turning programs around

My situation is different but similar.

The school has been a winner for some time but there was no summer weight training. You do the same thing in either case, build relationships with the upper classmen and underclassmen alike (the older kids are much more challenging because they tend to have entitlement issues and are used to the old way) and you set your expectations out clearly, communicate it often and loudly and you establish your policy right away. hold kids and parents accountable. You will be tested.

2_ the "best way" is to make yourself available. I called every kid that wasnt making our morning lifts and offered evening lifts. IF they still couldnt make it I knew what I was dealing with and made it clear to them that their conditioning WOULD HAPPEN at practice. I gave additional points to kids who helped me round up their buddies.

sometimes things have to get worse before they get better and my guess is that you have already discussed that with administration and will have support for your policy.

I like a point system and believe in it.

I sent you a pm.

second thing. Today I walked around the halls and hunted down the kids who have been awol for most of this month and for most of the last two. I do this often. I go to them and show them where they are in terms of points, I show them were 8th and 9th graders are passing them and how disappointing that is from a leadership view.

Both of my targeted players came to lift in class today, well sure enough as I am busy training someone else both are screwing around and completely off task and not following my guide lines as posted. One kid says "I am training arms" and I pounded my hand with a the back of the other "you MUST do my program, its not about you, its about the program, you have to be coachable every day and do things exactly as I explain them" too many youngsters figure "its my body Ill train it the way I want" ...and thats fine, but they do not get "points" for participating in OUR PROGRAM. I got louder than usual with both of these boys because I wanted to make an example of how not to do things in my weight room, yes my weight room.

I have contacted my senior leaders to get on these kids about their buy in and participation. I have talked to them quietly, softer gentler and its not worked. Now its my way or the highway and I do not bend for them.

Long story short, I doubt either one of these kids, though talented, will play any significant role for us.

Regarding running a program. Do you guys think you can be too gung ho? I mean too crazy about football and maybe demand too much? scare kids off?

1. Change the losing culture

2. Cut the cancers

I want to re-emphasize point 10. above It may take years. Overnight turnarounds might occasionally happen but they are not the rule it took years of neglect, turnover, etc... for the program to get where it is - it may take a while to get the ship righted as well.

Always remember when you build you start from the foundation. build from the bottom up. Get your younger players on board, I'm not saying to neglect or forget the unpperclassmen but pay special attention to your future.

I had some experience playing in a program like this in HS. When I got there as a freshman, we'd never been the playoffs or even cracked .500 in 14 years as a school. Our school was built in 1980 and replaced a winner with a great tradition, which basically got boxed up and thrown out with consolidation. Still, we were producing the athletes. It's just that they either weren't playing or were transferring into nearby systems to do it.

Turning a program around is all about psychology and changing the attitudes people have. The raw demographics of schools in a given geographic area are usually more or less the same. It's how you handle them that determines who comes out, who works hard, and who becomes good.

As dcohio said, what's frequently at the heart of this is a lack of discipline, and that's from both the coaching staff and the players. Usually, programs with no tradition are very poorly organized, as you're discovering, and their execution sucks on the field because their fundamentals suck because their discipline sucks. Losing breeds a losing attitude from the players. They see football as mostly just a club and a hobby. They're used to settling for less--they think that's all they can ever have "just because"--so they simply don't care as much as you need them to.

That's the mindset you've got to change. You've got to get them optimistic, confident, and enthusiastic. Make it clear now that a new era is dawning. That will help spark the work ethic. When they see themselves getting bigger, stronger, and faster they'll be sold. But discipline has to be instilled--ideally from self-policing senior leadership--before you'll ever have a team instead of a group of self-interested athletes.

There are some things you can do that are fairly easy and can be done right now: meet with your rising seniors to encourage senior leadership and responsibility. Make sure you have a booster club set up to raise money to improve the facilities. Then paint the locker room, weightroom, etc, and make a team building exercise of it. A few cans of paint are cheap, while a spiffed up locker room and weightroom will really help send the message that the program is now in a state of renewal.

You've also got to establish the right relationship with your players early on. Be optimistic and show that you care about them as people outside of football--go to basketball and baseball games, recruit the halls, etc., but also make sure that you conduct yourself as an authority figure. Obviously your own personality comes into play here, but that's the basics of it.

Do you get spring ball there in FL? If you do, make sure to have spring practice. If admin will allow it, cap it off with an intra-squad exhibition game during school hours so the kids get to play in front of their classmates. Have the students pay $3 or so to get ouf class and watch the game in the afternoon. In addition to being a good fundraiser, this really does help to get people excited about football and talking about it during the summer.

