Over the last week there has been much debate here in Aberdeen, SD as to what a coach should and shouldn't be.
I will give you my take.
Those of you who know me well, will often hear me say "I am not a fan of teams, but of coaches".
This is true.
I cheer for teams who have coaches that I like.
Great athletes come and go, but great coaches are around forever.
A great coach is not judged by their wins and losses.
A great coach is not judged by how much they are paid.
A great coach is someone who makes you a better person.
Let me give you a couple of examples.
Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, Phil Jackson, Pat Summit and our very own Don Meyer, these coaches make players better people.
Bill Belichick and Bill Parcells both take players who are known to be "trouble", "beyond their prime", or "not good enough" and turn them into masterpieces.
Randy Moss would be a great example, he used to be a big pile of trouble and now he is just another member of a great team and is happy and quiet.
Randy Moss did not just grow up overnight on his own.
Randy was coached to be a better person.
We can take a look at Phil Jackson who has had some of the best basketball players in the world play for him.
Did he get lucky? Or does he have a special talent in getting these elite players want to stay and play for him, even though they could get more money somewhere else? I believe these coaches have a special skill to make people better, so these elite players stay.
How about Don Meyer? If you only know the Don Meyer that you see coaching basketball games you might think he is the most unpleasant person in the world.
He is always yelling and screaming and he never seems happy, even when his team is winning by double digits.
What you don't see is behind the scenes Don Meyer, a great guy, with a huge heart, who truly cares and loves his players.
I think Aberdeen basketball fans could agree that Don Meyer coaches kids to greatness, some of whom really aren't good enough to play Division II basketball.
Coach Meyer makes them better people..
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He makes them great people.
He even inspired a player to write a book about him.
So when you judge a coach, judge him or her by what they do off of the court.
Judge them by what they do behind closed doors and if you don't like what you see then, then get rid of them.
I don't know all of the details about the specific debate at Aberdeen Central about their coach, but I can tell you this..
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If the players are not becoming better people, then the coach needs to be replaced.
If it is only the parents that are upset, then the coach is probably doing a great job.