RUNNING HEAD: SOUTHWESTERN COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
Gene Hartman
September 28, 2014
Dr. Bari Courts
Southwestern College Professional Studies
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
Executive Summary
Company Description
Southwestern College Men’s Basketball Team
-An NAIA/KCAC basketball team set to produce young men that can contribute to
society and win basketball games
-Committed to graduate student-athletes
Background
-Been under the leadership of Head Coach Matt O’Brien for five seasons, entering the
sixth.
-Assistant coaches Gene Hartman and Tim Miser have been with the program for four
seasons, entering their fifth.
Values
-Do the right thing
-Be on time
-Treat others the way you want to be treated
Products and Services
-Develop character in young men
-Coach and teach the game of basketball
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
Organizational Profile
The men’s basketball team at Southwestern College is a group of student-athletes that are
preparing themselves to succeed in life after college and basketball. The team performs in an
environment that is established with hard work that is produced from three simple rules; always
be on time, no excuses, and do not be an energy vampire. The first two of these rules are selfexplanatory, but the third rule is not a common rule or said in a traditional fashion. Being an
energy vampire consists of taking energy away from others. As a team, we believe you are either
giving energy or taking it away, and we put an emphasis on giving energy in all situations we are
in as a team. I believe this is a strength of our program as we have established these three basic
rules for the entire team to follow and each of these three rules can apply to any situation the
team, or individuals on the team, are in.
From a relationship standpoint, we have times where we are very strong as a team. We
also have other times when we are not as strong. There is an interesting quote that goes along
with teams that says, “You are only as strong as your weakest link.” I am a firm believer in this
and have seen the quote play out several times. The most successful team I have been a part of
always had strong willed guys at the bottom. The most underachieving teams I have been a part
of had guys that were not totally invested into the team or were energy vampires. With the men’s
basketball team at Southwestern College, we have strong relationships within our organization,
but there is some slight room for improvement. This is a delicate state because with a team full
of competitors and only a few spots available for playing time, coaches have to be diligent with
handling attitudes and egos. Last year, we did not do a good job in handling those attitudes and
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
egos and it showed in our record within conference play. This year, we are looking to improve
on our mistakes from the previous season by being more honest with everyone. This entails
communicating everyone’s role and job description better. We feel like this will eliminate any
unnecessary clutter throughout the season.
One area where we need to improve on within our organizational profile involves our
mission and vision statement. The fact is, we do not have an official mission or vision statement
as a team. I did not initially believe a mission and vision statement was really a necessity for a
basketball team, but after researching a few coaches and some of the top programs around the
country, I now believe it is very important. As Dan Miller said in an article about basketball
teams and the need for mission and vision statements, “Without a really good mission statement
you have the potential to get to the top of the ladder only to find it is leaning against the wrong
building” (Miller, 2011, para 2). I really enjoy this quote because it stresses not only working
hard, but also working smart.
Overall, we are more than just a basketball team here at Southwestern College. We are a
group of young men that consists of 18 student-athletes and three coaches all under the age of 35
that are striving to improve each and every day. The better we can become as men, the better we
can be as a basketball team.
Leadership
The leadership with the men’s basketball team at Southwestern College starts with the
coaching staff as the coaches consist of the senior leadership. Though we do not have a mission
or vision statement, we do stress particular values as a team. These values come from our head
coach Matt O’Brien and they are; do what is right, do the best you can, and treat others the way
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you want to be treated. These values establish everything we are, and everything we are trying to
become as a team. It is a solid foundation that can lead to greater things for our players and if
they can stick to these values, they will grow into respectable men. As they grow as individuals,
the team strengthens as well. The more we communicate this within our program, the more
comfortable we are with where we are at and what we are doing. After all, one of the main
objectives as a coach is to “promote growth” (Siegel Executive Coaching, n.d. para 4).
One aspect that we can significantly improve on is sustainability. From a schematic
standpoint, we have a tendency as a staff to lose patience and want to implement the next big
thing into our program. Continuing to improve is always important, but too much of it can
become counter-productive. We need to have consistency in both our offensive and defensive
game plans. Our young student-athletes can only intake so much information so it is important
for us to be as diligent as possible in this department. If we are not consistent with our
sustainability, we will ultimately underachieve.
