Posted by wildcat98 on 5/7/2014 8:45:00 PM (view original):
I like your "Team Vision" category a LOT! I didn't mean for people to have to use MY categories--I just thought they might be a useful jumping off point. I feel like I've actually regressed in what you call "Team Vision" since I moved from Campbell to Villanova 4 seasons ago. At Campbell, I really DID look several seasons ahead, and think more long-term. At Nova, I've fallen into the "trap of now", as I struggle just to keep my nose above water in the tougher division of a 11/12 full conference.

I find it's something I have to remind myself about every so often.  One really common trap for me personally is getting enamored with a recruit that isn't even a particular need.  Like I absolutely have to get a PG in the pipeline as a backup this season and a starter the next..and I get involved in a questionable battle for a Center.  Probably not smart.

One thing I started doing that helps me stay focused before recruiting is to set my depth chart with the returning players, using each only once.  That helps me focus better on exactly what I need, both now and for the future.

No doubt D1 makes this all tougher with early entries throwing your plans for a loop.  Good luck with Nova!

Recruiting: B (I'm very good at picking high-high growth targets but sometimes lose battles I should win)
Player Development  A - Probably my biggest strength. I'm very detailed w/ practice plans and player growth.  
Team Game Planning: B (depends on the defense) - I would break it down like this

i won't fill out a list but i think the overall list of categories is incomplete or whatever. a lot of people don't even include the most important category in the game! so instead, ill provide my list of categories:
Team planning/vision building: (team planning is building a cohesive, cleverly arranged team unit that allows you to get the most out of the talent you are able to get, and the system you run - this is the most important aspect of the game. vision building is the gradual refinement of the vision against which you team plan, i kind of lump them together, even though they are technically their own challenge, and i definitely see coaches who are good team planners but not as good at building their vision over time)
Recruiting mechanics: (how well you are able to bring in raw talent, the second most important aspect of the game, although its close, and it is the most important outside high level competition)
Team setup: (how well you are able to put a base setup in place for your team, the generic-opponent setup or opponent agnostic setup, if you well)
Game planning: (how well you make game to game changes for your opponents. some choose not to do this, especially in the regular season, which is OK if you have the mastery to do it in the post season, however unlikely those combinations of circumstances may be)
Scheduling: (this is very important, and in terms of regular season success, which i define as your position on the S curve, aka the projection report, this is even more important than game planning. surprising so many people left it out!)
Player development: (practice planning)

i have no idea what team development even refers to specifically, its just a combination of these things, so i kind of dislike that one. you could maybe include turnarounds as its own issue, but thats hard to split out from the others. im not sure job or conference selection, or how you choose to cut players, or other miscellaneous things like that, really need to be included anywhere.

I like your list, Gillispie. It better gets at the specifics I was TRYING to get at. I can also see how "Team Development" doesn't seem specific enough to be useful. From the beginning of my time playing HD, I've always gravitated toward tough rebuilds, so I guess what I was getting at is more of a "Turnaround" type of thing, which wouldn't really apply to someone who took over an already successful high major program.

Too bad Petec isn't around any more so he could give himself an A+ in the "Knows How To Treat The Ladies" category.

Posted by davis on 5/9/2014 12:54:00 PM (view original):
Too bad Petec isn't around any more so he could give himself an A+ in the "Knows How To Treat The Ladies" category.

PeteC was number of different users. I'm sure one of them is still around and could log on to do it lol.

Looks like you can add another category here: Collusion skills.

Posted by ettaexpress on 5/7/2014 7:15:00 PM (view original):
Is it possible to not be good at development? Pretty much all you have to be able to do is see colors and do basic math. 

It's a lot easier in D3/D2 and the lower levels of D1. But at the highest levels of D1 there are some tricks that you can use to better your player development skills.

I always think of skill development synergistically (if that is a word).   I want matching high scores in skills that work well together like speed/per or lp/FT.  You also need to understand how fast skills will develop.   I often put a hold on LP (even if it's blue) if the player isn't going to be a scorer until his other skills get to where they need to be.   I 

Posted by wildcat98 on 5/7/2014 6:18:00 PM (view original):
I've created five categories for my own self-eval. I'd be interested in seeing how (and why) other coaches rate themselves.

