This past Friday I spoke on the phone for twenty minutes with coach Randy Brown about his coaching career. I asked him a few questions about the process of becoming a coach. In a moment we’ll take a look at those questions and his responses but before we jump into that interview, lets go over his resume.

Randy is a coach of 30 years, 20 of which were with an NCAA team. He has also done work for F.I.B.A, Winning Hoops, and Coach and Athletic Director Magazine. Randy is nationally published and has mentored over 100 coaches into the collegiate level. He has helped develop 12 NBA players including Steve Kerr, Sean Elliot, and Jaamal Tinsley. Randy even coached a while alongside University of Arizona ‘s Lute Olson. Currently he runs an organization which he created called CoachRB, where he helps to mentor other coaches. If you have any interest at all in coaching, be sure to check out his site.

1. Randy, you are the owner and founder of Coach RB, a website and program that helps to mentor coaches into the collegiate level. Can you tell us about Coach RB and what it encompasses?

Randy Brown– “Well I’ve been coaching for 30 years now. I spent 20 years coaching at the college level and have been fortunate and lucky to have had experience with a bunch of great programs and coaches. So now I’m returning the favor. I use my resources and contacts to help others. I’m very indebted to those who helped me and now I’m just enjoying returning the favor to those who want to learn. In general my site is free to any coach or visitor that wants to learn more about basketball.  Hopefully I’ve provided info that coaches can use and apply.”

2) You have mentored over 100 coaches into the collegiate level from coaching at a lower level such as high school. When you’re helping a coach transition to the college level, what is your main area of focus? In other words, what is the difference between coaching college and high-school hoops outside of the talent level?

Randy Brown: “I would say a couple things. One, a coach needs to know what they are getting into. I’ll tell you that it’s not ESPN, it’s the most physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding job ever. Those that make it as a coach at the college level I call ten percenters. Because only 1 in 10 coaches that come to me and say they want to be a college coach actually makes it. The others “want to” become college coaches, but lack the desire, energy, and total commitment it takes to do everything possible to make it happen. This is where over 90% of aspiring coaches fail!…. I would also say that it doesn’t matter what you did at any other level.. It doesn’t matter if you have a record as a high school coach that reads 100 to 1 or 1 to 100. Young coaches like to think that because they are winning 70% of the time that they can handle moving up the ranks to the college level. That’s misguided thinking. Many times I scare away young guys that join my program because I’m real with them and tell them what coaching at the college level is going to be. Getting into college is all about your coaching network and the strength of your coaching tree!

The second thing I would say to a coach or teach to a coach trying to to move up is how to network:  how to meet coaches, how to find a job, or how to find a future job. You have to know to network. Every coach in this business knows just about every other coach in this business. Once a participant does my program, you become aware of the value of developing relationships. A college coach has to be totally committed to their job in every aspect which includes work off the court. I teach the ins and outs of coaching at the college level that are not expected.”

3) I see you graduated from Arizona and were mentored by Lute Olson himself. My father went to Arizona and still currently resides in Tucson . I’m a huge Arizona Wildcats fan and just have to ask you about your experience working with Lute. What did the experience working with him mean to you and out of the many things you gained from coaching alongside him, what is the number one thing you took away?

Randy Brown: “As a young guy growing up in Arizona , Lute was a huge deal. It crushed the people in Iowa when he left the University of Iowa for Arizona . But coaching with Lute Olson was like a dream come true. He is a master of so many things. He has one of the sharpest minds in basketball and one of his greatest abilities is making changes in the midst of the game. He does everything well. He recruited extremely well because he is so personable. He always treated everyone kindly. Lute is the most A to Z person I know. He won over 1000 games at all levels which is just a crazy statistic…

Now this may be a surprising answer but the biggest thing I learned from him was how to be personable. As a young high school coach, I wrote Lute a lot to stay in touch or ask for advise. Amazingly, he always wrote a handwritten note back. He wrote all hand written letters to his recruits. So I adopted that as a coach. Now I’ve written thousands of hand written letters to all types of people for all reasons. He taught me to use the personal touch to develop relationships to build your program the right way.”

4). For those students who are just graduating college who desire a career coaching hoops, what do you suggest is their best first move? How should they go about working their way to becoming a successful coach? Where is the start to a coaching career?

Randy Brown:  “First of all each state has their own coaching certification process. In our state there are certain      courses you have to take. Anybody can do that. You don’t have to be an education or PE major to get coaching certification. Number two, you need to get experience. Coach a 3rd grade girls team at the YMCA if you need to. But get experience, there’s no replacement for that. Number three, become a student of the game. Convince yourself that you don’t know anything about the game and really study it. There’s nothing like hands on experience so get out there. Find a mentor. If you’re 20 years old, go to the 60 year old coach at a nearby school and sit down for an hour with him/her. In one hour with that coach he will give you all the wisdom and info that you would learn from reading countless books. I’ve mentored a ton of coaches and have helped many into the coaching position they want. The benefits of having a mentor are countless.”

Alright for those aspiring coaches out there this interview was for you. Lets recap what we learned.

1. You need a coaching mentor- Randy Brown is offering his services to you so be sure to check out his website.
2. Networking—this is the #1 key to becoming a college basketball coach and is taught in Randy’s CCN (College Coach Now) program.
3. Get ready for potentially the most intense job possible..
4. Be personable. Perhaps write a hand-written letter when possible. (Lute taught us that)
5. Get some experience wherever possible. 3rd grade girls team works.

Thanks again to Randy Brown for his time and wisdom. Want more hoops news? Follow @DinoGomez.

Filed under: Coaching Career Path, General, Interviews | Tagged: Arizona, Basketball, Career, Coach, Dino Gomez, Jaamal Tinsley, Lute Olson, NBA, NCAA, Network, Randy Brown, Sean Elliot, Steve Kerr, Students, University of Arizona | Leave a comment »