Building a Successful Football Program From the Ground Up

The prospect of building a football program is an exciting challenge for any head coach of any experience level. There is no all-encompassing manual instructing a coach how to build a program. No one can wave a magic wand and turn a program into a success over night. The construction project will take time. It could take one season or several seasons to see significant progress. Building a football program is much like building a house - you must start from the ground up and build a solid foundation and build from there. The foundation of a football program is whatever the head coach creates, cultivates, and grows. It starts from the top and filters down from there into every aspect of the program. When a coach takes over a program, whether it is a new program, a struggling program, or even a strong program, he immediately has the opportunity to start building the foundation of the program. What should be the components of that foundation? Again, there is no exact science or critical ingredients to the formula. However, there are some pieces to the puzzle that can help coaches develop a successful program.

 

SET THE TONE ON DAY ONE: COMMUNICATING YOUR VISION

At the first player or parent meeting to announce the hiring as the new football coach, it is imperative to set the tone, expectation, and communicate your philosophy to the football community. As the old saying goes, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”

Introducing yourself, your family, your background, and your vision for the program are essential. A new coach brings a new beginning, a new way of doing things, and, most importantly, new hope and optimism for the program. It is an exciting time for the new coach and his new program; communicate that excitement and optimism and get people excited about the season ahead. Communicating core values and beliefs is important because families are entrusting you with the care and well-being of their child.

The opening address from the new coach should clearly state the following values: excitement, optimism, vision, and integrity. The meeting is an opportunity to ignite interest in your program from current players, future players, former players, and prospective players. I would suggest a questionnaire for the players in attendance asking the following: grade, offensive and defensive positions, interests and hobbies, favorite team and player, etc. Just like a new teacher in the classroom, the teacher needs to learn the names of everyone in the class as soon as possible. The new coach needs to learn who the players are on and off the field. Taking an interest in each player shows the players that the coach cares about them as players but, more importantly, as young people. “Before they care what you know, they need to know that you care.” The first meeting is a great opportunity to start building those relationships.

 

INTEGRITY ABOVE ALL ELSE

Several definitions of integrity can be found in the dictionary, but the one I would like to discuss in this case is “Doing what you say you will do.” Two of the most important qualities that a coach needs from his players are respect and trust. These qualities are earned over time. A coach that displays integrity at all times has a chance to build respect and trust. Players that respect and trust their coach will commit wholeheartedly to the team. Coaches that make hollow promises, guarantees, or threats foster a culture of distrust. Distrust will destroy a team; sometimes over time and other times very quickly. Team policies and procedures must be thought out carefully, because coaches must be able to follow through on them. A coach must be able to control what he can control and that is not possible with vague and unenforceable policies. Hollow threats can be very damaging. “If you do this again, this will happen to you.” If it doesn’t happen, players begin to lose respect for the coach because they do not do what they said they will do. We expect integrity from our players; they deserve the same from us.

Accountability is a key piece in establishing a culture within the program. Kids need to know that they are expected to meet the standards of the team. If they do not, there are consequences. There are consequences in life when people don’t do what they are supposed to do. Football is a great place to teach young people this necessary skill.

 

HIRE THE RIGHT STAFF

Hiring the right staff is crucial to building a successful program. A head coach will only be as successful as the people he surrounds himself with. This includes assistant coaches, coordinators, trainers, managers, statisticians, youth coaches, film personnel, volunteers, and parent committees/fundraising. All people associated with the program must share the head coaches’ vision in order for the vision to flourish in all aspects of the program. Putting the right people in the right positions, giving them the resources they need to succeed, and letting them do their jobs are essential for any program.

Hiring assistant coaches in some ways will define the tenure of the head coach. Leading a football program is not a one-man job. In looking for quality assistants, familiarity can be key. If you know the person or have coached with him or against him in the past, those observations can be very helpful in determining if they would be a good fit for your staff. A resume can only tell you so much. Personal experience with the person can help you find out what kind of coach they will be day-to-day. Finding good teachers who are interested in coaching is another potential applicant pool to explore. Coaching is teaching and teaching is coaching; they are synonymous. Finding good teachers with coaching experience or expertise can potentially make good assistant coaches.

Next, locating coaches who will be loyal to the head coach and to the vision of the program is vital. You don’t want coaches who will jump ship or backstab at the first sign of adversity. Loyalty is a necessity for developing a successful program. Finally, the head coach must determine if the potential assistant coach shares the same vision and philosophy. Everyone has their own ideas and own way of connecting with kids, but the common core principles must be modeled, taught, and applied by all coaches. Successful staffs work well together, pulling the rope in the same direction. Unsuccessful staffs are dysfunctional, oppositional, and incongruent in their application of principles, techniques, and strategies.

 

THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR HARD WORK

Once the coach is hired, there is, of course plenty to do! Some coaches will want to try and immediately hire a staff and get started. Choosing the right staff is critical, so it might be wise to make sure you hire the right people even if it takes a little longer to find them. On the other hand, starting the off-season conditioning program and off-season skill work and training can begin immediately. Developing the right off-season program is enormous as champions are made in the off-season. Setting up skill sessions or practices is also important as you want to see what kinds of abilities your new players possess; that is, where their strengths and weaknesses lie. The frequency of these off-season programs is at the discretion of the coach. The point of diminishing returns should always be considered in scheduling off-season workouts; you want to work hard but also keep the players fresh and enthusiastic, not fatigued and bored.

Many other tasks need to be addressed after a coach is hired. Fundraising, youth programs in your feeder systems, parent booster groups, budgetary decisions, equipment inventory and needs, and many other administrative tasks need to be addressed. It can seem overwhelming at first especially for a first-time head coach or a coach who will be moving his family from another city or state for his new job. Good old-fashioned hard work, good organizational skills, budgeting time well, and breaking large tasks into smaller chunks; “by the inch, it is a cinch, by the mile, it is a trial” can help make things more manageable.

