- More Solutions to Problem #5

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Continued from:
32 Solutions for the 12 Biggest Problems You'll Face this Season

Problem 5: Senior leadership issues among the team – upper classmen not taking accountability for THEIR program... how do you get your team back on the right track?

We have instituted a leadership council and teaming concept this season to start developing positive team leadership. Each coach is responsible for a group of players that consists of all four grade levels and acts as a mentor/counselor to help them through daily school life and other issues.

Keith Wheeler, Offensive Coordinator/QB Coach
Holbrook Roadrunners (AZ)

The solution: your team’s success is defined by many intangibles, the first being it has to mean something to be on your team. You need to reshape the attitudes of the team and in terms of both individual and team goals working for success. The accountability of your senior players must be addressed by the Head Coach. He must reinforce ARC to them (attitude, responsibility and communication) in keeping vision on a positive environment. You'll be able to iron out problems which will destroy the internal integrity of your program developing this approach

Ron Price, Assistant Coach
Santa Rosa High School (CA)

Our program is built in the off season in the weight room. Players that work hard and stay in the program most often start as a senior if not before. Everyone knows that if you’re a senior and you have been in the program for four years you are going to get the first shot at a starting position. Running our program in this fashion has built in a respect for our seniors that enables them to assume a leadership role. As coaches we meet with our seniors and discuss how to be a good leader. One of the main ideas we preach with our seniors is always put some chips in the bank before making a withdraw. Never confront someone until you have caught them doing something good.

Randy Pinkowski, Head Football Coach
C.B. Aycock H.S. (NC)

That's tough to do when you don't have senior leadership. Team chemistry all starts with the seniors. We work on this is the off-season through our weight program by making the seniors accountable for teammates attendance at workouts and doing the little things right. It's too late when you get in-season. You are fighting an up hill battle.

Sam Harp, Head Football Coach
Danville High School (KY)

Senior leadership is priceless but it’s not absolute! I stress to all my players that they need to be leaders and if it’s a freshman, sophmore, junior, that is mature enough and has the respect from his teammates to lead... then so be it! I would have some serious question marks in my head about any seniors who have not accepted their natural role as a leader of your football team. As a coach you should be able to see your leaders emerge in the off-season during weight room sessions, conditioning, 7-on-7's, etc.

Jared Van Acker, Head Varsity Football Coach
Galax High School (VA)

This is an off-season problem. If it is there by season's beginning, it is gonna be a long year.

Bob DeLong, Offensive coordinator
Xenia high School (OH)

Nuturing principle-centered leadership all along a player's time with you is important. I believe you have to encourage any show of leadership from the player's first practice as a freshman. Most of the time, the players know who their leaders are, even when these leaders try to kind of hide out. As a coach, it is my job to identify and develop leaders for each grade level and the team as a whole. Again, reinforcing desired behavior is crucial. If need be, move an underclassman into a leadership role. There is also the issue of whose team it really is. A coach can't give lip service to it being their team when he never allows it to actually be "their" team. You have to trust and allow leaders to be leaders. There needs to be guidelines the leaders are to follow and there needs to be effective monitoring of what is done. Pairing seniors with sophomores and juniors with freshmen can help model leadership and commitment to quality. The message should always be clear that leadership is a valued skill for life. Steven Covey's principles of leadership can be a useful guide.

Larry Payne, Assistant Coach (retired)
North Bend H.S. (OR)

Playing time is a great motivator to do the right thing. If the seniors are taking accountibility for what the program has become then the juniors and maybe a few sophomores can be accountable for how the team will be and hopefully send us in a new direction.

Zak Bessac, Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator
Warner Park, Madison Wisconsin

Morale is the single most important factor for success. Prior to each season and before the very first practice, I meet with the seniors to address the significant role they play in the upcoming months.. Our senior leadership is treated as being very special and honorable; they realize they have inherited that responsibility and generally embrace it. Our program is steeped in tradition, and the seniors realize that, from the outset,they are responsible for the conduct in practice, play, school and community of not only themselves, but for the entire team. At any time, we feel there is a lack of cosideration of that obligation or a failure to fullfill it, it is addressed immediately. This is done first with the captains, then with the entire senior group. Our coaches closely monitor and observe attitudes and behaviors both on and off the playing field. Our seniors model through example and effort the very best of Warrior football. The KEY is quickly addressing, immediately , any concerns that arise in a positive way. What is the problem? Here is how we, all of us, intend to deal with it. There is zero tolerance for selfishness or not caring about teammates.

