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One of the most marvelous books and the best book on management I have ever read is Magic Hoops by Phil Jackson. One of his great commentaries is based on the poem The Wolf and the Packby Rudyard Kipling from his The Second Jungle Book .
Now this is the Law of the Jungle -- as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the Law runneth forward and back --
For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
Let’s look at some of its implications as we coach our teams. As I understand the Law of the Jungle, the Pack is dependent on each individual Wolf and each individual Wolf is dependent on the Pack. The pack consists of different kinds of wolves, each with his own unique talents; one is a great tracker, another is a speedster but tires after a short distance, another is a long distance runner who plods along but is there when needed, another is the one you want in the final battle, and so on. They all come together as a single, effective force.
However, if a single Wolf goes off by himself, he will die because he isn't capable of doing all of the necessary tasks, fulfilling all of the necessary roles in order to be successful. It is also true that if a single Wolf were to leave the Pack, the Pack would suffer the loss of whatever skills or talents that Wolf brought to the group.
In like manner, your Team is dependent on each individual Player with her unique gifts and talents. Not everyone has the strong arm needed by the pitcher, not everyone has the speed to cover the entire area of center field, not everyone has the hands that can scoop up a sharp grounder and get it over to first before the runner gets there. The same on offense. You know who you want to be on second base with two outs in the final inning and you know who you would like to have at bat -- and they probably aren't the same player. And, of course, each Player is in need of her Team -- only when the Team is at its best, can the Player really express her excellence.
This is the essence of The Wolf and The Pack. If a wolf goes off on his own he will soon die of starvation – he can’t hunt by himself. The Pack needs all those different members; each with his or her unique abilities that are essential for the hunt to be successful.
So now let’s extend the Pack another step – let’s add the Coach to the Team. What is her role in the project? Basically, she has to bring all the elements; Players, Parents, Herself; together into a working, caring, effective operation.
So that takes us to another element – the Parents. What is their role? Basically, it is to be totally supportive to their Child/Player, the Coach, and the Team. There’s more to this and we’ll be telling you about such things as knowing the rules of the game your child is involved in but let’s first agree that we’re going to work together on this project so that the kids (and especially your child) has a great experience.
It is also essential that all of the individuals involved (Coaches, Parents, and Players) communicate openly and clearly with one another – they can’t get into the trap of hiding their discoveries or ideas so that they will be one-up on their associates. If they do, the whole project is in jeopardy.
Who are the members of the Pack? The Kids, the Parents, and the Coach.
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