Birds, Frogs, and Layers

Visions of programs depend on the tools applied. Seeing "under the microscope" differs from using other tools. 

Birds have the aerial view of landscapes and frogs see their world up close. Both have advantages and limitations. 

Perception also depends on perspective. Years ago in another community, a politician sought to have a coach removed because the coach had the temerity to cut his son. 

That didn't make the politician 'evil' or the coach incompetent. It was an extreme version of "The Prime Directive" of putting our children ahead of other concerns. 

Coaching has "layers" visible with deeper examination beyond wins, losses, strategy, and "what was my child's experience?"

If everyone likes a coach, then she isn't doing her job. Hard decisions breed hard conversations that leave marks. "Seniors get preference" works fine when that correlates with talent and experience. Sport as meritocracy ("prove it") runs up against politics and bias. 

I digress. For example, see the clamor about Caitlin Clark, a gifted, diligent college player finding her way in the WNBA. When she was not named to the US Olympic team, furor arose. The "layers" include limited international experience, leading the WNBA in turnovers, and ranking 92nd in the WNBA in shooting percentage and over 50th in a productivity metric, PIE (player impact estimate). That doesn't include defensive limitations either. Some see "conspiracy" against the rookie. Others see real, fixable problems. Some want to blame a UCONN cabal led by Jennifer Rizzotti. It's about transition from amateur to pro sports. 

When studying an athletic program consider the 'layers' and the perspective to build an informed opinion. Consider mental models (e.g. sample size of observations, circle of competence, inversion, Occam's Razor) and cognitive biases (anchoring, confirmation bias, endowment effect, fundamental attribution bias, etc.)

And think about both the big picture (screenshot at top) and the attention to detail. Everybody loves a parfait; everybody won't love the coaching. Truth.