How Coach Showalter Earns Respect On the Court

If you get a chance to watch Coach Don Showalter interact with basketball players, one thing will stand out to you immediately, the respect and positive atmosphere that Coach Showalter creates on the court. 

For those of you who don’t know Coach Showalter, he is the USA Basketball National Director for Coach Development.  He was also a head coach for the U16-U17 teams and a 10x Gold Medal winner.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have many different opportunities to interact with Coach Showalter. From attending his camps as a teenager, to coaching with him in the HS setting, to coaching with him at camps. 

Below are tactics that I’ve personally observed Coach Showalter use to create an atmosphere of respect and trust with players he coaches.

1. Give Respect To Get Respect

Coach Showalter does not talk down, or belittle, players. His goal is to make them and the team the best they can be, and he does this by treating EVERYONE he comes into contact with, with respect.

He also treats players with respect when he must provide negative feedback. He does this by using the Sandwich Method of providing feedback. The sandwich method is simple and very effective.

Start with positive feedback - "Your footwork was great on the drive to the basket."
Next the negative feedback- "Next time jump stop on 2 feet so you have a solid base."
Finish with positive feedback- "Way to keep your eyes up and pass to your open teammate."

Players are receptive to Coach Showalter's negative feedback because he always "sandwiches" it between two pieces of positive feedback! It takes practice to do this, but players respond to this type of feedback and respect this type of feedback.

2. Approachable & Friendly

One thing is immediately evident when you are around Coach Showalter. He feels approachable to you. Players trust that they can talk to him and share their concerns. How does he create this feeling? Coach Showalter is friendly to the players and coaches. He calls players by name whether it is at a camp or a 1 day clinic. He jokes with players when the time is appropriate. He is also friendly with them before practice and after practice.

It is easy for players to feel like coaches don't like them when they have a bad practice or bad game. By your interaction with players after practices and games, players should know that you care about them, as people, not just players, by your actions in these situations. And that is exactly what Coach Showalter does.

3. Eye Contact

One of the things Coach Showalter expects from players is good eye contact. Good eye contact with teammates, good eye contact with coaches, good eye contact with everyone. Coach Showalter leads by example doing this when he is coaching and instructing. He doesn't talk over or around anyone, he talks to you, making you feel important.

4. Expectations

Coach Showalter has high expectations for players, but he holds himself to the same high expectations. For example, he demands players should be on-time, so he is on-time. Players are expected to be organized and prepared for practice, so he is organized and prepared for practice. Anything he expects out of the players, he expects from himself. Players notice this and appreciate this. This also leads to respect from players.

5. Knowledge

Coaches expect players to put the work into their craft in and out of season.Sometimes earning respect comes when players know coaches have put the work in as well.

Players respect Coach Showalter because he is knowledgeable about the game. He demonstrates this by his coaching. He coaches kids up and helps them improve their game on the court. He provides tips and details to players to help them take their game to the next level. Players respect the knowledge Coach Showalter has acquired and shares.

These tips he is able to provide come from years of coaching, attending clinics, watching videos, observing other coaches and attending games.

6. Teaches In Sound Bites

Players do not enjoy being lectured or listening to long speeches...nobody enjoys this. Coach Showalter gives advice, tips, and teaching points in sound bites rather than lectures. He makes his point and then moves on to the next play.

Making It Look Easy

When people are great at things, they often make it look easy. Most coaches who observe Coach Showalter realize they witnessed a great coach who is highly respected by the players (and everyone around him). Sometimes it is important to take a step back and look at the small details that answer the question of "How does he make it look so easy?"

What do you think!? Please join the comment below and join the discussion!

Have you observed Coach Showalter? Are there other things you think he does to earn respect?

What are things that you do to earn respect?

Resources From Don Showalter

The 20 Ball Screen Offense - One of the Most Detailed In-Depth Looks at This Highly Effective Offense