By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.5, August 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0905/qacarter.htm
In only his second year as Head Coach at Richmond (Calif.) High School, Ken Carter made national news after locking his team out of all practices and games for one week during the 1998-99 season. The reason? Some of his players’ grades fell below the 2.3 GPA he requires all team members to maintain.
A local businessman and local advocate for change in San Francisco’s inner-city schools, Carter continues to emphasize the importance of education to his athletes. He exposes his players to careers beyond the basketball court and uses strict disciplinary measures to help his athletes reach their academic goals.
A former multi-sport athlete and record holder at Richmond High School, Carter has been honored with numerous awards in his four seasons as head coach, including the NAACP Impact Citizen of the Year Award, and ANG Newspapers’ California Boys’ Coach of the Year. His athletes have won scholarships to UNLV, Cameron University, and West Point, and all seniors have gone on to attend college—a distinction Carter is most proud of.
CM: As owner of a local publishing company and a sporting goods store, how did you get started in coaching?
Carter: I started in the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). I was a parent sitting in the stands, the coach was injured, and I got volunteered to fill in. At the time, the team was basically in last place. The coach didn’t return for three weeks, and within those three weeks we won six straight games. So people kept telling me, “You have a gift for working with and instructing kids.” And from that point on, we won five straight championships in CYO basketball.
I got involved at Richmond High School because I was asked by my former coach, Roy Rogers, who is currently the Athletic Director at Richmond, to take over the head coach position. I am a successful local businessman and Coach Rogers thought that because of the type of person I was, maybe I could make a difference. I saw returning to coach at Richmond as a way to say thank you for all that the school had given me.
The team had experienced some tough times, but we were able to turn the program around instantly. They had won three games the year before I came, and in my first season we won 19.
How did you manage that turnaround?
When I accepted the job, I instituted some parameters for the program—things I wanted our program to achieve. First, I wanted us to reinstill pride in the program. So we cleaned the gym, got all the graffiti off the walls, bought new uniforms, and got the kids to start feeling really proud about being a part of the program. We wanted to show the kids that we were going to set some goals in terms of promoting family values, demonstrating community responsibility, and instilling a commitment to work on their futures.
Some of the players really weren’t happy when I started because they knew I was going to institute structure. But the school needed someone with discipline. The message to the players was: If no one else in this community or at this school respects us, we’re going to respect ourselves.
As part of developing that respect, I always say “Yes sir,” and “No sir,” to the boys. And in turn, they have to do the same to their teammates, to me, and to anybody else they come in contact with. And through simple things like that, the kids start to see a different side of themselves.
Upon your arrival, you also observed some academic problems. How did you address those?
Richmond High has always had good athletes, but many of them were not academically eligible. So a kid would start the season, but by mid-season, he would end up not making the grade. And even those kids who remained eligible were rarely able to accept college scholarships because either their GPA wasn’t high enough or they didn’t take the proper classes.
So we pay a lot of attention to academics. We sit down with our kids for academic evaluations, breaking down the year into quarters, and we tell them, “This is where you are now in week one, and this is where we’d like you to be in week six.”
Our athletes also take the SAT twice a year every year, even if they’re freshmen. Because a lot of these kids have never sat down for two hours to take a test.
You also instituted a player contract that addresses a number of your goals. Explain that document.
I needed to let the young men on the team know that I was serious about what I was doing and that I needed them to be, also. I was looking for a commitment. The players and their parents have to sign it, and I also sign the contract to assure the players that I am committed to its goals and will live up to them as well.
The contract touches more on their education than playing. There are 20 points addressed and 13 of the 20 relate to class protocol and study habits. Some of the expectations include: attending class daily, sitting in the front of the class, participating in class in group discussions and asking questions, committing to 10 hours of study time a week, attending two study hall sessions a week (which I set up with teachers and tutors), completing and turning in all homework assignments, never being late to class or practice, dressing for success on game days in a shirt and tie, and showing respect for themselves, their families, their teammates, their coaching staff, their teachers and administrators, and their community.