Ron Stolski, Head Football Coach
Brainerd High School (MN) We have had two years where this is exactly the issue, so we no longer choose captains in the spring or for the whole season. We elect captains week to week, and the coaches choose at least one other captain based on specific criteria each week. In some years, the captains are mostly seniors, but it has never been only seniors. Also, the underclassmen see younger athletes picked and see them lead. Our players vote on their leaders each week and we then address three key areas for action by the weekly captains. These areas are nearly always position or group specific and are more practice oriented than game oriented. By doing this, we hope to provide ownership by their players as well as develop leaders. No senior is automatically a leader in our program; it must be earned. In fact, this year's slogan is “Who will lead" as we lost a great group of leaders who had been multiple years' captains for us. As a result, one key sophomore has stepped forward in off-season strength/conditioning program and is developing into a key OL leader and we have become more junior dominated at other leadership positions. This, in turn, has pushed a couple of seniors to take more ownership and yet others have stepped back. We don't see this as a bad thing. It is a more unified team and there is less heirarchy issues now.

Steve Hopkins, Head Football Coach
Basehor-Linwood H.S. (KS)

We had an issue like this in the past. I feel that you need to provide the opportunity for the players to voice any concern that they may have and let them see you as the coach take accountability. Then you need to take some of their feasible suggestions and try to implement them. You do need to lay down some framework for what you are willing to look at and things that are off-limits. This, then, opens a line of communication that allows you to provide ownership in the things that are going on in the program. When the players see they do have a say they will start to hold themselves more accountable for the team’s actions. This worked out for us. We went 6-1 to finish our regular season, were co-champions in our league and made the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. This worked for us but we have laid a foundation over the past for years to be very open and accountable in all levels of the program.

Joe Pearson, Head Coach
Solanco High School (PA)

Being seniors does not make one a leader. This should be addressed to the seniors. If they cannot be the leaders they need to be, then they need to know that someone who is able and willing will become the leaders of the team regardless of classification. That should get the seniors’ attention.

Gerald Aubrey, Asst.Coach

The “Annual Leadership Conference” held in March of each year is intended to point out things that are required. We always invite all our upcoming seniors as well as the members of our "Unity Council" who have shown underclass leadership capacity. "Unity Council" is composed of two/three members of each class selected by their classmates who are players and we meet weekly during the preparation season to discuss parts of the program--both problems and solutions.

J. Gawen Stoker, former HFC
Indian Valley HS (PA)

A pre-season meeting with the seniors is crucial. Clearly spell out your expectations to the seniors. Making them understand that this is their time and their team and the success or failure of the team is on their shoulders. Explain to them if they can't provide that leadership then juniors who demonstrate this characteristic will be called upon to lead the team.

Harry G Bellucci, Head Football Coach
Hartford Public High School (CT)

Sit them down and discuss it with them (the senior leadership). Afterwards, pull a couple of the more influential players to the side and explain to them that the team (and you) are counting on them.

R. Scott Thompson, Head Football Coach
Montgomery Lonsdale JH (AL)

I feel that the seniors must take responsibility for THEIR team. (Again, appeal to their pride) However, if after several attempts to bring them into leadership roles they refuse, then begin to look for underclass leaders. You can build better future leaders and sometimes some groups (seniors) just aren’t good leaders. Don’t wait around until the season is over.

Allan Amrein, Head Coach
Kennedy Middle School, Hays (KS)

Sit down and talk to them. The head coach is the leader and he must identify the problem and then work to solve the problem. A coach told me, ‘you are only as good as your seniors.’ This being the case, then the HC had better make sure the problem is identified and work for solutions. We have found that assistant coaches can really help in this category. Often position coaches have a good working relationship with their players and the assistant coach may solve the problem before it gets out of hand. Most programs will have this problem and I know there may be many ways to deal with it. We have also found that facing the problem is much better than ignoring it. It is not going away.

Jerry Parrish, Retired Head Coach
North Kitsap High School (WA)

Let's face it. If your seniors are not pulling their weight you are in big trouble. You have to be very aggresive about attacking this problem. Try sitting them down and talking to them as a group and individually. See if there is some issue you can fix. If that doesn't work start replacing them where you can without hurting the team. A bad senior is almost as bad as a bad coach. Most teams will never overcome it.

Thomas Taylor, Teacher/Football Coach
Weir High School (WV)

Address this problem with them. Give them situations where they have to be leaders. If this fails, look for leaders among your underclassmen.

Bob Reeves, Offensive Line Coach
New Hope High School (MS)

This happened to us a few years ago--our seniors got complacent. They thought they were working hard, but in truth they left a lot in the tank both in workouts and during games. While we were doing this, everyone else caught up! This was devastating and it took two years to recover from it. We had an uncommitted junior class too, so we went back to square one and really focused our efforts on the sophomores. We preached tradition and ownership, and how it was their team."

