North Carolina State University Athletics
Gottfried Conducts Coach The Coaches Clinic
4/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
April 25, 2012
RALEIGH, N.C. - Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was known for his coaching axioms. For NC State head Mark Gottfried, who spent eight seasons as a Bruins' assistant, one of many Wooden lessons that he holds fast to is "teach what you know. Know what you teach."
Gottfried shared that axiom and other coaching tidbits during a "Coach the Coaches" clinic for a group of Wake County middle school coaches on Wednesday afternoon at East Millbrook Middle School.
The clinic was held in conjunction with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Foundation and Carquest Auto Parts' "Ticket To Reading Rewards" program. The incentive program encourages middle school students to read books outside of the classroom to receive rewards.
For over an hour, Gottfried covered a wide range of topics. He stressed teaching the fundamentals, developing and implementing practice plans, when to introduce new information to a team and having a feel for your team. Gottfried also shared knowledge that he gleaned from his time as an UCLA assistant, an ESPN analyst and from conversations with Coach Wooden. He also took time to answer questions from the coaches.
Gottfried noted that he enjoys exchanging information with his fellow coaches, no matter what level they teach the game.
"Number one for me, it's fun to go talk basketball with the coaches," Gottfried said. "I've always enjoyed that. I think its good to share ideas. Hopefully, things like this help, especially the middle school coaches and the age of child they are coaching. Maybe we can give them some nuggets that help."