From a community relations standpoint, our team is social responsible and works within
the community to make it a better place. This past year, the team has participated in countless
community service projects. These service projects include; reading to four different schools in
the Wichita area and two more schools in the Winfield area. The team also participated in P.E.
classes at two other Wichita public schools. Another service project the team participates in is
the Cowley County Big Brother Big Sister Halloween party each year. The team was also
recognized as the NAIA Team Champion of Character Award winner two years back. The team
is not perfect and some of the guys do mess up in the campus community, but overall, the team is
a good representation of the college.
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
I would give the men’s basketball team at Southwestern College a score of 70 of the 120
points in the Senior Leadership category. Though the values are strong, the lack of a vision and
mission statement, plus the lack of sustainability leave a lot of room for improvement. In the
Governance and Social Responsibilities section, I would give the team 40 out of the 50 points.
The team does a great job of interacting and serving the community and the campus. The scores
combine for a total of 65%.
Strategic Planning
When it comes to strategic development, the coaching staff sits together over the summer
before any of the student-athletes get to campus, and develop a strategy of what they think is best
for the team. This strategy is left somewhat open to remain flexible. Flexibility is needed in case
of injuries or players coming back to school out of shape or even over exceeding expectations.
After the preseason is over, the strategic plan is reevaluated and tailored to what benefits the
team most heading into the season.
The strategic planning is an area of strength for the team, but there is a definite need to
improve on strategy implementation. What good is a great strategic plan if it is not implemented
correctly? There is a difference between adjusting and adapting the plan when needed, and not
seeing something through when it needs to be seen through. We have a tendency to lose patience
as a staff and slowly divert from what we initially planned to do. As a staff, we have to be
mentally strong enough to endure a few bumps in the road and stick to the plan. This confidence
and mental fortitude will trickle down to the players and allow the team to fight adversity when it
occurs, and eventually execute the strategic plan better than ever.
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
I would give the team 35 out of the 40 points possible for the Strategic Development
section as the staff shows a good job of planning and adjusting the plan. I would give the team 30
points out of the possible 45 points in the Strategic Implementation section as the team can
sometimes stray away too soon. This would give the team an overall score of 75% in the
Strategic Planning section.
Customer Focus
The customer for us is the student-athletes on the team. The staff does an excellent job of
listening to the team. Each player has an individual meeting with a coach once a week. In this
meeting we put the player through a work out and work on establishing a rapport with each
other. At the end of the work out, we discuss with each other what we are seeing in practices and
break down how both the coaches and the players can improve. The coaches’ take good care of
the players too and make sure they have resources to make their experience on the team is a good
one. Recently, the coaches used some of the fundraising money to purchase new chairs for our
players in the locker room as well as a new machine to store Gatorade in for our players to drink.
An area we can improve on is building relationships with some of our players. Overall,
we have a pretty good relationship with most of our players, but there is always room to improve
in this area. A good example of this is an article I found on the the head coach of the San
Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich, and one of their players, Tim Duncan. Popovich states how
important building trust was earlier on in their relationship and how he wanted to never do
anything for Duncan to question his trust in him. Duncan then goes on to say how much this trust
means to him and how it influences him to perform at his best all the time (Jochnau, 2012). We
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
need to establish the relationship earlier on in each of the players’ careers so we can have even
stronger relationships with our players.
I would give our team 30 points in the Voice of the Customer section out of the 40 points
possible as I think we can spend more time with our players and do a better job and knowing
when they speak, what to value and what not to value. Out of the 40 points possible for the
Customer Engagement portion, I would give our team 30 points. We do a good job, but we can
focus more on the relationships early on and not try and play catch-up later on in the player’s
career. This would total up for a 70% score in the Customer Focus section.
Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management
We do countless things as a team to prepare for our games. Each coach on the staff
watches two games on the following opponent and produces their own scouting report on that
opponent. The coaching staff then combines all the notes and produces a scouting report and
game plan for the team. Both the assistant coaches then break down the film even more by
breaking down offensive and defensive possessions from the opponents previous games. Each
player can select on the player they will potentially be guarding and see characteristics and traits
of that specific player. With all the film, each player also has a written summary of each player
on the opposing team explaining what each player is wanting to do during the game.
