Psychological Variables Of Coaching In Sports

8 Pages 2070 Words

he Los Angeles Lakers. Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls in the 1990’s, and won six NBA championships. Although some argue Michael Jordan played more of a hand in their victories, Jackson’s greatest coaching achievement came in the year after Jordan retired to play minor league baseball, as the Chicago Bulls still made the playoffs even without the greatest player in the history of the game. Jackson left Chicago for the Lakers in 2000; the Lakers, with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe (“I didn’t do it!”) Bryant were always a ‘good’ team, but due to their lack of team cohesion, never achieved postseason success. As soon as Jackson came to L.A., however, the Lakers won three NBA Championships.
An example of how a good coach can make a team of hapless players win is the case of Marvin Lewis. The Cincinnati Bengals for the last ten years were always the definition of incompetence; they were consistently the worst team in the National Football League. When Lewis, a defensive coordinator on the Superbowl winning Baltimore Ravens, came to Cincinnati, they achieved immediate success, as they are now 5-5 and sit atop their division; they recently beat the 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs. On a local level, the 76ers had always been drowning in ineptitude, but seven years ago, they hired renowned coach Larry Brown. During his six years with Philadelphia, Brown made the 76ers into a playoff force, even taking them to the NBA Finals. I can predict the 76ers ...