Letter from AFM

Our mission at AFM is to help coaches to be more successful on and off the field. Naturally, for most coaches, success means winning more games. So our focus has always been to provide the tools to win, whether they’re innovative offensive systems, position drills, defensive techniques or special teams strategy.
But virtually every coach, at some point in his career, has endured a season where the losses have outnumbered the wins. After all, for every team that puts together a winning record, there’s another that falls short of the .500 mark. Unfortunately, losing is just as common as winning.

So for those coaches currently struggling through “non-winning” seasons, contributing writer Steve Dorsey has provided our cover story about dealing with adversity. Can there really be a bright side to a disastrous season? As Steve found out by talking to coaches who have faced challenging situations, it’s up to the coach to keep players motivated and, whenever possible, upbeat in the face of adversity.

As one coach remarked, “It’s all about self-belief. I want to teach them how to become better men, and football is a great way to teach…” We hear sentiments like this frequently, but they bear repeating. Your roles as coaches involve so much more than X’s and O’s or the final score, and perhaps navigating through a losing season gives you the best opportunity of all to impart valuable life lessons to your athletes.

So, while we will continue to give you the tools to win, we will also provide information that all coaches can use to become better teachers and leaders, regardless of how many wins they tally.

A great example of this type of content is our monthly “Coach to Coach” feature with Head Coach Bryon Hamilton of Foothill High School in Palo Cedro, CA. Every month, “Coach to Coach” addresses off-the-field issues that all coaches face, from preparing for the season to motivating your athletes. In this issue, Coach Hamilton presents his four key ingredients in building a great program – something he has achieved at Foothill.

Since we debuted this feature in May, Coach Hamilton has received very positive feedback from AFM subscribers, including a recent note from Offensive Coordinator Jay Civetti of Tufts University in response to the “7 Concepts in Developing a Winning Mentality” article that appeared in our previous issue.

“I am writing to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your article in American Football Monthly,” wrote Coach Civetti. “I think you really hit it on the head with your 7 concepts, and I hope they have helped thus far in your season. Just wanted to say thank you for sharing your insight, it was much appreciated. As a young coach, I am constantly seeking more information and this article just hit home with me.”

If you have a comment on a particular article from this or any issue of AFM, we’d love to hear from you. And, as always, we welcome your article submissions and pass along our thanks to those coaches that have contributed their time and expertise to this month’s issue. We hope you enjoy it, and we hope it helps you to become a better coach.

John Gallup
Editor & Publisher
jgallup@AFMmedia.com