What we can do better is talking each game plan out and tests our players’ knowledge
more before they face each opponent. The more communication involved in this process, the
more likely we are to execute the game plan. I have noticed the results from our games can be a
direct reflection of our preparation. Even with the hiccups in communication, I would grade our
team fairly high in this category. In the Measurement, Analysis, and Improvement of
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
Organizational Performance, I would give the team 40 out of the 45 possible points. Under the
Management of Information, Knowledge, and Information Technology, I would also give the
team 40 out of the 45 possible points. This comes to a score of 90%.
Workforce Focus
To build an effective workforce environment, it starts with the players we recruit and
bring into our program. The people involved in the program are the people who make the
program what it is. As one of the recruiters for the team, I believe most of the kids brought into
the program bring a lot of positivity and value. The kids brought in are diverse and all add
something beneficial in their own specific way. The recruiting process is not perfect and we do
not always bring in the best person or player, but overall we have done a good job of getting
guys in here that are beneficial to the program, on and off the court.
The amount of information we give our players and the amount of information they are
able to retain is an interesting concept. Just because our players are able to take in a lot of
information early on, or are able to practice and perform at a certain level at a particular time,
does not mean they are able to continue that pace throughout the course of a season. Neeru
Jayanthi is a sports medicine physician at Loyola University Medical Center and in an article
with the Washington Post, she said, “It’s not just the hours spent, it’s what they’re doing with
that time” (Washington Post, 2014, para 7). I definitely feel like we could be a lot more efficient
with our player’s time and the bodies in regards to keeping them fresh throughout the season.
What we can do to improve this situation is to slot a certain amount of time for practice. Once we
get to that time, practice is done. We can also trim down the information we give to the players
and pick out only what is necessary. In this situation, less is more.
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
The team is not in a great spot, but also not in a terrible spot. For the Workforce
environment category, I would give the team 30 out of the 40 possible points. For the Workforce
engagement category, I would give the team 25 out of 45 points. Each year the team has a skid
where it loses games it should not lose because of fatigue and confusion, so it is tough to give a
high score, even though the team is still working hard. This score totals about to be 65%.
Operations Focus
The work systems within the Southwestern College men’s basketball team entail the
game plan the coaches put together for the players during the season, and the goals the coaches
and players set for each other at the beginning of the season. Not only does it include the game
plans and goals, but it includes how these messages are delivered and operated. As mentioned in
the previous section, we provide our players with a bunch of information that they have to apply
in the game and throughout the season. The design of this information is thorough and
impressive given that we play at the NAIA level. Out of all the NAIA programs I have been a
part of, we at Southwestern have had the most detailed and organized scouting reports. We also
have the most organized and detailed film breakdown of our opponents than anyone I have seen
at this level.
The problem with having all of this nice information, like I mentioned in the previous
section, is it can be too much for a young student-athlete to intake in such in a short time. We
have two options to fix this issue. The first option is to bring in a higher quality student-athlete
that can take in more knowledge and apply it to the game. This option seems great, but it is not
possible given the scholarships we are handicapped with. Each player receives a $4,000
scholarship to attend the school while the total cost of everything is around $32,000. Depending
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on the academic scholarship and government money they receive, each player has to pay around
$15,000 out of pocket or take that amount out in student loans (Southwestern College, n.d.).
After asking other coaching buddies what they are allowed to give scholarship wise, they give a
lot more than we are able to give. This leaves us with option two, which is to trim down the
information we give out to the players. As coaches, we really need to sit down and find out what
we absolutely have to give out, and what we can take out. If we can do this, we will have a better
chance of reaching some of the higher goals the team has set.
For the 45 points handed out in the Works Systems category, I would give the team 35
points. The design and attention to detail on the scouting reports make this a good area for the
team. Out of the 40 points possible for the Work Processes category, I would give the team 20
points. Some of the issues here are out of the control of the team, but the things that are in their
control need to be improved. This score totals 65%.
