February 2020 - 18

COACHING GEN Z
How a veteran coach approaches the game
Throughout his 25 years as a
coach, Tommy Brakel has seen an
evolution in what student-athletes
need, how coaching impacts futures
and what he feels he needs to give
back to both the student-athletes
and other coaches. Brakel is the head
men's basketball coach and athletic
coordinator at North Crowley High
School (Texas).
When Brakel began his coaching
career, he was there for a paycheck.
He didn't expect that his job would
become his passion or that working
with student-athletes and other
coaches would have such a big impact
on his perspective. His career goals
are now centered around the studentathletes
and what tools he can provide
them to help their future success after
high school.
" It's bigger
than the game
- bigger
than winning
a game or a
championship.
It is about
winning in life, " Brakel said. It starts
with the parents. At the start of each
season, he meets with parents and
reminds them that he isn't here just
to win championships. He lets them
know that he will always keep the
students' best interests at heart, even
if it requires tough calls.
The coaches at North Crowley
tend to have high levels of empathy
for the area kids - many of whom
don't get enough to eat at home
and might have no power or poor
nutrition. Even though these
student-athletes don't have the
advantages of many other kids their
age, that doesn't mean coaches
can reduce their standards. " What
I am trying to do as an AC and
coach with my coaches is help them
find the balance. You can have the
high empathy and still have high
expectations, " Brakel said.
Besides his attitude and
expectations, Brakel has distinct
18 FEBRUARY 2020
ways that he coaches that are unique
and that have resulted in success for
his team.
PRACTICE IS LIKE A GAME
In order to best prepare studentathletes
for the rigors of an in-game
situation, Brakel makes every aspect
of practice function as it would in the
game itself. Practices include time
outs, halftime and have four quarters.
Loud music plays during practice,
reinforcing that they will need to
communicate over it.
" We don't ever pass the ball to
the wing and run behind the line in
a game, so we tweak every drill as
much as we can to be as much like
a game as possible, " Brakel said.
It means they practice running to
the other end of the court after an
offensive drill, too. When his team
gets in a game situation, the pressure
isn't as high since they've already
worked their practices like a game.
COMMUNICATING WITH GEN Z
Part of Brakel's approach with
Generation Z - a generation raised
on smartphones and technology more
than any before them - is working to
teach verbal communication skills. He
ensures every single student-athlete
leaves the program being capable of
speaking to an adult who has authority
while looking them in the eye.
Each student-athlete also learns
skills in composing a professional
email by the time they leave Brakel's
programs. " I think it still goes back, at
some point, to the fact that studentathletes
have to feel like you genuinely
care about their success. It's not about
you - it's about them, " Brakel said.
At the same time, Brakel meets
them where they are, and he texts his
team as well, noting that it may take
communication through social media
or texting to reach them in the first
place. This communication method
helps to build the trust they will need
in order to let him teach them to
communicate verbally and via email.
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PASSING ALONG WISDOM TO
NEWER COACHES
A few years ago, Brakel began
speaking at BSN SPORTS coaching
clinics in order to give back to the
greater coaching community, after
partnering with the organization for
over twenty years. BSN SPORTS
is the largest team sports apparel
and equipment supplier in the
United States, offering free coaching
clinics all around the country. Brakel
speaks about high empathy and high
expectations, reaching kids today,
building coaches in preparation for
becoming head coaches, and looking
at schedules in a totally new way.
These are Brakel's top tips for new
and veteran coaches alike:
1
Open your phone and pull up a
picture of the most important
person in your life. Treat decisions
you make on behalf of studentathletes
the way that you would want
decisions made about that person.
2
3
Don't be afraid to learn from the
people around you - even coaches
from other sports may have input that
could change your coaching world.
Each year should end with
reflection on what went well and
how you can improve. This will help
you progress as a coach.
BSN SPORTS is proud to provide
excellent coaches a platform from
which to share what they've learned
over decades of coaching. To learn
more about BSN SPORTS and their
free coaching clinics, visit www.
bsnsports.com/coachingclinics.
Choose #107 online
http://www.bsnsports.com/coachingclinics
February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020
