We recently had a football coaching change at the university where I work. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be retained, but the entire staff has been evaluating everything concerning our football program—from what we wear on the plane to what to call on 4th and 3rd. Although it has been a long process, it has been an exciting one. The input from everyone—from so many different perspectives—to rebuild something to fit our mold of what we think it takes to build a winning program has been enlightening.
As everyone knows, the most important part of any football program is its players. A great coach once told me, “It ain’t the X’s and O’s, it’s the Billys and Joes!” The best strength coach on every staff is the recruiting coordinator—and if anyone tells you differently, then they are lying. This individual must bring you the right material in order for you to help them reach their physical potential. You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit—it is that simple. Where many coaches and programs often go wrong is when they are too worried about the physical make-up of their players. Many forget what is inside—what makes them tick. I have been extremely lucky over the past fifteen years to work with coaches who were excellent at projecting where players were going to be, physically, in two to four years—that is, as long as we did our job. For example, I have had 205-pound running backs turn into 285-pound defensive ends! That was how they were projected, and that is how they turned out. The only way this works, however, is if everyone is on the same page—most importantly, the player! We have all witnessed a player who had so much genetic potential that it was scary, and the recruiting coach was right, the strength coach had a plan, and the position coach was on board...but the player wanted nothing to do with the hard work and dedication that it would take to be great. So he is a bust. On the other hand, though, we also have watched those overachieving guys whose genetic potential was average or below, but they wound up being all-conference players because they had the right mental make-up. Of course, there are also the Supermen. These are those players who have it all—the physical potential, the mental drive, and the determination to achieve greatness.
One day, our new head coach had all of us write down what attributes we thought made a championship-caliber player. He wanted us to take the physical out of the mix and put together a list that we could use when evaluating players' mental make-up. The first thing I personally did was look back to all of the successful first round draft picks that I have been lucky enough to coach. What was the common denominator? Although most played different positions, what made them the same in terms of their mental make-up and approach to the game? What separated them from those with the same physical abilities? Three things came to mind when I was considering this. First of all, they had huge physical potential for their position or projected position. Secondly, they were never list guys. They were never late to study hall, meetings, etc. They were never in trouble. Lastly, they always took care of business. Their approach to the weight room was very businesslike and professional. They were a pleasure to coach because they always made sure they got better every day. They knew what they had to do and what they needed to work on, and they did it. I remember one player who asked me to meet him in the weight room early every Thursday morning with his training partner. He wanted to have his own training session in order to focus on things that he really wanted to work on. He ended up being the 14th overall pick. So, I had my three answers:
- Huge physical potential.
- Never list guys.
- Took care of business without anyone telling them to.
Now, if I had turned this in, I probably would have been fired on the spot because he wanted us to dig into the psyche of what it takes to be a great player and competitor. Therefore, I turned to all different types of resources, experiences, and people to come up with the following list. These are the 13 attributes, in no particular order, that I believe make a winning player/team. I’m sure that there are things that you may want to add to this list, but I guarantee their will be none that you would want to take away. Enjoy.
- Loyal: Faithful to one’s oath, commitments, and obligations. (His team, scholarship, coaches, family, etc.)
- Courage: The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, dander, and pain without fear.
- Relentless: The determination and grit to not quit; no matter how unyielding, severe, strict, or harsh his obstacles.
- Commitment: A pledge or promise to follow through.
- Sacrifice: The surrender of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or greater value.
- Tenacious: Characterized by keeping a firm hold, not easily pulled asunder; tough, persistent, stubborn.
- Resilient: Springing back; rebounding. Returning to the original form after being bent out of its original shape.
- Discipline: Training to act in accordance with rules. Activity, exercise, or a regime that develops or improves a skill; training. Punishment inflicted by way of correcting and training. The rigor or training effect of experience or adversity. Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control.
- Passion: A strong affection or enthusiasm for an object or concept. An outburst expressing intense emotion. Any state of mind in which it is affected by something external such as perception, desire, etc.
- Determination: The act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling on a purpose.
- Aggressive: Making an all-out effort to win or succeed; competitive. Militantly forward or menacing.
- Poise: A dignified, self-confident manner or bearing; composure; self-possession.
- Leadership: A guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, team, or political group. An act of leading; guidance; direction
Well, there it is. I hope we can all find players and staff members to fit the bill.