Rising Coaches Conference 2011 | TJ Saint | Butler University Graduate Manager

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

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July 28, 2011

Rising Coaches Conference 2011

I just got back from Las Vegas, NV after attending the 2nd Annual Rising Coaches Elite Conference. You can follow them on Twitter (@RisingCoaches) to keep up with new developments as well as speaker notes which will be posted any day now. The whole gist of Rising Coaches is a mass gathering of support staff (VC’s, DBO’s, GA’s, etc.) who get to meet one another as well as listen to head and assistant coaches speak about the coaching profession.

This is my second year attending and each has been a blast. The two underlying themes we hear coaches speak about are 1) Focus on your current position/job 2) Help your fellow coaches. These elemental pieces of advice are extremely important in my eyes. Being able to remain in the present and enjoy your current job allows you to be the best you can be at that position. For instance, while I was at Belmont I totally focused on being the video guy at Belmont. I knew one day I would be able to look back and remember the great experiences I had while I was totally ingrained in that program. I’ve tried to be conscious about helping other coaches along this path as well. I was able to recruit coaching friends, both directly and indirectly, to attend the conference who were not at the 1st one a year ago. Providing others with the opportunity to gain the knowledge I was able to obtain in 2010 feels good. Building a sense of community in coaching is such a positive benefit to the profession. Every year coaches will lose their opportunities at various universities and colleges because in every game someone has to lose the quantified part, that’s just the nature. Yet, looking out for one another, specifically, those who are good for the game of basketball is optimal. For years to come I will always remember what Coach Billy Schmidt of GA Teach stated to the Rising Coaches, “There are 85 or so of you in here…where are you guys all going to go.” It’s true. All the attendees at the Rising Coaches Conf. are not going to be head coaches or assistant coaches at the Division I level. This is why community is so important. No matter the level of basketball, it’s still basketball and helping coaching friends get in position to teach the game is an important item.

There are so many reasons to attend the conference next year so if any of you get a chance I would recommend it. I remember last year listening to Coach Dustin Kerns of Santa Clara speak and then watching him sit down and take notes from other speakers who came in. That student of the game approach made a huge impression on me and because of that interaction I am going to work the Santa Clara Basketball Camp next week. Attending this event will allow you to see the profession more in-depth and meet people who you may know for a lifetime…And if you’re a little lucky one day, you may get to be a speaker at the Rising Coaches Conference that helped you out so much in the beginning.

Assist,

T.J. Saint