Part 3 of 3
Competitive Success: Growing into winning.
So how does an athletic director evaluate coaching performance in a way that considers the less tangible outcomes? An evaluation must clarify expectations and consider more than just competitive success as a criteria. Three major components go into successful coaching: 1) Effective Program Management; 2) Positive Student-Athlete Experiences; and 3) Competitive Success. Each of these areas should be identified in job descriptions, performance expectations and evaluation procedures.
This is the final in a three-part series about evaluating coaches. Today we look at the final piece in the evaluation puzzle: competitive success. Competitive success was intentionally saved for last in this three-part series because it is built upon a foundation of Effective Program Management and a Positive Student-Athlete Experience. Along with Competitive Success, all three elements work together to provide a fundamental system for evaluating coaches. A program built around these three concepts and focused on growth, not simply wins, will withstand those unanticipated circumstances that adversely affect wins and losses.
Growth should be present in all programs from one year to the next. Once clearly defined, growth should be the most important factor in evaluating coaches’ performance.
Charlie Sheen, above, may have been “winning” at his own game but the rest of his actions were far from model behavior and his idea of winning simply wasn’t enough to save his job. Coaches and administrators cannot become too focused on winning as the sole outcome. There should be no incentive to explore shortcuts to winning in lieu of building a well-rounded program.
Competitive success should be evaluated in two ways: 1) Annual performance and 2) Progress toward a 3-5 year objective. Annual expectations take into account the current state of the program and a 3-5 year objective provides a growth ‘measuring stick.’
Competitive success must be a fluid term depending upon the state of particular programs. A defending conference champion should have different expectations than a program that finished in last place. Everyone wants to win but having unrealistic expectations won’t do anyone any good. Measuring and evaluating growth toward an established longer-term objective provides year-to-year consistency and focus.
It’s important to take several factors into account when establishing annual expectations for competitive success, including past performance, recruiting and scheduling. Annual performance must consider the following:
Past Performance. As investment managers always disclaim, past performance is not indicative of future results. However, it is reasonable to think that there would be no major change in competitive success in just one year.
Recruiting. There may be no more significant job duty related to competitive success. If it is not already there, recruiting expectations need to be clearly identified in a performance management documents.
Scheduling. Conference schedules provide the most useful benchmark for competitive success, but non-conference scheduling should be considered. Was the non-conference schedule too weak? Too difficult? While the focus must be on Conference play, non-conference scheduling has an impact on overall competitive success.
There may be several other elements that factor into a particular program’s competitive success and there is no way to account for every one of them when establishing annual expectations.
Examples of longer-term competitive success benchmarks include:
- winning the conference championship
- finishing in the top third of the conference
- earning an at-large bid to the post-season championship
Progress towards a 3-5 year objective must consider several factors as well, including coach experience/tenure, roster experience and resources.
Coach Experience/Tenure. A seasoned, veteran coach should have different (and higher) expectations than a first-time head coach. Also, how long the coach has been at your school must factor into the equation because there can be a learning curve for recruiting to your campus.
Roster Experience. A team of senior all-conference players would have higher expectations than a squad of mostly freshman and sophomores.
Resources. An appropriate plan to commit resources to support competitive success is essential for any coach to meet increasing expectations. A thorough analysis of your competitive environment should be conducted to determine appropriate competitive goals and corresponding resources (funding, staffing and facilities).
As with all sound management practices, clear communication is the key to an effective program. Establishing expectations that are aspirational yet realistic and providing support for coaches to achieve them will serve your program well no matter what its current competitive level.