There are a few things that I struggled with very much when I was a young head coach, and still do, that hinder the growth of assistant coaches. Those two items are:
Clear Communication -- Communicating often with your staff is a must. Making sure each person involved in your program is very clear on your expectations. Often times as a coach I have assumed people knew what would be acceptable and what should not. This is not the case! I’ve now always attempted to “over-communicate” with all involved in my program.
One item that has helped me is to organize all of these items into a Coaching Manual. Included are: Coaching Conduct, Responsibilities on and off the field, Lock up for the year, Emergency action plan, Schedule and Calendar of dates, Expectations for weekend work, Each coaches assigned position group and any other item that I think needs to be included. We go over this before spring football and before the season begins in August.
I have found most coaches want to be great at what they do, but many have not been taught very basic principles - Showing up early for meetings/practice, how to speak to players, how posture and body language matter, etc… Many times these can be dealt with ahead of time in a much calmer environment.
Delegation -- Many coaches (myself included) tend to be micro-managers. It is hard to give up control for many reasons. However, the best coaches have realized that surrounding yourself with a diverse staff is the key for the growth of your program. As a head coach we should be a facilitator and a mentor to these younger coaches. Teach them the expectations and give them the support as they grow as coaches.
We have done a few things to help with this including: Hosting clinics (I generally have an assistant or two speak), giving coaches an area they are responsible for that fits with their skill set, playing “B” team games and having different coaches have more responsibilities and giving coaches a theme word for the week that they come up with teaching points to share with our players.
Working to come up with a coaching manual will help your coaches and players because you will instantly streamline your communication system. Handing out a schedule well ahead of time will also be a big hit with parents. Learning to delegate responsibility also will help your staff continue to grow and bring in new ideas often for your program. Everyone can benefit when each coach/player is bought in and the best way to accomplish this is to give them some ownership.