The Coaching Philosophy of Dr. Jack Ramsay - Assignment Example

He was able to produce good results in his first major role as a coach, as he led the 76ers to three playoff appearances in four years, before moving on to do the same for the another NBA team, Buffalo Braves. (Dave, 2013). During these coaching stints, he fine tuned his coaching skills and the related philosophy, and it was optimally exhibited during his coaching of Portland Trail Blazers. When Ramsay landed on his job in Portland, Blazers had a very poor record, as they missed making to the playoffs and also could not came up with any positive winning streak in their short six year history.

However, Ramsay with his optimal coaching methods plus philosophy, and by strongly imbibing those methods among a group of young and fresh individuals, made the Blazers a potent team in the 1977 season and led them to their maiden as well as their only NBA title till date. “Ramsay conducted a stunning symphony of basketball that even now testifies to the way the game should be played.” (Dave, 2013). Although, Ramsay was blessed with strong knowledge about the game of basketball, what made him successful was, he combined that skill with his good player or man-management skills.

Cultivate a work ethic One of the basic approaches he followed as part of his coaching philosophy was cultivating a strong work ethic among the players, particularly regarding fitness. Being a supremely fit person himself, who participated in grueling triathlon races, Ramsay was considered one of the early coaches to stress the importance of physical fitness. He viewed general exercises like running, swimming and weight training, as a means to elevating the physical fitness of the basketball players, and thereby making them more agile, speedier and at the same time endowed with good stamina.

In the book, Dr. Jack's Leadership Lessons Learned From a Lifetime in Basketball, Ramsay had this to say about fitness regime including weight training, “They not only focus on gaining strength, but also have techniques for improving agility, speed, quickness, and stamina. There is an accepted theory that strength plus quickness equals power, and power translates into improved performance in every sport.” (Ramsay, 2004, pg.105). Thus, he was of the opinion that peak fitness will result in peak performance from the players.

Due to this opinion, he pushed the players to follow a strict fitness regime as part of a strong work ethic. “He put his team through conditioning drills and took them seriously.” (Dave, 2013). This cultivation of fitness centric work ethic reflected in the game plans formulated by Ramsay, and also positively in the performance of the players. Optimal fitness and the resultant agility as well as the speed of the players facilitated Ramsay to use fast break as the first option. “He didn't want his bigs to hold rebounds or slow the game.

Grab it, turn, fire the outlet, and get down the court. If the guards couldn't get a layup the center could fill the lane on the secondary break.” (Dave, 2013). Thus, it is clear how his strong work ethic in relation to fitness provided good benefits to his teams. Good communication Another key approach he adopted as part of his coaching philosophy is building or having good communication with the players. He developed his communication skills throughout his career by maximally interacting with his players, understanding them and even by learning from his mistakes in