If you think about it, there is no difference between our contract and contracts for employment, renting an apartment, a mortgage, or those NBA contracts so many young players feel they are going to get. I saw it as an opportunity to prepare them for all the contracts in their lives to come. After all, if they cannot commit to this contract, it will be very difficult to commit to any others in the future.
How are you able to monitor their adherence to the contract?
I hold meetings with their instructors and I get each player’s class schedule. I also created a form for the teachers. If they have any discipline problems with any of my players, they simply need to put the form in my box.
And the players know that if a note gets to my box, there are consequences. They owe me 1,000 push ups the minute they get to practice, and if they protest at all, it instantly doubles. Plus, they have to run two miles. And they can’t play any basketball until those two things are done.
Now when it comes to paying their dues, I will let them get creative. If they owe me 1,000 push ups, they could go pay 10 guys to come do 100 push ups each, and that would be fine, because I want them to devise creative solutions. And if they come up with a particularly great story, even though I know the excuse is not true, I will cut their push ups in half. But I will secretly find a way during practice to add them back.
Apart from your structure and new expectations of players, were there any on-court strategies that contributed to the team’s turnaround?
No. In basketball, you dribble, pass and shoot. That’s simple. It was the discipline in the classroom that started everything. Once the kids started getting accolades academically, it carried onto the court because they no longer had to worry about whether they’d be eligible at mid-season. That put some stability into the program, and they started to see themselves as successful.
In 1999, you received national attention for instituting a one-week game and practice lockout when some players didn’t maintain the contract’s 2.3 GPA standard (though none dropped below 2.0). Why were all players penalized?
Because we are a team and a family. The varsity team helps tutor the j.v. team, the j.v. team helps look out for the freshman team, and so on. In a family, everyone pulls together to reach their goals, and a successful team works the exact same way. When we began the year, each player signed the contract stating they would do all things as a team, not just winning games, but also losing as a team and setting themselves up as role models for other students. I held them to that.
Are you as innovative in your coaching methods as you are with your efforts to promote education?
Yes, I believe I am. I stress the basics and fundamentals of the game, but teaching them the attitude of a winner is the innovative part. I work hard to build confidence in my players without cockiness. I try to show them how to make that inside move, outside cut, and no-look pass with finesse and style while also teaching them how to keep their head when the other team is constantly hammering at them.
Also, our plays are developed and designed around my seven sisters. Each sister has a unique and distinct personality that translates into seven innovative plays designed to win. For instance, we have a defense named Cookie, and that’s what we use when we need a stop. It fits her personality because she’s my most aggressive sister. She gets the job done.
I also have the team sit and have a discussion before every practice, just as if you were sitting around a dinner table. And every week, I take the team on a trip somewhere. I call it a “career day,” and that seems to help keep practices fresh for the team.
They are basically field trips for professionalism. I take them to offices to see different careers first-hand. And I’ve been lucky enough to find former athletes who are now investment bankers, accountants, etc. They are able to say to my players, “Look, my athletic career stopped, but this is my life after basketball.”
What qualities do you look for in your athletes during tryouts?
I do not select my basketball team based on the best athletes. I look for kids with character and who are responsible. I’m looking for the guy who goes out there and tries.
For example, we had a lot of guys in tryouts who finished ahead of our power forward [in terms of skill and endurance], but the kid just kept going. His body kept telling him he couldn’t go another step, but he kept making the step. This kid—who had never played basketball competitively before because he didn’t have the skill or the grades—will now end up with an athletic scholarship.
What are your competitive goals for the team this year?
Our preseason goal is to have the kids well conditioned, and have their classes all squared away Our league goal is to be in the regional playoffs. Every year we set that goal, but we’re still working towards it. Last season, we didn’t have a very good season, we only won 10 games. We had four freshman on the team and we lost at least 15 games by four or five points.
But I don’t consider myself a good coach by the number of wins I get per season. Every senior I’ve ever had in my program has gone on to college. That’s the record I’m interested in.
Those wishing to contact Coach Carter can reach him via e-mail at ptsport@pacbell.net, or access his Web page at www.coachcarter.com.
For more comments by Coach Carter on coaching and his team, please visit the Bonus Editorial section of our Web site at www.AthleticSearch.com.