It also gives you a golden opportunity to evaluate talent. A tip I got from an article by Bo Schembechler is to meet with each of your kids privately after spring ball and tell each one of them where they stand now and what you expect from them over the summer. That's when you really sell the summer strength and speed stuff.

As for the QB, meet with him ASAP to ask him about these rumors. Whatever you do, though, don't sell yourself or your team out to a player, no matter how talented or how much you think you "need" him. There's no quicker way to cut yourself off at the knees in the eyes of everyone. No good ever comes from that. It's better to go 5-5 with a bunch of hardcore overachievers than 5-5 with a bunch of spoiled brats.

ccox-Decided to leave texas to florida bc I felt called there. Doesn't seem like it would make sense leaving a successful program in TX to take a program that is down in FL. I guess it's one of those faith things!

Anticipate things to go wrong ahead of time and cut them off at the pass. Try to keep yourself out of "reactionary" positions - it only leads to feeling like your back is against the wall and you will be "alone" based on a long distance move to Florida - I have done the same type of thing so let me know if you want to discuss it.

I agree with the post above:

1. Cut the cancers - players and coaches.

2. Set the bar as high as you are willing to go.

3. Lift, lift, lift - it is the only thing that really matters in your first two years.

4. Recruit a staff that will be loyal - you may even ask the admin. to open every position and have them all re-apply. It won't do any damage because they are already unsure about you, your philosophy, and don't trust you - believe me, and these other head coaches will tell you the same thing.

5. Work real hard getting to know the current 7th and 8th grade kids because that is really your first team - hold a youth camp in the summer and an intro. to lifting camp in the winter.

6. Don't be afraid to walk away from it if the administration won't let you hire your staff, lift year-round, and place demands on kids and coaches.

7. Recruiting the halls? I personally don't think it works and, in fact, in fifteen years of coaching, I have never had a kid stay with it who didn't do it on their own. They know were you are if they want to be a part of it.

8. Have total control over the fund raising so that all money goes directly into your account - not a parent group that you have to ask for it.

9. Look for retired successful former head coaches to join your staff - go seek them out and they will love the opportunity.

10. Remember, you don't win with great athletes, only the right kind of kids and coaches, so don't be afraid to make hard decisions regarding the people and stick to it.

Good luck and keep the faith.

I think the most over-looked thing mentioned when trying to turn a bad situation into a good one is to assess the situation. At my current school we came in gung-ho, put the blinders on and were going to "make everyonne believe." Didn't happen. Why? Because we were not prepared fully for the obstacles that we would be facing.

I've heard assess the situation...what exactly are ya'll looking for. I've assessed that the guys have not been in the weight room, don't know if parents are going to be positive about the summer workouts, and that we have small lineman...is that what ya'll look for?

What is the most important situation that needs to be assessed?

In my case, when I opened the weight room , I was the only guy in there on the first day. The second day two kids came. The third day 3 and by the second week we had about 8 kids coming in. That continued and I made them all lift as a team all season because we were grossly undermuscled due to no prior lifting. We still do not have any kids that bench with over 225. During the season we progressed enough to see our first 225, 275 and 315 squats.

It is now clear to my kids "if you want to play football you have to lift weights" because we lift 4 days a week all year.

one thing that has to be assessed is TRADITION. Find out what kind of traditions are in place and have been for years , things that might be part of the community.

another thing that has to be assessed is the staff obviously, and then your leaders. who are the kids following? do they follow "joe the druggie" or "straight A stan?", you will have to establish a leadership criteria and train kids to be leaders.

Obviously developing relationships and new procedures is going to be important, you want to spell things out, then do it again, and again. I sent home at least 6 letters I am sure. We also had a parent and player meeting and you wouldnt believe it but some actually STILL DIDNT KNOW or DIDNT BELIEVE that the changes were coming.

I think the shape up or ship out approach has its place. Each year you have to tightend the screws a little more.

Great line - I am in my second re-building situation, and although I haven't articulated it that way, it is exactly how we have gone about it at both schools.

I really liked the "tighten the screws slowly." Great advice!

Part II
The boy above read his written review from me and took it to heart. He went recruiting for the weight room and came back with some interesting tidbits. Told me that one of my "cancers" who has not been lifting but hanging with the graduating cancers flat out said "I aint liftin, its the off season" and hes a kid who lies to me about having to work and he "cant lift". He proceeds to ask that an 8th grader step in for weight room dedication. A few months ago this kid was part of that graduating crew of problem attitudes.