Biggest Difference Maker Within a Program

What kind of technology do u guys have?

Without knowing all the details, i would say weight room. Some people will argue that,but champions are made in the wt room and then on the track with speed work.
Make sure you guys have a quality strength guy that stays up to date, and all coaches are bought in. Not just football, but all.

And if you don't mine me asking, state , and size of school please

Cause 20 million behind just for football?
Turf , endzone facilty and then wait a year or 2 and build an indoor?

And we are supposed to feel bad for you why.....?

Focus on the weight room, that's where champions are made. My schools weight is the same way except twice as small. its filled to the brim, we have 2 full racks, 2 bench press, 1 rack for inclined press and then we have a 3x3 platform for lifts. i would see if you can get some money raised, go to walmart buy a couple weighted jump ropes, running parachutes and such and go from there. Give your guys the brawler mentality, that you may not have the money but you have the work ethic to outwork anybody.

Very true, then id  go upgrade to dicks or sports authority...

I think the most relevant aspect of the question has to do with how legal/pervasive recruiting is. If teams are out recruiting players from the same general talent pool and some schools have 30 million and others have 7 million, uh guess who has the better value offer? So who's likely to get better players?

My point is that while you may be able to work your butt off in the weight room, practice the right way, be smart in the way you run your program, etc. if the guys you play against do all the same stuff but do it with more talented players then you're fighting an uphill battle.

I would be happy to help and bring your program back to National prominence. I will, of course, require a non-refundable $750k retainer for services. Chump change for your program. I'll await your call.

I'll not snark the query.

Of the things listed that you can get the most return for the investment would be a turf field. You don't have play/practice/perform on a substandard field. Plus you can gain the extra usage (and potential fees) from it. I.E. Not wear out. The other stuff you either have a great deal of control over or you're stuck with.

From that, it's a matter of what works.
- Weight room: can you expand, can you better use space, can you trade space, etc.... You seem to suffering a geography problem. We're in the same spot; there is NO WHERE we can add even an extra 200 Sq Ft

- Stadium Issues: create a matenence schedule that is done by the staff, maintence crew, janitors, contractors, or a collection there of.
When do signs go up/come down/get replaced
When is the stadium pressure washed
When are simple maintenance items done
When is the stadium winterized (if that is an issue)
When is the preseason check list ran through
What is the maintanence schedule/procedure when a problem is found
Who is in charge of getting things done/who is responsible when things DONT get done

1. New turf field... they can do the bleachers and everything else too but really i do not care about the bleachers... you need turf for year round use (all field sports not just football)
this was our first year ever with turf... having lines, numbers, hashes, every single day and the ability to still be able to practice if the weather was poor made a HUGE difference

2. have them use some money to make sure you have one of your coaches paid to do nothing but teach weight training... you need EVERy kid in your program in his weight lifting class so you guys can lift year round no matter what

these are the two that matter to me... have to have a facility to practice in (also kids want to play on turf, not grass, they want to play in a new stadium, new weight room)

we have #1... perpetually fighting for something even close to #2

the rest is just getting fancy... sleds, bags, chutes, sideline replay technology, hudl, maybe a FOOTBALl dedicated ipad

but the top 2 will really make your own field product much better

if you have the money still you can make a bigger weight room, or a 2nd weight room with more racks if you have that many kids within the program, that the current 10 just aint enough

Do you have a nutrition program? Can you hire a nutrionists? Feed the boys all the time. One of the biggest differences in elite programs I've seen.

IMO, running a weight program better than others is the #1 thing you can do to compete.

We are a school that is half the size of most of our opponents  (due to housing crisis our enrollment never grew to expectations when we joined our current conference)  and we have competed for a play off berth 4 times and a division title 3 times in the last 6 seasons. We won the division once and made the play offs twice.  

Yes, I know we didn't make it to the play offs the other 4 times and that's probably nothing to brag about but our other sports have been slaughtered in this conference while we have remained relevant and competitive. 

I think when you are an underdog, you have to do the weight program better than your opponents. Their in no real way of knowing whether you are doing that or not, but I know that if you treat the weight room like practice where you are actively involved day to day COACHING the kids through their lifts to the point you leave the weight room tired and you haven't even lifted a single thing, then IMO you are probably doing more than most. When I was in HS (27 years ago now) our coaches used to read the paper while we bumbled around the weight room and we were not a great program.

The other thing I have learned, and I know this may be controversial to say and some will disagree with it, but I have learned that not EVERY single kid has to buy int the weight room for you to be successful. IMO, if you can get a core of solid players to buy in and work their butts off you will be in good shape. I have made the mistake for many years HOUNDING dudes that don't want to lift and in the long run have probably run off as many as I have tried to "help". Some guys are just not those guys. But in this sport, again IMO, you need numbers. Again I know this is controversial, but I have begun in the past few years to ficus on the guys that are willing and laying off the guys that aren't. Some of them come around and some don't but I would rather expend energy on the willing and praise them rather than shame the lazy kids. They will suffer their own consequences for not doing the hard things. Find a core and get after WITH them. That is my advice, good, bad or otherwise.
 

Thanks for the input so far, at least most of it.  I agree that players are the number 1 but in high school we aren't supposed to have the luxury of choosing our players unless we are willing to go outside the rules and recruit like some have suggested.  And  maybe that's the reason we've fell behind.  I appreciate the replies offering input on the topic.  The consensus seems to be Weight Room or Turf Field other than players.  

Some took this as a "feel sorry for me" post.  It's definitely not that.  I value the information that is on here daily and wanted some opinions from other coaches that MIGHT have seen a purchase make a difference.  I realize that no purchase is gonna be the magic fix-all but when your opponent is holding a better hand, it'd be nice to know of something that has made the biggest difference in a program that you've seen other than players.  



runitupthemiddle - We are Southeast US and approximately 2100 kids, biggest division in our state. 20 million behind in Athletics. 
And technology - We have Hudl.  One defensive coaches office, one offensive coaches office.  We use these for film along with classrooms.  

Yeah, you could turf the field and build a hell of an athletic facility for a few million!

South Carolina

Thanks for the suggestion.  Our QB coach coached in GA a few years ago and I think he is planning on going to Colquitt for a day or two in January.  I'm planning on making the trip with him.  You may be more familiar with them than me, but I don't think money is a problem for them.  I think they're the ones doing the spending which is giving them a leg up on competition.  Apparently, there is a guy in Moultrie that makes Coach Propst's wishes come true.  Also a big time UGA booster I hear.  

I do agree with you though.  I'm sure they'll be able to say what the best thing they've bought is.  

Probably a better question for Coach Propst would be "What was the single most important thing that helped you turn this program around?  I believe they were 2-8 before he took over.