Wow complex set of questions? first of all your statement of a bad program to a good program. does that mean winning championships. Or are you talking about a culture where players want to play, people want to be involved and the whole club is supportive?
The answer to the question is probably involved in what is the purpose of the coach and what is the purpose of the program.
In my opinion the purpose of the coach is to facilitate the objective of the team. That can come from the board or the team itself. And that can be very depending upon the level of development of the squad as a whole.
For some programs the big V program is still a development program for others it's a destination.
For example in a team of younger players the BigV program maybe a development program for college or even NBL one or NBL.
For other programs where the players are more mature and towards the end of their career it may be a sole focus of winning a championship.
Good culture and good programs have got to do with the objective of the team and unfortunately this doesn’t always match the objective of the coach. For example if the coach comes in with the objective of winning a championship thinking that is more important than development they can lose support of a board that is development focused.
The same unfortunate mismatch of objectives can and does happen the other way around.
It is also often the mismatch in objective that causes interplayer conflict. Younger players needing development and court time and older players looking to win a championship.
remembering on court success often hides poor culture. The team culture is only exposed when the team starts to lose.
The solution not easy and often complex and requires some real open honest conversations around what are the objectives of the program and the team. including the board, the senior coach, and the players.
Unfortunately 3/4 of the way through the season is probably too late. it should really happen with the appointment of the new coach or the review of the program each year.
Hope this helps and triggers some thoughts
