st-4th and Special Mention) in the Honors Section of the IBCA Website (http://ibcaillinois.org).

Website Update

The Website has undergone a facelift and is incorporating a new philosophy. In order to better serve our members, we will strive to provide regularly updated resources as well as continue to provide the reference material that was the cornerstone of the old site. Resources such as quotes of the day, plays, drills, discussion boards, and the NEW online version of Courtside the magazine are just the tip of the iceberg!!!

Over the next few weeks we will be adding resources to the site daily and Courtside will reach your e-mail address every two weeks to highlight these new resources available to you. Initially, we send Courtside to as many coaches as we can get addresses for. In the very near future, we will have an online member database and will begin to close some parts of the site to non-members. In the meantime, feel free to take a test drive of the new site and see if the added benefits of IBCA Membership appeal to you!