Suggestions for Taking the NEXT step.

Step 1: Install the facemelter.

I don't really know coach. What is keeping you from reaching that higher level? Is it weight room commitment? Scheme? You talked about onfield discipline. How does the coaching staff hold players accountable for their actions?

This, to me, is the toughest question.

Getting a team "good" is something many know how to do (though few possess the perseverance).

Getting a team GREAT, that is something almost no one can pin down.

I think in high school, there exists "program ceilings".......you can only get a program to a certain level. I do NOT believe a program can "max out" at 5-5, but 8-9 win seasons and a couple playoff wins is the most some will ever achieve (barring that genetic lottery group of kids).

Now, you need to realistically (not in coach rhetoric) ask yourself if your program is maxed.

If that answer is no, then I think there are a couple of things you need to do to climb over those last dozen or so spots to become a state champion.

1.) Get the ego out of the way. Notice there are two sides to ego.......the first side wants to pound the chest, the second side wants to be liked.

You can care about either.

Not to cause a stir, but Nick Saban and Bill Belicheck are on to something when it comes to this........sure both those guys have a big ego, but it first and foremost for the organizations they've built, not the big "I".

By doing this, you approach the game completely pragmatically.......instead of finding solutions that fit traditional football philosophy, find solutions based solely on "will this help us win".

Now, be obsessive about the details.

Have hour long staff meetings on your snap count.

Stuff like that.

First off have never been there. Was ether a program way below trying to get good or a good program trying to maintain but never got to the big prize.

Sat in a lot of staff meetings of a buddys staff that's been in the semi or better I think 5 of the last 6 years. They always talked about finding away to beat the team in there league that they had to beat year in year out. They planed there whole offence,defence,special teams and conditioning program for that team. After they started beating them on a regular basis they tweaked things to beat the big teams on are half the state. I'm shure there was more to it but that's one of the big things I got from them.

I don't know if I'd go that far but that does seem excessive.

I think 2 areas to focus on, and one comes from Chip Kelly's motto "Win the Day." In our offseason program, whether it is our lifting charts in our program, or the conditioning phase, we are adding a segment, What did you do to "win the day." Any form of one extra conditioning, competition, lift, etc. That the student athlete can do at the end of his workout to win the day. Basically trying to have them take ownership and do that little extra to help put you over the top. Say for a WR you catch a 100 tennis balls from a jug machine.

Also, I don't think trench play can be overstated for anyone. What can you do to improve your OL/DL. I'm always looking for ways to simplify scheme and improve technique and whenever you can improve those areas for your buffet busters it's a win.

Also, if your looking to improve your program, try not to look at the solution to your problems until you have evaluated what the problems are.

That's not very encouraging because you'll never actually get into the endzone.

He also says "don't worry about about a few mouse turds when your waist deep in elephant dung." But that's for a different thread. Certainly not this one about trying to address the little things.

Chuck,
First good question, and very similar for us and most likely many other. I noticed on your school site, at the varsity picture that you have 5 coaches on your staff. We have 7. The Back to Back State Champs and Team that is always in the mix, ( who we share the same sand-box with) Conference, seek to try to place 9 coaches just in the press box during games. There are many other coaches on the sideline.

I am a believer in, more is better. If a coach is able to instruct his expanded staff, I see it as a win. Another way of looking at it since most of you are teachers is this. When classroom sizes were smaller wasn't it a win - win for both the student and the teachers

As in my case, I was retiring soon. I answered a ad in the paper for a 7th and 8th grade coaching gig. Prior because of a housing move I wasn't involved in coaching for several years. Mind you, I have been coaching or had some kind of involvement, there of, since I was 17. I'm 58 1/2 now. H/C asked if I could be at Varsity Camp to get accustom for the purpose of a feeder program that was in place. After 3 days of working with the running back, he approached me asking if I wouldn't mind staying up at the Varsity.

Are there more old timers out there I say, you can bet your buns there are and just waiting for a Howdy -Do from you. As to pay, hell we're retired. We made as much money as we are ever going to make. My H/C started to discuss money with me and I politely picked up another slice of pizza while at the pizza place, stuck out my other hand for a handshake and said paid in full. He still gives me some coins that fall off the edge of the table to help cover the fuel cost but never did I ask for anything. Most of that finds it's way back into the program one way or another.

In closing --- If this sparks any interest, maybe suggest to your paid coaches, for each of them to go out and get their own assistant that they can work with. Just follow a chain of command style that is headed by you. Older gents or younger just so long they follow instruction's and not free-lance. 2) You may find a nut like myself that will be at practice everyday 1 hour earlier than the teachers to prep the field and to get the S/Teams ready and in motion. 3) Maybe that same nut or a different one will be up all night and day, breaking down film because again " HE's RETIRED " and able to get to the fine details that sometimes get missed by others -- BECAUSE -- " THEY'RE NOT RETIRED " and are involved with Fundraisers, Parent-Teacher Conf, Grading Papers, In Staff Meetings, DA DA DA etc.

Chuck, thanks for all that you do with your kids and here at Huey's . This is just my viewpoint . For those ready to give their negative feedback don't bother " I'm Retired and Don't Care"

Coach,
Early on in my coaching career, I was a part of a program that reminds me a lot of where you guys are. Similar enrollment, similar conference, similar steps forward, etc. What really put us over the edge was getting the kids to take ownership in the program. We had a group that qualified for playoffs and was 6-4. This group did most of the things that I have seen in other good programs. 2 Years later, we had a group that had gone 29-0 with back to back state championships. The difference was giving them control of the team. They called their own plays, the captains made the decisions on what conditioning would be, they had conversations about who was being selfish/not looking out for the good of the team and how to handle it, etc. It is an interesting story of how this all developed that had to do with the players of the 6-3 team saying they really only trusted 4 plays we ran down 21-0 at half of a playoff game, so those plays were run in a repeating pattern for a 28 point comeback. Within a couple of months we had sat down with them and completely sold out to the idea that they knew the program better than we thought. We let them make decisions about if we should purchased uniforms that followed our schools tradition or something flashier that stood out, where to hold the banquet, etc. It isn't a style that works for everyone, but for us it really put us over the top.

Great suggestion. We do that. This has been a great thread (in my opinion anyway). If you have ideas keep posting them. Several ideas posted above have already been talked about by my staff since this thread started.

One more thing I forgot about. We constantly were preaching to our kids that we "were doing things no one else did." Even if we knew other programs did some of them, we talked up how unique they were "Everybody runs sprints, we run springs holding cinder blocks." "Everybody does tackling drills, we do tackling drills to start every practice." We were constantly pointing out what we did differently than other programs. "Our week one opponent has a starter out for a drinking violation. Our program hasn't had a drinking violation since you seniors were in 6th grade."

I wrote my masters thesis on team building, and one of the things that I found is there is a benefit to having an "us vs. them" mentality. People will buy in if they feel like there is something unique going on. All programs have things that they do very well. Find those, and make sure that the kids know about it and take pride in it.

What I like to do if find a program that has taken the next step and study what they do. Most HS coaches are really open to sharing, especially in how they organize their program, etc. I have met with several coaches out of state and it is incredible what they will share with you, and how much is applicable to what we're doing. It's also great to see what a top program in California is doing when they don't have the same restrictions that say New Jersey does. Retired coaches are especially helpful in that they don't worry about someone stealing their stuff and some miss coaching and like the opportunity to share.