Vicente: The playing coach

IT HAS been said over and over again that the best coach is the one who once played the game.

I may have mentioned this in my past articles, “it does not always work that way” in the history of sports coaching circles. Former players who become coaches are not readily successful when they venture to coaching in the sport that they formerly played in.

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Although they are the best potential people to be trained for the task having been experienced the game as a former player.

The task of being the coach makes him the main man, having the most important role in the play and performance of his athletes. Inside and outside competition, as players have to contend more with physical exhaustion coaches have to bear with the stress-filled world of coaching, which would require mental stability, fortitude and maturity - if I were asked of course.

Responsibility as player and responsibility of a coach are two very different things bridged by mutual willingness to listen and understand the other.

So what about the “playing coach”?

In many instances there exists what we call the playing coach different from the team captain. The playing coach is an active player and at the same time takes the task of being the coach. This common in individual sports like martial arts where in the coach is also an athlete who would fight in his category. But this is more popularly seen in basketball where the coach is in his playing uniform holding the play board ready to be pitted as a player if ever he sees the need.

One of the popular news about a thing like this is being foreseen to happen in the case of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. With the near retirement of one man considered to be a genius in basketball coaching and strategy, Phil Jackson - the same man who was in tandem with his Airness Michael Jordan, back in the glory years of the Chicago Bulls.

The question now is the focus of Kobe, whether it be coaching or his playing hours inside the court.

Bryant is at his peak right now that would last for at least three to five more years.

Putting him in the shoes of Jackson is being perceived to affect his being a player or his being a coach.

Let’s face it, Bryant is a vital part of the playing team, and you would not expect him to lessen his playing time just to concentrate on coaching the team. Maybe he thinks that he could execute the play himself, but then who would man the bench? That would be the ordeal the team has to contend with if the coaching tasks are given to Bryant.

Playing coaches mostly are just fourth quarter players or short minute players: they come in as reserves or a special last option of some sorts or come in the last minutes of the game to give his players some rest.

We have seen this in our local PBA in the person of Robert Jaworski, Allan Caidic and others who were given coaching and playing tasks.

In conclusion, few of us human beings are descendants of Superman, multi-tasking is only fitting on certain situations and conditions, and the efficiency of work output always relies on focused input if what we are after is quality over quantity.

Playing coaches may only be applicable in individual events like martial arts.

A coach is very essential to give players a bird’s eye view of the game whether it be individual or team sports.

(For comments and suggestions do e-mail me at jaysonscorpio@yahoo.com.ph)