The term “networking” used to feel so overwhelming to me that I looked at the same way I viewed “consulting.” Could be anything, right?
Not exactly.
There are ways you can more naturally put yourself into positions to meet people who can help you on your search than you may believe. A big fear of some looking to be college coaches is “not having anything to say” if and when they meet a college coach who would one day recommend them or hire them.
During Session 2, we’ll explore various approaches you can take when trying to figure out the enigma of coaching. One piece of the puzzle you may not have put together yet, and it’s a big one, is that the other coaches in this group can and will serve as the foundation of your Network moving forward.
Ryan Mattocks will discuss how and why he organized the Maddog’s Coaches’ Kennel Retreat, held in Isle of Palms, SC in May of 2017 while he served as an assistant coach at The Citadel under Duggar Baucom. 26 coaches, staffers, managers, and administrators from across the country attended the 4-day event. Impressively, 4 NCAA D1 Head Coaches, multiple high major assistants, and D1 athltetic directors attended the event.
Just as importantly, many of the coaches in attendance who were at JUCO, D3, or D2 programs at the time made meaningful connections and began cultivating relationships with decision-makers at the D1 level, allowing them future opportunities to climb the ladder.
The willingness of each attendee to make the effort to be vulnerable, put themselves out there in front of many coaches they did not know at the time, and to trust the process, led to an incredible amount of opportunities for many who were there!
It’s not always who someone knows, sometimes it’s how they got to know a certain coach. There was a coach who drove 17 hours straight to get to the Retreat. He was obsessed with finding new relationships/opportunities for himself.
You’ve begun that journey yourself by being here.
You pick up 1 or 2 nuggets like that each week and you’ll have a solid collection of new tools in your toolkit to continue on your journey.
This session we’ll begin with a brief intro. period explaining how members will use their HW assignments from last week. That’ll be followed by a 25-minute moderator presentation on Networking before we open the floor up for a 25-minute Q & A session from group members.
Afterwards Khalil Shakir will lay out the basics for next week.