Program Evaluation Tool

I'm no where near smart enough to come up with an evaluation tool but it seems like you are on the right path. Practice organization is super important in a program of that size.

Why do you think communication broke down with the lower levels of the team?

What are some ways to think outside the box to make communication better?

To me based on what you've said these would be your two main priorities although I'm sure you would want to know about an issue they may have you don't realize is an issue.

My only real advice is to do something that I did a few years ago. Have some sort of exit interview at the end of the season. With 80 players it would be almost impossible to truly do it yourself. But if you all your coaches at the level they coach do the exit interviews then report back to you then you can get a player's perspective of how things are going or what areas are being missed.

Then have exit interviews with all your assistants and let them talk freely. If you have a good staff in place who are at least competent (sounds like you do) they will discuss their ideas.

I'm sorta old school in the fact I want to talk to people face to face when there are concerns or we need to assess something because I want my coaches to feel that it's their program too. One of my beliefs is that a great program will have assistants who can step in and run the show if the head coach isn't there. When I was head coach in Kentucky I had to miss a practice or two here and there for teacher meetings and stuff. When I finally got to practice it would running smooth as silk because the players and coaches had ownership in the program. It helped lead to better communication between all of us.

All that being said I didn't have a program as big as yours but a lot of those same ideas will hold true in any size program.

Lastly, if someone does have this tool you're looking for I would love to look at it. It might be something I can implement one day because it's all about growth and getting better.

I think it’s a great idea for a program head to constantly evaluate his/her program, so don’t take this as a knock, but rather an encouragement to do something additional in case you don’t already. If you’re like most coaches in the modern world, you depend on at least a few statistics. When you do you evaluation, evaluate that phase of your program, and see if there are ways you can improve it.

FI, are there some specific stats you like to use that could be improved, some that might be superfluous and be discarded, some new ones you’ve heard of that you don’t currently get? Then there’s the “issue” of stats for the various teams. Since you’re e the head coach of the V, its difficult for you to see the either the Fr or the Jv boys in action. If those teams don’t generate numbers for you to evaluate, you’re pretty much dependent on word of mouth, which could be truth or fiction.

If you discussed the numbers and how they were used as a topic in your evaluation process, you may find that one of your coaches is using something personally that could benefit the entire program. Or, maybe find out that someone is relying on some number that you feel is a poor indicator.

My point is, it doesn’t take a great deal of effort to get everyone on the same page as far as numbers go. It may mean making sure all 3 teams have qualified scorekeepers and there’s a central statistician used, or it may mean stats are totally disregarded. Whatever it is, its nice to establish how things will be done from the earliest times in the program until graduation.

Thank you for your thoughts and time!

I wouldnt say communication was a total breakdown. I guess I just didn't think that I did a good enough job with it. Our varsity facilities are off campus and our lower levels practice together on campus. We also play an opposite home/away schedule. This probably is what caused some of the lack of communication. With all that said, the lower levels had very good results last year.

Also, I agree with the face to face communications, but our logistics make it difficult. However, I am an "open door" guy with my coaches and players. Text message/emails are a constant way of communication for our whole staff and with my varsity team.

What this Program Evaluation tool will lead to is our annual fall coaches meeting we have. We meet at a house, get pizza and beverages, and hash out what was good and bad about last year and then plan for this year, the next three years. What I want the tool to do is get everyone thinking before the meeting and help us stay on task so it doesn't become a "complain fest"

Are you looking fro evaluation from coach to coach or from Player to Coach. I have an evaluation form that the coaches fill out on players with a ranking system that we utilize. In regards to coaches I do exit interviews with coaches that include the following questions?
1. What was succesful?
2. What was not succesful?
3. Did you feel you had adequate input? If not where did it lack?
4. Do you feel as if I communicated with you properly and in a timely manner?
5. Did you feel I communicated with the players properly and in a timely mattter?
6. What should we keep and what should we scrap?
7. What do we need to focus on next year?
8. What do you need to improve on as a coach?
9. Were you happy with your role? If not what needs to change?
10. Do you want to add anything else?