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Two Things Players Need To Know Before ANY Criticism

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Marlon Stewart (@TheCoachStew) is an Assistant Coach with the Oregon State men’s basketball program (@BeaverMBB). He served as the program’s Director of Basketball Operations during the 2018-19 season. Stewart was an assistant coach at the University of Hawai’i in 2017-18 and helped lead the Rainbow Warriors to a 17-13 record.

Here, Coach Stewart explains what players NEED to know before ANY criticism. Often, this requires spending time with a student-athlete outside of the sport. According to Coach Stewart, these are the two most important things:

  • You need to tell them and show them you love them
  • You need to tell them what they can become and what they're capable of.

That way, once you get into practices and games, you can hold them accountable in a way that is loving and supportive of their athletic experience. If you establish those two things, the athletes also have a better understanding of where coach is coming from.