What defines a good coach? Is it endless hours of practices, travelling to games, being there for their players, or a mixture of certain personality traits and skills?
Meet Rob Smart, the new interim head coach of the Carleton Ravens men’s basketball team.
What makes Smart a good coach? Fifth-year player Gavin Resch would say his hard-working mentality, his leadership skills, and his ability to confront his players.
“He’s a good leader, he likes to make sure everything is out in the open and he lets you know when you’re doing something wrong, he doesn’t just shy away from telling if he thinks you’re holding the team back from succeeding,” Resch said.
Smart balances home life and being a business professor at Carleton, along with his coaching responsibilities.
Second-year player Mitch Jackson, a commerce student at Carleton, said he thinks the relationship between Smart’s two jobs makes him a great coach, as many of the skills he uses as a professor carry into his coaching skills.
As far as basketball goes, it’s just like business, or at least that’s how Smart said he sees it. Smart said he believes there is a good crossover between the two.
“Business is a lot like basketball. You work closely with a group of people and I know there’s busy times, but then there’s some good times where you can kind of relax and focus on just helping people,” Smart said.
The one thing a coach must always possess, is the ability to push not only your athletes but also yourself, always continuing to strive for excellence, said Victoria Peters, the head coach of the varsity women’s water polo team at Carleton.
Smart continues to push himself as he takes on the role of interim head coach for the 2015-16 season from his uncle Dave Smart, who leaves large shoes to fill with an impressive record of 11 national championships in 13 seasons.
Rob Smart’s experience of playing for the Ravens for three years and becoming assistant coach in 2004 makes him a major part of the team’s prior success, and gives him the credibility to take over.
Jackson joked that Rob Smart has been around since the beginning.
“I guess you could kind of say he started it all. He was on the first team to win. He always has good stories about the team,” Jackson said.
For 15 years, Dave and Rob Smart have been side by side, which is why Rob still looks to Dave for support and advice this year. Rob explained there has not been a vast change in the coaching style, but that the majority of the change lies in the team.
“This year it’s going to be a lot more teaching and a lot more patience and helping people to get comfortable in their role, which is a lot different than what was required in the last three or four years with the teams we had. In my opinion, you have to be flexible,” Rob Smart said.
Being on the team for five years, Resch said he knows the coaching style between the two is very similar.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I would say they have the same kind of values, same thought for what’s important in the game,” Resch said.
Despite the comfort of the coaching change, Smart still needs to teach a young team, along with keeping in mind the team’s 12th national title is on the line.
However, Smart explained how none of this pressures him. He said he knows he is not in it alone as he has a full support staff behind him, with trusted coaches who care about the program and really understand their role.
Smart said he understands there are a lot of changes in the team this year, as star veterans leave the team. However, Smart said he thinks this year’s team is more balanced than ever.
He has faith in his players to take on certain responsibilities to develop as athletes and leaders.
“As they continue to get more comfortable they will take on bigger roles. We try to make it competitive so that they earn the respect of their teammates and whatever role they’re striving for,” Smart said.
Although Smart said he has confidence in the team this year, the changes have spawned negative attention from outside the program, such as the fact that the team is ranked second in Canada despite being undefeated and the five time defending national champions. Smart said he encourages everyone to stop focusing on what the team has lost, and instead on the excitement that surrounds a young, competitive team.
“People are saying that it’s a rebuilding year, but us inside the program don’t see why that has to be the case.” There is of course room to improve, but Smart said that they will compete at the same level they always have. Nobody likes to feel as if they are an after-thought,” Resch said.
Smart said that with this young team they “have tried to highlight the people who are improving. Showing how people can learn on their own and be rewarded for that is great motivation and will translate into success.”
The Ravens have a record of 7-0 and a second-place standing behind the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees in the Ontario University Athletics North Division.
To Smart, coaching is much more than just teaching the players on the court. He said it means going beyond the sport and teaching them skills they will carry into their lives to help them succeed.
“As a coach I think the most important part is teaching fundamental things that can help my players. Right now it’s on the basketball court, but I hope they can transfer what they learn into school, their personal lives, and the world around them,” Smart said.
He stressed that helping student athletes see the value of work ethic and integrity is what makes a good coach.
“That would be my goal: [to] teach them to be so confident in themselves that they can handle whatever adversity comes their way,” Smart said.