Hopefully, the coach was hired in the winter or spring, or even early summer before the next season starts. In these cases, time exists to begin building the foundation of your program, and fulfilling all administrative tasks relating to your program. Working hard and budgeting time wisely, along with soliciting help from those people who are already part of your program can help get things done.

 

CREATING A CULTURE OF SUCCESS

Some coaches come in and right out of the gate make predictions or “promises” about the number of victories everyone can expect the first season or timelines relating to conference or state championships. All coaches define success in different ways. Obviously what the scoreboard says at the end of a game or what the team’s record is at the end of the season is one measure of success. However, it is important to focus on the work habits and principles that lead to winning games. In other words, focus on the process and the results take care of themselves. Creating quality work habits, using practice and conditioning time productively, and using meeting time wisely will help plant the seeds of success when the season rolls around.

Rather than focusing on the number of wins the first season, focusing on playing hard, practicing hard, having fun, and celebrating small victories can be building blocks to success. Maybe the first opponent of the season has shut out your program the previous four years and your first season, when you play them, you lose but score two touchdowns in the game. That could be a building block and a success to celebrate with your team. Going 10-0 won’t happen overnight. It will take time and building on small successes can be important confidence boosters for a program.

Building a program that excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community is paramount. Athletics is only one part of the whole high school experience. Students must focus on academics first because they will have to make a living some day after their playing days are over. The only way to succeed in today’s ultra-competitive business world is by getting a top-notch education. I believe that a player that lacks responsibility in the classroom can’t be trusted on the football field. Education and athletics are synonymous. If a player lacks good work habits in the classroom, they will lack the same habits in football. Academics has to be priority one in any program. If they can’t cut it academically, they won’t cut it athletically.

Fostering a positive relationship in the school community and the community in general is important, as well. Having a team volunteer to do community service work or volunteer their time for a good cause is worthwhile for all involved. We want to leave a community or school in better shape than we found it; community service is an excellent way to accomplish that.

Team-building activities are a great way to create a bond within a team and develop good team chemistry. Whether it is an outdoor activity, or team dodge ball game, or a movie/pizza night for the team, these activities allow the team to interact away from football and develop bonds and friendships. Team chemistry can make all the difference. If team members like spending time together, that is always a positive attribute. Teams that get along tend to play better together and that is ultimately what the coach is trying to achieve.

 

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

I, like many coaches, believe that practice is where it’s at. You will play the way you practice. Structuring fast-moving, high intensity, challenging, and fun practices are at the core of every successful program. The best teams on game day are the best teams throughout the week in practice. Practices should be organized, structured, and should have a focus and objective each and every day. If you don’t really know what you are doing, you don’t know where you are going. Practice must properly prepare the team for what they will see in the game. Practice should be challenging, because if it is easy, on game day when things get tough, the team will not have the tools to overcome obstacles because they weren’t challenged during the week.

Practice should be competitive. Football is competition and the only way kids learn to compete is by practicing it. Put the team in game-like situations and see how they react. All players need to be engaged at practice, not just the varsity starters. All players in your program need development and the younger players are the future so if they stand around at practice while the older players get reps, they aren’t improving. Quick transitions are key, doing the same thing for two hours will be monotonous for everyone. Fifteen minutes per drill or segment keeps practice moving and keeps all players engaged. Team offense or defense sessions might need to last a little longer than that, but not much. Two hours divided into 15-minute segments moves much quicker than three 40-minute segments.

 

LEARNING HOW TO WIN

Programs that have struggled for any extended period of time lack confidence in their ability to win a game just like any of us would. They perpetually see the glass half empty because they have not tasted success. In this case, the only way to learn how to win is to actually win a game or two. This may not happen right away, which is why focusing on improving week to week, being better this week than we were last week is so crucial. If the only focus is on the scoreboard, then everything else is irrelevant. If the coach focuses on the process and not the result early in the building phase, then positive building blocks can be taken away from losses that when added up later in the season could equal victories.

If the coach has any input on creating the football schedule early in the season, it would be beneficial to schedule teams that you have a better chance of competing with. Starting out with “Murderer’s Row” the first three games of the season makes it hard for the program to build any confidence. Confidence is the essential ingredient to winning. If a team truly believes they have a chance to win, they will play that way. If they don’t have confidence, they will play the game waiting for mistakes to happen that leads to yet another loss. Helping the team build the confidence that they can win games is a challenge, but it is also one of the most rewarding aspects of coaching. Watching a team put it together and win a close game for the first time is as good as it gets.

 

A SUCCESSFUL SEASON

Ultimately, the question every coach must ask themselves when evaluating their program is, would they want their own child to play in the program? That is the most important of all because all parents want the best for their children. If your program is truly a program you would want your child to be part of, then good things are happening. If your team succeeds in the classroom, in the community, and they are doing the right things in other phases of their lives, then success will come in football. If it takes time, so be it.

The more that people put into something, the more special the success will be when it happens. We want to ingrain in players that doing the right thing is an all the time thing not a sometimes thing. We want the players to do the right thing not because we tell them to, but because they want to do the right thing. A team must hold each other accountable for making good choices in their lives. Patience and a one-day-at-a-time approach are keys for the head coach. Rome was not built in a day and neither are football programs. It will take time, commitment, integrity, passion, and a belief that doing the right things day after day do lead to success. These traits start with the head coach and filter down from there. The head coach is the figure-head and therefore must model the needed traits for a team to be successful. The road to success is always under construction. I is time to put on our hardhats and go to work!