Geoff Pippus is the new Camosun Chargers men’s basketball head coach. Pippus, who has 10 years coaching experience and is starting with the Chargers’ 2022/23 season, is excited for the new role and thinks that the previous coach, Scot Cuachon, has left the team in great shape for him. Strategically, Pippus is focused on an athlete-centred model of coaching, which encourages creativity and personal growth.
“My approach to coaching is based on sports psychology and sociology research; it’s to put the athletes first, and build everything we do around their strengths and needs,” says Pippus. “This is a new approach to coaching that diverges from the old top-down, old-school approach, but I think what it does is it encourages athletes to be creative and push their boundaries, and treats sports as a holistic approach to building better people, giving people decision-making skills, making them feel empowered.”
The old-school approach is based around strict adherence to structure, procedure, and obedience above all else, and Pippus thinks this is counterproductive.
“I don’t know that it’s always the most productive thing, if you’re trying to produce creative, free athletes to perform at their best, if they’re feeling robotic and beaten down by a drill-sergeant-style coach,” he says. “I remember what practice was like, and I remember what works and what doesn’t work. I think just being able to relate to the players in that way is going to be hugely advantageous.”
Pippus says that he wants to give athletes the sort of experience he had with basketball through his life, and that he wants to help them reach their full potential.
“I want to give athletes the best possible experience they can have at pursuing their passion. For me, basketball has been the most rewarding experience of my life, and I think it has the potential to do that for other young people,” he says. “My hope would be that everybody who plays for me feels like they have a real shot to strive for success and try to reach their potential in all those areas. And it’s not just winning, it’s being people of character, it’s being good students—those are huge priorities for me, and things that I was lucky enough to have people model for me as a player, so I hope to be able to pass that on.”
Sports can also have benefits beyond the court, explains Pippus. It gives players experience with dealing with stress and time crunches, but beyond that, being a part of a team gives people a sense of camaraderie and familial support, and sets them up for success later in life.
“Maybe the most important thing is knowing that you have people you can rely on, you have people who support you, not just feeling alone when you’re going through something that’s difficult, but knowing when to ask for help, and knowing that you have help. I think that translates down the line and sets you up for success in life,” says Pippus. “Over the last couple years we’ve seen how hard things can get really quickly. When things are difficult, and you know you can lean on somebody else… That’s something that translates well beyond sport.”
Pippus thinks that this new appointment may be challenging at times, but he feels that he’s in a good position to create new experiences together with his team.
“We’ve got a great group of guys, and I think we have a great chance of having some success, but ultimately, it’s going to be a learning process for me, and I know that,” says Pippus. “But I’m really excited about the group we have, and the ability to build on the resources we have, and build on what Scot’s done.”