1) The Job Never Stops
I have a new found appreciation for coaches at ALL levels. As a player you never truly understand the job of a coach... I know I was guilty of it or honestly just naive in terms of underestimating all the decisions that coaches and support staff are faced with on a daily basis. When I was playing for Quinnipiac, just a little more than a year ago the daily schedule would look something like this....

8:00AM Wake up, 9:00 AM Class, 12:00PM Practice, 2:00PM Lift/Film, 3:30PM Lunch/Chill, 5:00PM (maybe 1 more class but usually done for the day)
If you're a freshman you'll definitely have class later in the afternoon as well some days but by senior year if you make your schedule the RIGHT way, you should be pretty much done for the day after practice! So realistically, you eat, sleep, go to class and play basketball... not that this is easy by any means, student athletes definitely have to learn how to manage their time BUT when comparing this to the the life of a coach, let's talk assistant coach - because that's what I can speak for, (head coaches lives are in a whole other category lol) there are so many different aspects of the job besides what goes on just ON the court.

Now since I'm only in my first season as an official staff member (I was a grad assistant last year) of course most things off the court are brand new to me, so they tend to take a little longer and if I'm being honest I know I can be a little slower on understanding certain things - where as the actual "basketball" and "x's & o's" side of the job I pick up pretty quickly and am familiar with. Learning how to use jump forward to track recruiting data, enter credit card receipts into Chrome River and how to live capture & upload practice film to synergy are just a few of the logistical things that can take a lot of time on a daily/weekly/monthly basis that I needed to learn right away! The majority of my day in the preseason was spent watching film on recruits (thanks to COVID), following up and contacting them all while brainstorming and creating content and videos to send out that highlight our program at QU. At least two hours a day were spent working players out on the court and then we typically would meet as a staff at some point throughout that day as well....

A typical day in the pre-season for me could look something like this...

Monday - Friday
6:00AM Wake Up, 6:30AM Work out, 8:00AM Get To Arena, 8:30AM Watch Recruit Film/Send Out Texts, 10:30AM Player Workout or Practice, 12:00PM Upload Practice Video & Stats, 1:00PM Meet as a staff, 2:30PM Create graphics/videos/content, 4:00PM Do Anything Else That Might Need to Be Completed or go home, 7:00PM Recruit Phone Calls or Zoom Home Visits, 8:00PM Watch Practice or other game film

Now, as we get into the midst of the season the schedule has definitely changed up quite a bit in terms of the amount of days and hours spent in the office... the thing is, just because you're not in the office doesn't mean you aren't working. I do plenty of basketball related things at home and sometimes feel more productive at home anyway! I love watching and clipping game film of not just our team but other teams every morning when I wake up (especially on the weekends) and at night as well. Turning on an Arkansas Women's basketball game this year has been one of my favorite things to do when I get home as I LOVE the way they play and the SEC has been my favorite league to watch this year as well - besides the MAAC of course (:

Because of COVID - we are playing back to back games in conference play, leaving very short turnaround times between games (24 hours) AKA having to watch the game film as SOON as it ends or bright and early the next morning in order to have time to make any necessary adjustments to discuss with the team the next day during the pre game film session/walk thru.

So a typical weekend right now during the season may look like this...

Friday Game Day (3:00pm Tip)
7:00AM Workout, 9:00AM Meet w/ Staff, 10:00AM Shoot around, 11:30AM Pre Game Meal, 12:30PM Prepare Material For Game/Last Minute Film, 2:00PM On Court for warmups, 3:00PM game, 5:00PM Upload Game to Synergy, 6:00PM Rewatch Game (take notes, clip the game to show tomorrow), 8:00PM Meet w/ Staff* Sometimes (depending how game goes)

Saturday Game Day (3:00pm Tip)Everything is typically the same except at 10:00AM we will watch film on yesterdays game (good and bad) and then do a walk through with any necessary adjustments going into today's game.
7:00AM Workout, 9:00AM Meet w/ Staff, 10:00AM Film w/ Players, 10:30AM Walk Through, 11:30AM Pre Game Meal

After the 2nd game of the weekend, we don't have to rush to watch the game immediately after and we typically will have the following day off from practice...
Creating scouts for games is by far the most time consuming but rewarding task for me right now as I am still learning and experimenting with my process and how to be more efficient while still feeling confident that I addressed all the key points/actions/players etc... for those who are curious about scouting reports and creating them (I definitely was and still am fascinated by the different ways to approach creating a scout) I will write a separate post on what that experience has been like and what I've learned so far in the very few that I have created....
But with all this being said, I still feel like everything I wrote here doesn't do justice for the amount of time that a coach spends thinking about or actively doing something that is related to the program or players that they work for. I am no where near where I want to be in regards to managing my time and being more efficient when I am at the office. My goal for this year is to improve my ability to focus on what I'm doing, while I'm doing it and eliminate the distractions an the multi tasking that I am so accustomed to falling victim of on a daily basis. At the end of the day, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE being a coach and the adventures that everyday brings. Year 1 has been memorable and boy do I have a long way to go, but there is nothing I'd rather be consumed by than the game of basketball and getting better at my craft day in and day out.