Recruiting: C- (losing lots of battles lately at Nova)
Player Development (through practice planning): A- (I tend to get players mostly maxed out by their SR years with me)
Team Game Planning: C+ (I have a system for where to put my +/-'s on O & D that seems to be fairly effective)
Player Game Planning: C- (I struggle with distro decisions, as well as when (& whether) to double team defensively.)
Team Development (Leaving teams better than you found them): B+ (I rarely leave a team worse than I found it now.)

OVERALL: C+

Recruiting B+: May be being a little hard on myself but I make too many stupid mistakes to put myself in the A range.
Player Development A: Not hard to be really good at player development the way things are, but there are some things you can do to get the most out of your players.
Team Game Planning A+: I think this is my best attribute by far in this game. More so in big games then overall, because I can get lazy with game planning during the season. When it comes to the NT I gameplan pretty hard, which is why I think I've had as much NT success as I have.

Player Game Plannning B+: Probably could improve here.

Team Development A+: My goal when I take over team is to be the most successful coach in that school's history, I've been able to accomplish that most times.

Overall A

Team Vision: (B) I know what I want my teams to look like in the future. Though recently I have tended to lose track of what I need to actually win at a high level.
Recruiting: (C) I can identify the players I need, but recently I have struggled to sign my top choices.
Team Development: (B) I can take a bad team to a NT level team within a few seasons. I tend to plateau at a average 30 RPI level though for my DII and DIII teams.
Player Development:  (C+) I leave more on the table than I would like, but I do manage the basics of development pretty well.
Game Planning: (B) I can identify areas to attack and what I need to defend against. Though I do not gameplan near as often I used to. I have had some success when an underdog at using unusual tactics.


OVERALL: (B) When I was more involved I would have put myself at a B+ to A-, but recently I have spent far less time on here.

Team Vision: (B+). I can usually build pretty competitive teams, but I'm not sure I always take full advantage of my offense and defense, and sometimes I end up overloading on one position and having issues at another. 

Recruiting: (B). I usually bring in pretty solid classes, but don't often bring in classes that I'm super excited about. There are other coaches who consistently find elite talent, and I marvel at them. 

Team setup: (A-). I'm pretty confident in my ability to find the ideal way to set up my team for a generic opponent. 

Game planning: (C+). I don't have a very good record against teams that are built just as well as mine. The other coaches are always able to make tweaks to take advantage of my weaknesses, and I so rarely am able to take advantage of theirs. 

Scheduling: (A). My team almost always gets a higher seed in the tournament than I feel like they deserve, which might contribute to my abysmal winning percentage in the Elite Eight as a one-seed. I have had a couple seasons where my schedule hasn't done me any favors, but I'm usually pretty good at hitting the sweet spot. 

Player development: (B-). I mean, I'm competent at the basics, but my players always seem to have A-/A- at the start of the senior year, and I often have cores that don't max out. Part of this may be recruiting guys with lower WE though. 

Overall: (B+). I feel like I'm a pretty solidly second-tier coach. I most of my D2 or D3 worlds, I end up being the 2nd or 3rd best coach in a top conference. Maybe a little better in some worlds, maybe a little worse in others. 

I'm one win away from 1000 (only one world) and feel like I haven't mastered anything other than beating the crap out of bad sim teams in my otherwise empty conference. Over all grade C to C- (though I have gotten a little better lately with the help of a WIS god..you know who you are).

Team Vision (B). My helper has given me great advice on this.

Recruiting (C-). I'm getting better, but I still stink overall. I can do better than a SIM, though!

Team setup (C).

Game Planning (C+)

Scheduling (D) I still don't see the sense in scheduling as it relates to SOS and RPI. One year I scheduled exactly the same as N.Caroling in Allen. We both won all our games. N.Carolina had an RPI in the 20's and mine was in the 100's. How does that happen?

Player Development (B+) the only thing I seem to do to my satisfaction.

Hey, I do this for fun, not for winning championships. I do appreciate the help that some of you have given me. Maybe after another 1000 wins I can give myself a better grade.

smackawits, scheduling is the difference between 2 equal teams being on opposite end of tournament seeding. You schedule right, you might be a top seed. You schedule wrong, you might be in the bottom half.

well, I'm certainly not equal to N.Carolina....they are about 200 point OVR higher.....but if we have the same schedule and win the same games, why are their RPI's and SOS's so much higher? Doesn't make sense to me.