Ideas For Putting Together a Coaches Clinic

I don't normally do this but since it is the slow days of summer and because I just thought it was a great topic that isn't discussed much I thought I would share some of the discussions on the X's and O's Basketball forum about ideas for running your own coaches clinic. I've never really thought about it myself since I've always only been a participant but definitely some things to keep in mind in the event you should ever think of hosting one:

1. What is an appropriate amount or the best way to compensate the coaches who present?

A thought is to give them X% of whatever money you make on the gate. That way the more people they draw, the more they get. That way, maybe, they will feel like they are getting a fair shake. This would also keep costs down for you and the people attending the clinic.

2. For a 1-2 day clinic, what is an appropriate amount to charge to attend? Granted I know it depends on how is presenting but I would like to keep the cost of admission as cheap as I can.

A good idea would be $10-$15 per hour at the clinic possibly. Also, what does your local Coaches Association charge? What do other clinics in your state and area charge? That is the other way I would look at it. Also, think about what you are giving away at the clinic. The more stuff you give away, the more you can charge.

3. Is there a typical time of year that is the best to have a clinic?

The "typical" type is spring and fall, but that is when everyone has their clinics.

4. What is the best way to have / assign coaches to talk about various topics? Is it best to just let them choose what they want to talk about?

Whatever they want to talk about, let them talk because they are going to be more excited about it and talk on it more confidently. If they are unsure, have them talk about what YOU think they excel at in their program - and if YOU are unsure have them do something on practice drills or general coaching advice.

5. How long should each session be?

I would say an hour and a half TOPS, and only if it is an in depth topic. The shorter and to the point the better. Most sessions are best left between 45-60 minutes.

More great tips:

-You don't have to have high profile D1 college coaches to have a great clinic. Many times the local high school guys are just as good if not better than many of the D1 guys. They can relate to what other high school coaches are going through and sometimes the college guys teach their system which they can recruit players to fit. Also, local colleges would probably LOVE to come in and get their message in front of local high school coaches, makes recruiting easier and is a great plug for their program. The college coach doesn't always have to be the head man either.

-Have several speakers. My favorite clinics are the ones where you see several different guys and get several different viewpoints on things.

-Think about having a clinic geared to a specific aspect of coaching. For you, this will go either very well or very bad. The good being coaches will love to come in and hear a bunch of different ideas from different people on the same topic. The bad being that some coaches may not care about the overall topic. so if you do it pick wisely. Something like "practice planning and drills" would probably be better than "Motion Offense" because everyone practices but not everyone is a motion fan.

-If you do a clinic with multiple aspects of coaching (which most do) have one segment for that new, cute, "buzzword" offense or defense. For instance, when Syracuse won the NCAA Title, you would have someone come in and talk about the 2-3 zone that Syracuse used to win it all. Or when Memphis was in the Final Four have a coach come in and talk dribble drive motion. If a coach won your state title with some offense or defense people talked about have him in to talk about it. There are many coaches that put in the new fad offense or defense every year, so make sure you have this aspect to rope them in. But also don't get completely fady so you turn off other coaches.

-Give stuff away. Everyone likes to get free stuff!! Try to work a deal with some companies to donate stuff so you can have a drawing for things like books, DVDs, etc. Also, have a complementary paper and pen for everyone. Not expensive but a nice touch.

-Are you going to feed the people? Many times there is a lunch break where everyone eats lunch and comes back. Nice way to break it up, relieve the bleacher butt, etc. Sometimes Coach Ninham had us eat on our own, other times he had Subway cater it. Something to think about.

-Try to have a coaches social. I have found, as many of you have too, that you learn more talking with coaches at a social than you did at the clinic. The lips get looser and the secrets flow here sometimes. You can have "adult beverages" as some do, or not the choice is yours. I would say try to set something up where all the coaches (even the speakers) can gather and chat.

The majority of this post comes from Coach John Carrier, a Varsity Head Coach in Iowa. In you like what you read, go ahead and check out more on his blog.