One of the challenges we constantly face as coaches – how do you handle the player who is talented, but doesn’t really work hard. Especially coming out of high school, so many kids are used to just relying on their talent to be good enough. That’s not an indictment of high school coaches at all, […]
Nebraska Linemen on Buy-In and Work Ethic
https://twitter.com/HailVarsity/status/1041733991030775810“In high school I thought I worked hard… I got to college, and I worked just as hard as I did in high school, and I didn’t do crap.”
Change and Continuity
https://hbr.org/2018/08/research-to-get-people-to-embrace-change-emphasize-what-will-stay-the-same?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hbrVery interesting research on the importance of stressing continuity with regards to effective change management. As coaches we often talk about absolute change – when we take over a program, when we’ve had a bad year. Do we ever stress continuity? Even if your team is bought into the idea of change, this research shows […]
Your Leadership Model
If you aren’t getting the right leadership from your team, or the guys you expect to lead aren’t stepping up, don’t question their leadership. Take a look at your own leadership model. So many teams and coaches that struggle use a lack of leadership as an excuse. But the easiest thing to do in coaching […]
Things I Learned As A D3 Head Coach
The run-up for the gymnastics vault extends all the way under one of the hoops on the baseline. You are never going to get a straight answer as to what is going on with the heat. Appreciate your kids for showing up. They are finding a way to pay for school, many are working jobs, […]
“Indecision Can Paralyze An Organization”
https://www.inc.com/scott-mautz/these-5-well-intended-behaviors-make-you-look-very-indecisive.html?cid=sf01001A very interesting take on making decisions as a leader. I’ve been around many coaches who are insecure about making key decisions. Collaboration, debate and different ideas can actually hurt your program if you don’t make decisions when necessary.
The Clown
I learned as a head coach that your team will be at it’s best if you let the individual personalities of your players shine through. You have to let the players be themselves. Of course they have to fit into the structure of your culture. But I think if you let the quiet keeps stay […]
The Plan
As a head coach the off-season can get uncomfortable, because you feel like your not doing enough to help improve your program – even though there isn’t a lot you can actually do. When I first became a head coach, late in the summer and heading into the fall I started to plan out what […]
Time and Score Games
Every day that I’ve been a head coach, for 13 years, we’ve practiced time and score in some fashion. Every day. I’ve always felt like if you weren’t practicing time and score every day you weren’t fully preparing your team to win games. Here are some different ways we practiced time and score. Game to […]
Task-Oriented Conflict
I was fascinated by this section of “The Captain Class,” by Sam Walker. Walker studied the most successful teams in the history of sports with a close look on the characteristics of the captains of those teams. In this section, Walker talks about Karen Jehn, management professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford, and […]