Culture or Talent

What's more important to you as a coach - your culture or your talent? I think a lot of coaches would answer that question by saying their culture, but that won't always be reflected in their actions. It's easy to say our culture is what's most important, but it's hard to pass up elite talent.

I don't know that there is a black and white answer to the question of culture or talent. You need a lot of both to win consistently. And there are plenty of players who are talented and great for your culture, so if you constantly face the question of culture or talent in recruiting, you probably aren't recruiting the right people.

I'm always willing to sacrifice a talented player for the culture of my team, and I think that can be very powerful. During the season, I'm definitely a culture first guy. But when I'm recruiting, I don't see it the same way. That's not to say I'd go out and just recruit all knuckleheads and not consider their character or how they'd fit into my team. But I do think in recruiting you are trying to acquire talent, not culture.

I'm not sure you can really evaluate culture as well as you'd like in recruiting. Do you really know how a player is going to respond to the way you communicate and hold them accountable? You can get a feel for the character of the player and how coachable he is, but you really don't know how he'll respond to tough choices and things he doesn't like until you get him in that situation.

I think you need to be open to taking some talented kids that might not fit your culture. First of all, you might be wrong about them and they might fit in just fine. Secondly, not everyone on your team is going to be a leader for your culture. Some guys are just going to put up with everything and toe the line because they want to play. And that is fine. I've had plenty of important contributors on my teams who you would not consider great culture guys. If your culture is strong enough and your leadership is effective you can certainly absorb a few of those guys.

This doesn't mean you should be looking to recruit bad kids. But I do think you should have an open mind when acquiring talent for your team. Maybe a player doesn't seem like the typical kid you'd like to coach, but that isn't always a bad thing. I've learned a lot from players I've coached who've had a different approach, and they've added a lot of value to our culture.

When I'm coaching my team, culture always comes first. But when I'm recruiting, the first thing I'm looking at is talent. Character and fit will always matter, but natural talent is important. If your culture is right, you'll be surprised at how much you can get out of talented players who might be a little bit different or not necessarily be a perfect fit for you culture.