Barton W. Miller, Offensive Coordinator
Trinity HS, Camp Hill (PA)

Challenge the seniors with what they want THEIR senior year to be. And as a side note, you better change how you handle the off-season. That team should've been built then. If you need to ‘cull the herd,’ it needs to be done then.

Ron Moore, Defensive Coordinator
Azle High School (CA)

The greatest motivator for an athlete is the bench. Extra running does not work. If players are not doing what they should be doing, they have to sit. The bottom line is the team. Are they huring or helping the team?

Anthony, Defensive Coordinator
Lawrence High School

We usually have an “air out" session with the players only involved first. Then one of the assistant coaches has a second meeting with the players. If there still is a problem not resolved the head coach or coordinators get involved. We always try to deal with any problems as a family. Everything stays in house. If the players can't trust the coaches then they won't trust each other. It also helps to have a wife who is a family therapist to bounce some issues off and get some professional advice.

Louis Farrar, Head Coach
Charter Oak High School (CA)

If the seniors are not getting the job done then maybe the juniors need to take over the reigns. Afterall, next year those juniors will be seniors. However, once these seniors see what you have done they will more then likely step up to the plate. When this happens a coach should give the seniors back the rightful role.

Andrew Cotter, Head Football Coach
Moreau Catholic High School (CA)

Senior meeting. Meet with the upperclassmen. Explain to them your expectations of them. Explain the crisis. Some may be waiting for someone else to take the lead. If no one takes the lead the head coach must help them lead by prompting them into leadership roles. In the event that nothing gets better, start teaching the underclassmen how to be leaders. They may have to become your leaders now.

Jim Glover, Assistant Coach
Jackson Central-Merry High School (TN)

We meet with our up-coming leaders several times in the spring prior to the season. We think this is critical and that it is well worth the time invested. We cover a lot of territory in these sessions. We talk about what it means to be a leader. We discuss the expectations our coaches have for the leaders of our team. We let them know that this is the head coach's program but that this is THEIR team. We discuss ways to confront players who are not meeting our team's off-season expectations. Just last week we had to meet again, briefly, with our team's leaders to discuss some failures in leadership. I think coaches need to recognize that this is an on-going situation. So many of today's kids are the products of play groups and organized leagues from the time they are four or five years old that they never really develop leadership skills. We decided to take the time to spell out what we believed leadership was, who should/can be leaders, and what leaders have to do in given situations.

Joe Bosley III, Assistant Football Coach
Hereford High School (TX)

From day one we let our seniors know it's their football team. All the underclassmen will have one or two more years. They have to step up, they have to lead! I will sit each senior down and explain the different ways to be a leader (vocal, by example, etc.) We EXPECT leadership from our seniors!

Ed Sadloch, Head Football Coach
Cedar Grove High School (NJ)

If senior players won't take accountability for the program, then we'll pass that responsibility on to underclassmen. Sometimes a team’s best natural leaders are not the guys who should lead the team. We limit or eliminate their opportunities to lead. We foster or manufacture opportunities for our best guys to lead. Lastly, if kids don't surface as leaders (and they can't be appointed), then we lead more as coaches.

Thomas A. McDaniels, Head Football Coach
Massillon Jackson HS (OH)

The very first day of pre-season we assign a senior with an incoming freshman or new player to the program and the seniors are responsible for having lunch with them every day during pre-season and once a week during the football season. Before we assign them their buddy, we talk to them about what habits do they want to instill in new players and what do they want the new players to think about them as people? During the season seniors are always in the front row of stretching and when they aren't performing up to expectation we will move them to the very back row and move them up one by one as the effort improves. As soon as they see a couple of their friends back up front they will pick up the pace. We also rely on the captains to keep things moving and heading in the right direction.

Danny Gouin, Head Football Coach
King

Senior leadership is often crucial to a team's success; however with a small squad we often also rely on returning players (whether they're seniors, juniors or even sometimes sophomores). I would start with the captains, but if they're part of the problem I would address all of the seniors. Ultimately, playing time is the best motivator and I would make it clear that P.T. is contigent on attitude and accountability.

John R. Mackay, Director of Athletics/Head FC
St. George's School (RI)

When I see lackluster intensity we increase the competition of the starter losing his job. We also add some game incentives for specific actions, such as blocking. We would award the blocker(s) helmet stickers for a successful run and not a running back unless he made a good block that sprung a back. The same incentives were awarded for tackles behind the line as well as turnovers. At the end of the year, the person with the most stickers won an award—a trophy.

Robert J. Sayfie, Coach
IHM (7 - 8 grade)

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