Craig Haase: Advice For Up-And-Coming Coaches

Craig Haase,Boys Basketball

The resources available to young high school coaches are endless, but the best way to gather insight into the job and difficulties that come with it is communicating with veteran staff members.

Arrowhead boys basketball coach Craig Haase is entering his 13th season with the varsity squad. He can talk about the headaches in dealing with parents and the challenges with maintaining a successful program, but he says the most important piece of advice he can offer young coaches is to simply understand your goals.

“Why are you doing it, and what do you want to get out of it?” Haase asks. “We have young coaches in my program right now and I try to tell them to learn as much as you can, and there will be time for you to become head coaches. Don’t rush into it.”

Haase point out that the turnover rate for high school coaches is much greater today than it has been, meaning the opportunities are available for almost anyone who wants to break into head coaching. He urges the younger crowd to take some time to learn the ropes before diving into a gig they may not be prepared for.

“Learn as much as you can, and then when you do want to become a head coach, make sure you’re going to a place where you’re going to have the support of all those pieces,” he says.

Haase says to focus on three areas when considering a new head coaching job:

• Know who you’re going to have on your staff.
• Make sure that the administration is going to support what you want to implement.
• Make sure that the parents are willing to buy into those things.

“I think you have to have a great staff, it starts with that,” Haase says. “You need people you can trust that you can go to and make sure you can get through those tough times.”

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