Most basketball teams have three or four coaches on staff. The Runnin’ Utes have 19.
Under the guidance of head coach Jim Boylen, all 15 Utah players are taking part in the coaching process8212;a change that Boylen believes is contributing to the Utes’ recent success.
Since his arrival at Utah, Boylen has talked about the importance of having players work as coaches.
“We have become a player-coached team, more of our guys are stepping up and taking some responsibility, and that is making a difference,” Boylen said.
For the Utes, who have won five of their past six games, the biggest success with player-coaches comes in practice, where players are pushing each other harder than ever.
“If someone misses a shot or does something wrong, before I can even open my mouth another player is like, “Hey, that’s not how we do things here,”’ Boylen said. “”They are really stepping up and getting on each other so as coaches we don’t have to.”
Not only are players taking on more responsibility for one another in practice, but each player is working to help out new players in the program.
“We are definitely a good player-coached team and it’s great because the older guys of the team are really talking and helping out some of the freshmen and younger players,” said senior Luke Nevill. “We have good communication, and we help each other out a lot more.”
The older players on the team have made it their personal responsibility to ensure younger players coming into the program know what to expect and that they are there to be mentors for the newcomers.
“We’ve stepped up and are helping teach the younger guys in practice so that the coaches don’t have to yell or get on them for things,” said senior captain Shaun Green. “We try and help them be prepared for what is coming in practice, so that nothing unexpected happens to the new and younger guys.”
The player-coach mentality that is so prevalent in practice also carries over to games, where the players are bringing suggestions to time-outs and making adjustments on their own.
“We’ve been through a lot in the past four years, we’ve seen it all, so we can make in-game adjustments and we come to the huddle and give the coaches suggestions, because we are out there playing and see what is going on,” Green said.
In addition to making suggestions on court and helping other players, the player-coach mentality is helping to bring the teammates together and build offensive confidence for the entire team.
“I think the older guys instill confidence in the younger players by helping them get through (practice) and to move on and not worry about it,” Green said. “Offensively we bring confidence to the team.”
Lennie MahlerJim Boylen encourages his players to take an active role in the coaching process with each player stepping up as a responsible leader.