Results
For the men’s basketball team at Southwestern College, the Results category is very
simple. It comes down to graduating the players, and winning games. From a graduation point of
view, we have done an exceptional job of getting our players to graduate in the five years I have
been here. All but one guy that has finished their basketball eligibility has graduated. Out of
those guys, we have a small-business owner, two bankers, and a sales rep for an oil company and
other quality jobs where they are able to be successful at. This is a testament to the studentathletes hard work and perseverance, but also the programs values and requirements that are set
for the players.
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Southwestern College Men’s Basketball
The other result to look at here is our win/loss record as a team. For the 2013-2014
season, the team finished with an 18-13 record. Not a bad record at all, but the most important
part of the season is conference play. The team went 7-11 in conference and finished in 8th place
out of 10 teams (Builder Sports, n.d). The team shows they have the talent with their ability to
win a lot of non-conference games, but they need to improve in conference play. The coaches
need to sit down and determine what might be happening in the change of outcomes in
conference and non-conference play. If the coaches can understand what is causing these actions,
they can adjust the game plan accordingly.
For the results section, I would give the team 115 out of the 120 possible points. The
players learn a lot about themselves on and off the court during their careers at Southwestern and
I believe that is a big reason why they are able to be so successful after college. Out of the 90
points possible in Customer-Focused Outcomes section, I would give the team 70 points. The
ability to be that successful graduating players is an impressive stat, but the lack of conference
wins deducts points away from the team here. In the Workforce-Focused Outcomes section, I
would give the team 70 of the 80 possible points available. The focus level is there for the team
and that is proven with their success in the classroom while having a respectable overall win/loss
record. For the Leadership and Governance Outcomes portion, I would give the team 60 out the
80 points possible. I think this score looks worse than it really is. Their talent level is somewhat
out of their control, but at the end of the day, they are not able to retain and maintain all the
information thrown their way all the time. Out of the 80 points possible in the Budgetary,
Financial, and Market Outcomes, I would give us 75 points. We have never gone over budget as
a team and do a good job fundraising for extra funds. We are handicapped with scholarship
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limitations, but we do a good job with what we got. The total score for the Results section would
be 85%.
Conclusion
I had a general idea where our team would be after this analysis, but after doing the
analysis, I am surprised with the end results. Some of the scores from sections 1-6 were low and
when I got to section 7 I was anticipating having similar results as the previous 6 sections. After
doing the analysis, I realized that even though some of our scores are low, we still are doing a
pretty good job overall. This analysis has been very helpful and has churned some valuable
thinking as our season is just weeks away from beginning. It refreshed me in a sense of
encouragement to keep doing most of the stuff that we have been doing and that we just need a
few adjustments, really. It also pointed out clearly what those adjustments where and gave me
ideas on how to approach those adjustments. Overall, this was a very helpful exercise.
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Reference Page
Builder Sports. (n.d.). Southwestern College, KS Athletics - 2013-14 Men's Basketball
Schedule. Retrieved from http://www.buildersports.com/schedule/11/1.php
Jochnau, G. (2012, December 16). Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan and the NBA's Greatest
Player-Coach Relationships | Bleacher Report. Retrieved from
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1446520-gregg-popovich-tim-duncan-and-the-nbasgreatest-player-coach-marriages/page/6
Miller, H. (2011, October 14). Does a Basketball Program Need a Vision or Mission Statement?
Retrieved from http://www.coachingbasketballwisely.com/vision/
Siegel Executive Coaching. (n.d.). Coaching Objectives. Retrieved from
http://www.siegelcoaching.com/coaching-objectives.html
Southwestern College. (n.d.). Financial Aid | Office of Admissions | Southwestern College.
Retrieved from http://www.sckans.edu/admissions/FinancialAid/#ScholarshipsAndGrants
Washington Post. (2014, June 16). Too much practice and specialization can hurt instead of help
child athletes - The Washington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/too-much-practice-andspecialization-can-hurt-instead-of-help-child-athletes/2014/06/16/7e6ba03c-f0cc-11e39ebc-2ee6f81ed217_story.html
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