College Basketball Coach Scott Spinelli Shares How to Motivate Today’s Young People

Group of young people jumping

You may assume the leaders of today and Gen Z are lazy or unmotivated. However, this is far from the truth and there is potential there if you yourself know how to get across to them.

Although you may be leading others in the business world, there are a lot of similarities between managing staff or a business and coaching a basketball team. In this article, college basketball coach Scott Spinelli shares how to motivate today’s young people to ensure they are successful and reach their full potential.

Who is Coach Scott Spinelli?

Scott Spinelli most recently served as the Boston College Interim Head Men’s Basketball Coach where he led BC to a victory over ACC opponent Notre Dame in his first game at the helm. He previously worked as an Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at the school (2014-2021) recruiting and developing NBA player Ky Bowman and first-ever BC lottery pick Jerome Robinson.

At Texas A&M Coach Spinelli recruited and developed NBA All Star Khris Middleton as well helped the Aggies to their beat 4 year win total in school history going to 4 straight NCAA tournaments.

It’s clear that Coach Spinelli knows what he’s doing when it comes to leading and coaching others. Review the following insights and tips so you too can motivate your teams to do better and find more success. Knowing how you can inspire and encourage your employees or staff can make all the difference in how far they go in life and in their careers.

Focus on Creating & Nurturing Relationships

Being able to motivate today’s young people all begins by being able to form a relationship with them. When it comes to coaching basketball, Coach Spinelli believes the most important thing is to be a relationship-based coach.

He adds, “The players need to know you have their best interest in mind.” Therefore, in your office or at your company, you must focus on creating relationships and nurturing these bonds so that they look up to you and will feel inspired to want to work hard.

Have Genuine Care

Another element that you need to address as a leader in the business world or when coaching your players has to do with showing emotion and making it clear that you care about them as human beings. You must always show genuine care and be real with them.

Coach Spinelli emphasizes, “You need to have genuine care for the players you coach.” It’s all about being authentic and making sure that those who are looking up to you understand that you have their best interest in mind.

Make time for your employees or players and when they come to you, be attentive and listen to what they’re saying and offer advice based on what you hear from them.

Build Trust

As you try to come up with ways to better motivate today’s young people, you need to also work on building trust.

Coach Spinelli adds that the player needs to trust you and this comes from building a relationship with them and their family. Focus on being consistent, a good listener, and treating your players and employees fairly.

Build trust with them by listening more than you speak, showing appreciation, and empowering them by trusting that they’ll do a good job and perform well. The more they trust you, the more likely it is that they’ll take your advice and also begin to believe in themselves.

Show Enthusiasm & Be A Good Role Model

One of the most important pieces of advice Coach Spinelli offers is that “As a coach, you need to approach each day with passion and energy and make the process of getting better fun.” Show up each day to work or your coaching job and make it clear that you’re happy to be there.

Demonstrate enthusiasm and be a good role model so they have someone to emulate and be like. It’ll especially be helpful if your team is stuck in a rut and needs motivation. Some youth or young kids don’t get this in their lives so this is your chance to step up and make a big difference.

You now have four practical tips you can use to motivate today’s young people, no matter if you’re coaching a sports team or you’re running a company and managing employees.

This is your chance to help the young people of this next generation truly shine and make the most of themselves. Have fun with it and remind yourself that when you encourage and guide someone to be their best selves, they usually do just that. 

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