COLUMN: Coaching lessons from a Hall of Famer

Casey Bryant had some interesting philosophies about effective coaching in the modern era of athletics during our interview conversation about his induction into the Creston High School Hall of Fame.

Bryant was the leader of his football team (quarterback), basketball team (point guard) and baseball team (all-state shortstop and pitcher) in the mid-1980s in my first years of working at the News Advertiser. I’ll never forget the first playoff football team of 1985 under Dick Bergstrom that kind of turned the corner into Creston starting a winning tradition in the sport.

Bergstrom coached 17 straight winning seasons and 10 playoff teams. There had been a state playoff system since 1972, and Creston was not a part of it until that fall of 1985.

Bryant built a successful teaching and coaching career in northeast Iowa after playing college baseball in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids. During that time, I also got involved in youth and middle school coaching. In fact, my first venture was as a Little League assistant to Bergstrom on a team that included his son Bryce, my son Brett, and a talented player named Kyle Wilson who would later become a colleague at the News Advertiser.

So, while I’m in my first year as a retired coach, I was naturally interested in hearing some of Bryant’s coaching philosophies. He took Western Dubuque baseball from an overlooked part of the school that hadn’t been to state in 32 years, to a program that suddenly was going to state seven times and winning two state championships.

Now, Bobcat baseball consistently battles the likes of Dubuque Wahlert, Davenport Assumption, Marion, Solon and Cedar Rapids Xavier for top billing among northeastern Iowa 3A baseball powers.

Like his years playing for Bergstrom and baseball/basketball coach Vic Belger, Bryant developed a system built on accountability, attention to detail and loyalty to high standards. However, he also caught my attention when he started to explain his theory of working with today’s young people and keeping them loyal to the culture of the program.

Basically, it comes down to treating the players respect.

“We try to let them be themselves, like the way I’d want to be coached, or anyone would want to be coached,” Bryant said. “I had three of my own kids grow up in my program, and that helped me a lot. You want kids that love the game, no matter how good they are. At Western Dubuque, we have JV seniors who are OK with playing JV, because they love baseball and they want to be a part of our team.”

One of the theories of this leadership style is to not immediately attack the ego of an individual player in front of his peers after a mistake. It’s a system built more on positive reinforcement than a condescending, confidence-shattering approach.

“We don’t yell at a kid in front of his teammates after a bad mistake,” Bryant said. “We don’t say anything for about an inning. We let them think it through, and let the emotions of the moment die. Then, a little later, we may go up to him and ask, what were you thinking there? And then listen! That’s important. Kids don’t want to make a mistake. They’re trying to win and do what it takes. Why be confrontational? If you just talk about things, and don’t attack their ego, they have respect for you and the program.”

Bryant says it helps maintain team unity.

“We don’t have ‘bench whisperers’ anymore.” he said. “You know, the kids who sit on the bench whispering how bad the coach is. We had to win first to get some credibility, but now these guys are bought in and want to be with us.”

It all made me think about those early coaching years when I was intense and demanding. I always tried to not let it drift into being demeaning, but I’m guessing there were parents who thought I occasionally crossed that gray line.

If I had the chance to go back in time I would be better about being more like Casey Bryant.

So, for any current coaches of kids, or those contemplating getting into it as the kids get older, maybe keep some of that philosophy in mind. Casey offers some great tips for developing the coach-player relationship that can last a lifetime.

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Contact the writer:

Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

X: @larrypeterson