One of my favorite movies of all time is "Miracle". Its about the US Olympic Hockey team that defied all odds to win Olympic Gold when no one, including experts from the US, believed they had a shot in hell. The basic premise of the movie is that the most talented group of individuals can be beat by a less talented team. Talent is only one piece of the puzzle. If you can't get the individuals to see themselves as part of something bigger than themselves, the talent itself becomes useless. Teams with less talent who work together and understand each other and play as a team can beat "talent" any day of the week.
It takes a special gift to coach. Surprise, surprise - it takes more than talent or knowledge. Just because you played football and were a superstar in college and know all the stats and formations and plays in the world, that doesn't just automatically morph into being a good coach. Because often times, being a good coach starts with things that have NOT A DAMN THING to do with stats and formations and play books. It starts with fundamentals.
Fundamentals that are universal regardless of the sport you are playing. Fundamentals that are the building blocks of both individual talent AND team work. Fundamentals that will determine exactly what kind of player you want to be. Showing up for practice ON TIME. Giving 110% EVERY play, even when you are losing 22-0 in the 4th quarter or the 9th inning or the 3rd period or the 3rd match/set or the 18th hole or the second half. Being held accountable for your actions CONSISTENTLY regardless of whether you are a star starter or a 3rd string. These are some pretty important fundamentals. And kids don't just pick this stuff up. Its coached. Its taught. Its drilled into them day after day after day after day in practice. These details have to be balanced with the plays and the stats and the formations.
Because if you want your team to implement the plays seamlessly, they have to know what they are doing. And in order to know what they are doing, they have to be focused at practice. And in order to be focused at practice, they have to be there ON TIME and working and not slacking off because its hot and they are tired. Guess what? EVERYONE is hot and tired. Get the fuck over it.
Here is the first thing I think every good coach should tell his/her team on day one. Doesn't matter what age. When you are playing a team sport, you need to clearly understand that it is now about the team. NOT you. Rule #1: You are not special. Nope. Sorry to disappoint you. If you want to be special and receive special treatment and be made to feel like you are a superstar who can do no wrong, go play with your mom and dad in the backyard. Or play a non-team sport, like golf or karate, where you are in it just for you and you alone. Because on a successful team, no one individual is more important or special than anyone else. You are part of something bigger than you. You are just a small piece of the over all puzzle.
That means that the most talented individual is held to the same standard as the least talented 3rd stringer. I don't care who you are, you stroll in late to practice, or to warm ups before a game, or to a team meeting, or you don't show up at all? You don't fucking play! You sit your ass on the bench, and someone who believes in the team enough to put the team's needs ahead of his own desires will be on that field, even if that means we lose the damn game. You want to spend your practice chatting it up with the coaches and your friends, not drilling and running the plays? You don't fucking play. You sit your ass on the bench, and someone who has been busting his ass learning the playbook and practicing the routes and memorizing what his job is for every formation will be on that field, even if it means we lose the damn game. You want to give up because that play didn't go your way, or your team is losing the game, and you don't want to hustle and have heart and you don't want to give every play every single thing you've got? You don't fucking play. You sit your ass on the bench, and someone who NEVER gives up and who hustles on that field no matter how futile it might seem will be on that field, even if it means we lose the damn game.
And you know what? If you are a coach and you can't be bothered to show up for practices, and you can't be bothered to show up on time for warm ups before a game or for practice, and you can't be bothered to pay attention to what is going on with your team on the field because you are too busy chatting and laughing with your buddies on the sideline? You shouldn't get to fucking coach!! And you sure as hell shouldn't have the right to tell kids who have been to more practices than YOU that they aren't working hard enough, trying hard enough, or playing good enough. Because contrary to what you told them, THEY are not the ones out there embarrassing themselves. They are following the tone for the team that YOU have set. Before you point the finger at anyone on that field, you need to take a good, long, hard look at what YOU are doing, how YOU are behaving, and if YOUR actions hold water next to the expectations and standards you put up for the team.
If you want a team that hustles on and off the field, you need to expect that from them EVERY play in EVERY practice. And when the don't deliver, there needs to be a consequence for it that is doled out to EVERY player who fails to deliver, rather than turning a blind eye to the slacking by your "superstars". If you want players that know what their jobs are on the field in any given situation, you need to expect them to know that by expecting them to be at practice ON TIME, EVERY time. They need to be at team meetings and pre-game warm ups ON TIME, EVERY time. They need to be paying attention at those team meetings and pre-game warm ups and practices, not wandering off chatting with friends or buddies or coaches. And they need to be held accountable when they do these things, instead of turning a blind eye because they are your "superstars".
And most importantly, YOU need to do these things! YOU need to be a goddamn leader! YOU need to show them what is important by DOING it yourself. YOU need to be at practices ON TIME. YOU need to be at team meetings and pre-game warms ups ON TIME. YOU need to be focused on the team, the practice, and/or the game during team meetings and warm-ups and post-game chats and practices, not wandering off because you have better things to do. You can't be shocked and amazed that your players are doing exactly the same thing you are doing. Because they are. And surprise, surprise, they aren't winning.
And contrary to popular belief, winning is about a SHIT LOAD more than just points on the board. Its about your heart and your soul and your passion and your hard work and who you are inside. Not how well you can throw a ball, or catch a ball, or how fast you can run, or how often you can score a goal, or how many saves you can make, or strikes you can throw, or touchdowns you can make. You have to become the player you want to be on the INSIDE in order to have something to show for it on the outside. And if you don't start on the inside, you will have nothing to show for it. No points. No goals. No runs. No touchdowns. No wins. And frankly, I'd much rather have my kid come home with no wins, but with a coach that teaches what's really important, instead of a kid who comes home with a win every week but who never learns what it means to be a part of a team. Who never learns how to take pride in his play, regardless of the score at the end of the game. I want a kid who learns what it means to have heart and soul no matter what the outcome. That is what REAL coach does.
I've had a few real coaches in my time. And my kids have had some real coaches too. These are the ones that have had the long-term impact, the ones that they remember years later when they relive an important life lesson. The other coaches come and go. With any luck, they will have an impact that lasts no longer than that particular sports season. And hopefully, it is the lessons they learned from the real coaches that came before that will carry them through the experience, and allow them to come out the other side stronger and better for it.
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